In General
Overview Map
Amtrak
Area Depots
DOT Maps
Floobydust
Additional Amtrak Info

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In General


Location / Name:
Atlanta GA, Fulton (county seat), and DeKalb counties

What's Here:
Amtrak's Atlanta Peachtree Station
MARTA Metro System (Heavy Rail, aka Subway)
Norfolk Southern:
- Inman Yard
- South Yard
CSX:
- Tilford Yard (closed in 2017, ripped up 2018-2020)
- Howell Yard
- Hulsey Yard
Georgia Northeast RR
Fulton County RR
Marietta Depot (Marietta GA / ~14mi NW of the Amtrak station)
Southeastern Railway Museum (Duluth GA / ~20mi NE of the Amtrak station)
Hapeville Depot Museum (Hapeville GA / ~10mi south of the Amtrak station)
Norcross Depot (Norcross GA / ~14mi NE of the Amtrak station)

Data:
GPS Coordinates: as needed
Phone A/C: 404 / 770
ZIP: 30303 downtown

Access by train/transit:
MARTA Heavy Rail / Metro System
Amtrak / downtown

The Scoop:

This is the introduction page to the Atlanta area.  There is LOTS to see.  To cover them all, it will take you several days to do it thoroughly, for things are spread out over a wide geographical area - be prepared to spend a lot of your time in the car getting from one place to another.

I will touch on the Amtrak station here, as well as the four historic depots still with us.  Everything else will be covered on separate pages as listed.

According to the Georgia DOT webpage listed below: With over 4,600 miles of active rail lines, Georgia has the largest rail network in the Southeast.  Georgia’s location provides direct rail access to the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States.

The highest volume tracks are NS's and CSX's lines running between Atlanta and Chattanooga.

Here is a map of the Norfolk Southern's lines in and out of Atlanta:



And here is a map of CSX's lines in and out of Atlanta (Open Railway Map was used as the source of sub-division names, as the Wikipedia list was incomplete, as well as the base map used to draw this), most lines in Atlanta are part of the Atlanta Terminal Sub:



In the area, you also have the Georgia Northeastern RR running out of Marietta northward in the Tennessee.

Over on the northeast side of Atlanta in Duluth, you have the Southeast RR Museum.

There are a number of vintage depots in the area.  The ones in Marietta, Hapeville, Duluth, and Norcross come to mind right away, there might be others.  Hapeville is down near the airport south of town, Marietta is NW of town off I-75, and Duluth and Norcross are NE of town off I-85.

Although there is a lot of freight action to be had in Atlanta, we are not so lucky in the passenger arena, as there is only one train a day, the Crescent.  The Amtrak station is downtown on Peachtree St, near the junction of I85 and I75, north of the downtown area.  There is limited parking.

From the Georgia DOT website also comes this graphic:



Let's go over some of these items:

Amtrak: Daily passenger rail service in Georgia is served by four Amtrak routes, three of which serve coastal Georgia: the Palmetto, Silver Meteor, and Silver Star. The Palmetto operates between New York and Savannah, while the Silver Star and Silver Meteor operate between New York and Miami. Each of the three coastal trains stop in Savannah, and the Silver Star adds a stop in Jesup. North Georgia is served by Amtrak’s Crescent route, which travels between New Orleans and New York City with stops in Atlanta, Gainesville, and Toccoa.

Deepwater Ports: Savannah (exit 99 on I-95 via I-16) and  Brunswick (exits 29 and 36 on I-95).  In addition, there are inland terminals in Chatsworth, Bainbridge and Columbus, and they are all part of Georgia's gateways to the world.

Tourist Rail Operations and Railfan Attractions: 1) the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway (in Blue Ridge, of course :-), 2) Stone Mountain Park, east Atlanta 3) Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History in Kennesaw, 4) Locust Grove Train Watching Platform, 5) Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, 6) the SAM Shortline in Plains, 7) St. Marys Express Train Rides in St Marys, 8) the Thronateeska Heritage Center in Albany, 9) and finally, the Georgia State Railroad Museum in Savannah.

Georgia's Shortline Railroads:  The graphic above says there are 28 railroads in Georgia.  There are 23 listed below, plus CSX and NS, that makes 25.  I wonder where the other three are?.....





An excellent map resource for the Atlanta area is offered by the Georgia DOT at: http://dot.ga.gov/maps/pages/Railroad.aspx.

Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd

Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta
https://www.american-rails.com/ga.html
https://www.train-museum.org/
https://blog.adaptershack.com/category/atlanta-railfan-locations/ Railfanning info
http://www.dot.ga.gov/IS/Rail
https://www.exploregeorgia.org/things-to-do/list/all-aboard-these-9-georgia-train-rides
https://www.samshortline.com/

BTW, Nikos Kavoori's Atlanta railfan guide at: http://atlantarails.com/ ... is out of business, the domain is for sale....dam, I wish I had saved the pages....


MAP 1 - General Overview
MAP 2   - Downtown Atlanta
MAP 3   - NS's Inman yard and CSX's Tilford & Howell Yards - NW of downtown Atlanta
MAP 4   - south of Atlanta
MAP 5   - east of Atlanta
MAP 6   - west of Atlanta
MAP 7   - the Duluth and Norcross area, with the Southeast Railroad Museum
MAP 8   - the Marietta and Elizabeth area - NW outside the Perimeter
MAP 9   - Guide to the Georgia Northeastern RR

MAP 10 -  the Kennesaw area & the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History

the MARTA Metro System has it's own page outside this guide


Atlanta Rail Map




Amtrak's Atlanta Peachtree Station


GPS Coordinates: 33.79938, -84.39264
1688 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta GA 30309

There is not a whole lot of parking available at the station - 7 spots, and it may be very limited in terms of you being able to park for railfanning purposes... I can't say, I've never been to the station.

