SAM Shortline Railroad

Rolling Stock

egyptian he SAM Shortline Railroad owns and maintains a fleet of 7 post-war era streamlined passenger cars from various builders. As of 2022, the fleet carries a broad blue horizontal stripe for coloring and each car is lettered "Savannah Americus & Montgomery" in honor of the route's original railroad. Most cars are named for online communities. All cars ride on 4-axle passenger trucks and are outfitted with 480 volt trainline power for lights and climate control. The coaches in the fleet are a mix of Norfolk & Western and Pennsylvania Railroad post-war originals, coming to SAM Shortline by way of Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Train Service in the early 2000s. In addition to the coaches and an observation car, a support car is maintained for trainline power generation. All cars carry SWGX reporting marks for the Southwest Georgia Railroad Excursion Authority.

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SAM Shortline website

SWGX Car Fleet

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Check out SAM Shortline's Car History page to see more photos and drawings

Georgia Veterans

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herald_nw1 Georgia Veterans was originally built for the Norfolk & Western Railroad (N&W) in 1949. The car did not have a number but was named the Washington & Lee University. The car originally was built as a 10/6 sleeping car. There were 10 roomettes and 6 double bedrooms. Originally the car wore a full Tuscan red, black roof, and gold lettering. The car was converted in 1964 to a commuter coach. The car eventually wound up in commuter service on MARC for the state of Maryland. The SAM purchased the car in 2003 and has been hauling passengers since.

SAM Shortline Railroad

Americus

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herald_nw1 Americus was originally built for the Norfolk & Western Railroad (N&W) in 1949. The car did not have a number but was named the Randolph Macon College. The car originally was built as a 10/6 sleeping car. There were 10 roomettes and 6 double bedrooms. Originally the car wore a full Tuscan red, black roof, and gold lettering. The car was converted in 1964 to a commuter coach. The car eventually wound up in commuter service on MARC for the state of Maryland. The SAM purchased the car in 2003 and has been hauling passengers since.

SAM Shortline Railroad

Leslie

The Leslie is a former commuter coach now set up by SAM Shortline as a commissary car. It features a concessions counter, food preparation area, and a small gift shop. The car is usually operated by both SAM employees and volunteers.

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herald_nw1 Leslie was originally built for the Norfolk & Western Railroad (N&W) in 1949. The car did not have a number but was named the Augusta County. The car originally was built as a 10/6 sleeping car. There were 10 roomettes and 6 double bedrooms. Originally the car wore a full Tuscan red, black roof, and gold lettering. The car was converted in 1964 to a commuter coach. The car eventually wound up in commuter service on MARC for the state of Maryland. The SAM purchased the car in 2003 and has been hauling passengers since.

SAM Shortline Railroad

Plains

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herald_prr Plains was built in 1949 as a 21-roomette sleeper for the Pennsylvania Railroad numbered 8252 and originally named Chester Inn. The car operated on “The Iron City Express” as a regularly assigned sleeper. It worked on the Indianapolis Limited as a through sleeper. When delivered, it wore a full Tuscan Red color, with gold lettering and a black roof. In 1958 it was renamed as William Thaw. In 1963, William Thaw was converted to a 64-seat coach with a 12-seat smoking section for corridor operations and renumbered 1546. When converted to a coach, the car was changed from Tuscan red to a stainless-steel coach. As No. 1546, it served on the corridor through the 1960s into the Penn Central era and beyond, until it was sold to Maryland DOT (MARC) in 1976. William Thaw worked in commuter service being renumbered several times, MDOT 1515 then to MARC 154. MARC put the Pennsylvania Railroad Keystone, as well as the car’s original name, on the letter board. The former Mansfield Inn operated until 2001 on one of MARC’s express commuter trains all over the network. In 2003, SAM Shortline purchased the car and renamed it Plains and kept the MARC number as 154. In 2021, Plains received a fresh coat of paint on the window band, new lettering, and renumbered back to its original number.

SAM Shortline Railroad

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Nov 2020 / RWH

Archery

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herald_prr Archery was built in 1949 as a 21-roomette sleeper for the Pennsylvania Railroad numbered 8271 and originally named Mansfield Inn. The car operated on “The Iron City Express” as a regularly assigned sleeper. It worked on the Indianapolis Limited as a through sleeper. When delivered, it wore a full Tuscan Red color, with gold lettering and a Black Roof. In 1963, Mansfield Inn was converted to a 64 -seat coach with a 12-seat smoking section for corridor operations and renumbered 1542. When converted to a coach, the car was changed from Tuscan red to a stainless-steel coach. As No. 1542, it served on the corridor through the 1960s into the Penn Central era and beyond, until it was sold to Maryland DOT (MARC) in 1976. Mansfield Inn worked in commuter service being renumbered several times, MDOT 1513 then to MARC 152. MARC put the Pennsylvania Railroad Keystone, as well as the car’s original name, on the letter board. The Mansfield Inn operated until 2001 on one of MARC’s express commuter trains all over the network. In 2003, SAM Shortline purchased the car and renamed it Archery, and kept the MARC number as 152. In 2021, Archery got a fresh coat of paint on the window band, new lettering, and renumbered back to its original number.

