The ABC/ACL intersected the SR at Warm Springs and also at Woodbury, several miles to the NE on the Atlanta branch. I've read that the Woodbury crossing was at grade. Was this also the case at Warm Springs? Were there any connecting tracks at either junction so as to faciliate traffic interchange?

-- greg hodges (lynnhodges@earthlink.net), October 01, 2004

Answers

Sherrod, that's correct. I have an old map somewhere, but from memory, the M&B ran roughly parallel and very close to the Southern at Woodbury. The M&B quit running in 1922 but reportedly rails were not pulled up until about 1926. The M&B used the SR depot. Of interest is that the old SR depot (constructed of wood - not the later cinder-block SR station) still exists, now used as a home and located just off the highway to Manchester just south of Woodbury.

-- Larry Goolsby (lgoolsby@aphsa.org), October 05, 2004.

To add to the mix regarding Woodbury -- didn't the old Macon and Birmingham (abandoned circa 1920) also intersect the AB&C (nee AB&A) and Southern at Woodbury. I am not sure if this was a triple crossing similar to the GS&F-AB&C-SAL crossing at Cordele. Perhaps someone can shed some light on this.

-- Sherrod G. Patterson (sgpattersonatty@mindspring.com), October 04, 2004.

Greg, to expand on Tom's information: The AB&C/ACL also had an interchange with SR at Woodbury. There was a short interchange track in the southeast quadrant of the crossing. According to equipment registers I have, it was in service in 1949 but gone by 1952.

The SR bridge over the AB&C/ACL at Warm Springs was just north of downtown and was via one of the AB&C's standard concrete arch underpasses. The Warm Springs connection track was a long (2219 feet), curving track that made nearly half a circle from its beginning from a siding about 2500 feet southeast of the SR overpass to where it connected with SR about the same distance northeast of the overpass. The track was also on a steep grade uphill from the ACL/AB&C. According to RERs I have, it was still in service as a connection in 1983 but not by 1985. It was still used by SBD/CSX for several years afterward to reach a pulpwood yard adjacent to the SR right-of-way (the SR was abandoned through Warm Springs around 1990).

-- Larry Goolsby (clgoolsby@att.net), October 02, 2004.

From employee timetables and topo maps it would appear that there was a level crossing at Woodbury, but no interchange connection. At Warm Springs, there appears to be a Southern Ry bridge over the ACL and an interchange connection in the northeast quadrant of the crossing, several blocks from the bridge. A 1957 EQUIPMENT REGISTER lists both SR and ACL having interchange with the other RR at Warm Springs. Neither are listed at Woodbury.

-- Tom Underwood (tlu1650@attglobal.net), October 02, 2004.