| Annual Report of the Atlantic & Gulf RR |
| as of January 1, 1866, |
| Superintendent's Report |
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| Superintendent's Office, A. & G. R. R. |
| Lawton Station, No. 12, Dec. 31, 1865 |
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| Col. John Screven |
| President |
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| Sir, |
| I respectfully submit to your
consideration, this my annual Report of the condition and operations
of the Road for the year ending 31st December, 1865. |
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{The author reports earnings,
passengers and freight movements without separating war and post-war
numbers.}
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***** The business of the Road for portion of the year
from January to August, was quite light. But one regular Passenger
Train was run, and that only tri-weekly. The Road was only operated
from Thomasville to Screven Station, No. 7, a distance of 132 miles,
*****
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*****
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Since removing the rolling stock from Savannah on the 8th
of December, 1864, an account of which is given in my last year's
report, and by which it will be seen that they were not moved a day
too soon, the headquarters of the road have been at Lawton, station
No. 12, the junction of the Lawton & Live Oak Railroad, the only
place where shops or buildings could be procured at all suitable, and
they are very poorly adapted for the work, situated, as they are, in a
wild and thinly settled country, and cut off from every means of
procuring railroad supplies and materials.
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The United States forces struck and destroyed the road
near the Ogeechee, on the 9th of December, 1864; they then advanced up
the road, destroying the iron, bridges, station houses, etc.
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Station No. 1 1/2 was destroyed on Friday, 9th December,
1864.
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Station No. 2 was destroyed on Tuesday, 13th December,
1864.
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Station No. 3 was destroyed on Wednesday, 14th December,
1864.
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Station No. 4 was destroyed on Friday, 16th of December,
1864.
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Station No. 4 1/2 was destroyed on Saturday, 17th of
December, 1864.
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Morgan's Lake Bridge was burnt on order of the commander
of the Confederate forces at Doctortown. The United States forces
burnt all the iron, ties, pole cars, warehouses, water tanks, and all
other property of the road, from the Little Ogeechee to Morgan's Lake,
About 35 miles of iron was burnt, 5 or 6 miles of which has been
rendered perfectly useless and fit for nothing but to be re-rolled, or
sold as old iron. The rest can be straightened and used again, and
will make a fair track, but will never be as smooth and even as it has
been heretofore. Nor do we think it safe to run a fast schedule over
it. I would recommend that such iron as cannot be used, be re-rolled,
and enough more purchased to make up ten miles, and that it be
substituted in the place of such as has been burnt, and that then be
re-rolled and substituted in place of others, until all that has been
burnt shall have been re-rolled and good iron relaid. It is propose to
tear up some of the turn-outs to supply the deficiency in iron
necessary to finish the track to Savannah. Turn-outs near together and
sufficiently long to pass trains, are not only necessary, but
essential to the successful and expeditious operation of the road, and
unless so arranged, will work to the disadvantage and injury of trains
running in opposite directions, as they will incur an unnecessary loss
of time in passing each other.
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Soon after the United States forces fell back from
Morgan's Lake, fearful lest they might make another and a more
successful advance and destroy the iron on the west side of the river,
it was deemed advisable to take up the iron from the Lake to near No.
7. It was removed to within a few miles of Thomasville. Screven, No.7,
then became the eastern terminus of the road. *****
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*****
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The Rolling Stock of the Road consists of Locomotive
Engines, 15; only 7 of which are in running order, the others are
needing repairs, 3 of them are hired from other Roads; 9 first class
passenger coaches; 2 second class passenger cars, used as first class
coaches; 3 baggage cars, 2 express cars, 19 stock cars, 76 box cars, 2
disabled, others needing brasses; 61 platform cars, 5 disabled, others
needing brasses; 4 accommodation cars. 25 pole cars, 4 crank cars, 2
disabled. Total 205.
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Portions of the above Rolling Stock is hired from the
Memphis & Charleston Railroad, as shown in a previous report. In
addition to the above there are three engines, one passenger car, and
sixty-seven freight cars belonging to the Central Railroad, Macon
& Western Railroad, Western & Atlantic Railroad, South Western
Railroad, Muscogee Railroad, and Brunswick & Albany Railroad. {Since
the road did not yet have connection to the rest of the South, this
rolling stock must have been on the road when Sherman cut it off.}
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*****
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Respectfully submitted
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G. J. Fulton
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Superintendent
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