SAM Shortline Railroad

Cordele

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herald_prr Cordele was built in 1949 as a 21-roomette sleeper for the Pennsylvania Railroad numbered 8274 and originally named New Castle Inn. The car operated on “The Iron City Express” as a regularly assigned sleeper. It worked on the Indianapolis Limited as a through sleeper. When delivered, it wore a full Tuscan Red color, with gold lettering and a Black Roof. In 1963, New Castle Inn was converted to a 64-seat coach with a 12-seat smoking section for corridor operations and renumbered 1539. When converted to a coach, the car was changed from Tuscan red to a stainless-steel coach. As No. 1539, it served on the corridor through the 1960s into the Penn Central era and beyond, until it was sold to Maryland DOT (MARC) in 1976. New Castle Inn worked in commuter service being renumbered several times, MDOT 1512 then to MARC 151. MARC put the Pennsylvania Railroad Keystone, as well as the car’s original name, on the letter board. The New Castle Inn operated until 2001 on one of MARC’s express commuter trains all over the network. In 2003, SAM Shortline purchased the car and renamed it Cordele, and kept the MARC number as 151. In 2021, Cordele got a fresh coat of paint on the window band, new lettering, and renumbered back to its original number.

SAM Shortline Railroad

Samuel H. Hawkins

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herald_fec The Samuel H. Hawkins was originally ordered from the Budd Company in July 1939 and delivered in November 1939 for the Florida East Coast Railroad. The car originally wore the name Lake Worth and was built for Henry M. Flagler and Dixie Flagler. Lake Worth was then sold to Seaboard Air Line and numbered 6606. From there it went to the Seaboard Coast Line and numbered 5850, then to Amtrak number 3338. The car was then sold into private ownership and numbered 1508. The SAM Shortline railroad acquired the car in 2002 and named it after Samuel H. Hawkins.

SAM Shortline Railroad

Power Car

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flag_usa Our power car is on the head end of the train and provides electrical power for all the passenger cars. The car was built in 1953 for the United States Army as a US Army hospital kitchen car and was built by the St. Louis Railcar Company. The Army then sold the car into private ownership via public auction. The private owners converted the car into a power car, installing two large diesel generators. The SAM Shortline purchased the car in 2003 to power the train. In January 2022, the power car had an exterior restoration and painted into its original US Army Hospital Kitchen Car paint scheme.

SAM Shortline Railroad

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Dec 2020 / RWH

tag_closeup Private Cars

In recent years, SAM Shortline Railroad has played host to several beautiful private passenger cars. These "private varnish" cars are owned by individuals or groups and are ordinarily Amtrak certified, allowing for their movement around the national passenger rail network in the consist of scheduled Amtrak trains. Private cars are able to join SAM Shortline via the Heart of Georgia's interchanges to CSX and Norfolk Southern in Cordele. Tickets are often sold for the cars, allowing patrons to enjoy their first-class accommodations during the normal SAM excursions.

Here we feature samples of cars recently hosted on the tourist shortline.

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Check out SAM Shortline's Visiting Railroad Cars page to see more images and drawings

J. Pinckney Henderson

ppcx800046d egyptian Pinckney Henderson is a private car based in Huntington, West Virginia. Built by Pullman Standard in 1953 for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad's "Texas Special" train, it was Pullman's first all-stainless steel car. It is a sleeper-lounge combination, offering three deluxe bedrooms and lounge/dining space. Rebuilt in 1989, the car served Amtrak for a time in experimental first-class service between New York and Pittsburgh. The J. Pinckney Henderson is named for the first governor of the state of Texas, and the car bears the reporting marks PPCX #800046.

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Check out the J. Pinckney Henderson's official page on the AAPRCO website

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collection

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Nov 2020 / RWH

Wisconsin

egyptian isconsin is a private observation car refurbished to its original Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad livery. It was built by the railroad's West Milwaukee Shops in December 1948. It and sister business car Milwaukee were the final all-new passenger cars produced by the facility, which was later demolished. Wisconsin carries the reporting marks PPCX #800464.

Dearing

ppcx800029l egyptian earing is a private open platform observation car built by Pullman Standard in 1925 for the Great Northern Railway. Originally named Thompson, the car was built as a 12 section sleeper with a drawing room. It operated on the Great Northern's "Oriental Limited" passenger train in Pullman pool service. Sold to the Chicago & Great Western Railway in 1948, in the 1950s the car was rebuilt as an office car: 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, a dining room, observation end platform, kitchen, and crew room were created. The car operated on the Chicago & North Western Railway in the office car fleet until 1996, when it was sold to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The car was then purchased by its current owners in 2006 and completely refurbished. It was redesignated as a Georgia Railroad car and named the Dearing, in honor of the owner's grandfather who served as a Georgia Railroad station agent in Dearing, Georgia.

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postcard / collection

Dead Line

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See also our Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad scrapbook elsewhere in Preservation

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See also our complete Southern Bay Window Survivors scrapbook in Mainlines


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This page was updated on 2022-10-03