Directions:

To get here from I75: take the Northside Dr NW exit (exit 252) and go north to Collier Rd NW, where you want to take a right.  This will take you over to Peachtree RD NE, where you will take another right.

From I85: Things are a little more complicated.  If you're travelling I85 southbound, after going under Peachtree, the road makes a substantial left curve... stay to the right for the exit ramps off the curve, and once on the exit ramp, stay to the left so you can exit at 17th St NW... then take a left onto 17th St to get over to Peachtree, which is the 2nd major intersection, and take a left there.  A few blocks up, the road will split, and Peachtree goes off to the left.

From I85 northbound, take the exit for 10th St NW (it might be exit 250, not sure), and take a right onto it.  Again, two blocks over is Peachtree, and you want to make a left onto it.





  Station Information


Area Depots




Duluth GA

GPS Coordinates: 33.98721, -84.15455
3595 Buford Hwy, Duluth GA 30096
https://www.duluthhistoricalsociety.org/duluth_train_depot

The historic train station was built in 1871 to serve the city. The depot was built by a predecessor of the Southern Railway, part of today’s Norfolk Southern Corp., and was one of several constructed in the area in 1871, according to information provided by the city. The railroad primarily served the cotton trade, which was cultivated on a reported 50,000 acres in the area. Since Forsyth and Milton counties had no rail service at the time, the addition of the passenger station at Duluth made the city a center for shipping and commercial activity.

Declines in passenger service and changes in rail freight led to the closing of the Duluth depot by the early 1950s. Eventually, the Southern Railway, which then owned the property, encouraged the city to find a use for the building. The city lacked the resources to do so, and in 1975 the depot building was moved by the late Scott Hudgens, a local developer, to a site on Pleasant Hill Road where the Joan Glancy Rehabilitation Center is located today. The depot was used as an office for a major development project in progress at the time. In 1986 Hudgens again moved the depot across Pleasant Hill Road to W. P. Jones Park. At this location, the city used the building as a police substation and an office for city parks personnel and related recreation programs.

The depot was moved to the entrance to the Southeastern Railway Museum on Buford Highway in August 2008. Under a lease agreement between Duluth and the museum, the city retained ownership of the depot, and the Southeastern Railway Museum became responsible for restoring the building and operating it as a historic exhibit. At the end of 2014, The Duluth Historical Society moved into the Depot and it is still operating the Society from this location.








Hapeville GA

GPS Coordinates: 33.39534, -84.24579.
620 S Central Ave, Hapeville GA 30354
404-669-2175
https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm5NDP_Hapeville_Train_Station
https://www.exploregeorgia.org/hapeville/arts-culture/museums/hapeville-depot-museum
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g34995-d12725185-Reviews-Hapeville_Depot_Museum-Hapeville_Georgia.html

The depot, originally constructed in 1890, and expanded in 1947, has been the home of the Hapeville Historical Society museum since 1982. The museum houses an extensive collection of items celebrating the development of the city across three centuries. The collection includes archives, historic household items, clothing, and furniture, and an extensive transportation exhibit centered on the contribution of interstate, rail, and airport to the city’s development.






Marietta GA

GPS Coordinates: 33.57174, -84.33053
Address: ?????
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marietta_station_(Georgia)
https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMM89_Marietta_GA_Train_Depot_Welcome_Center

From Wikipedia:  The Marietta depot is a former freight and passenger stop in Marietta, Georgia. It was originally built in 1864 for the Western and Atlantic Railroad, a railroad between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.[1] That railroad was absorbed by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. In turn, the latter railroad was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1957. The station was burned down by the Union troops of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in the latter years of the US. Civil War. It was rebuilt in 1898. Presently occupying the building is the Marietta Welcome Center and Visitors Bureau. The city of Marietta bought the building from the State of Georgia toward the end of 2019. In 1968 the Georgian was eliminated. In its place was an unnamed St. Louis-Evansville train, and an unnamed Evansville-Atlanta train. These two trains were among the trains that Amtrak chose not to pick up when it assumed long distance operations on May 1, 1971. Thus, passenger service through Marietta ended.








Norcross GA

GPS Coordinates: 33.94215, -84.21346
40 S. Peachtree, Norcross GA 30071
It's currently the -Crossing Steakhouse-
https://www.theclio.com/entry/40821
http://www.thecrossingofnorcross.com/depot-history
http://www.oldplaces.org/gwinnettga/album/norcrossdepot.html

Construction of this historic train depot began in 1909 and the building served passengers until 1959.  The building was donated to the city by Norfolk Southern in 1983 and has been repurposed as a historically-themed restaurant.  The railroad depot was essential to the community of Norcross during the age of rail travel and is largely responsible for the growth of this community which was originally founded in 1870.  The community was the first stop north of Atlanta along the Richmond Danville Railroad, Norcross is Gwinnett County's second-oldest city.  The former rail depot is a contributing property of the historic district of Norcross, an area known for its many historic homes and buildings in the downtown area.  The original depot had a warehouse for cargo, railroad offices, a passenger waiting area, and ticket counter.  The depot hustled and bustled with the activity that a train known as the "Air-Line Belle" created carrying commuters into Atlanta and back every day of the week, except for Sunday.  Today patrons can enjoy a wonderful meal at this historic train depot and watch as train engines pass through Norcross just as they did in the past - though it is no longer an active passenger rail line.






Georgia DOT Maps


The following map is Georgia DOT's rail map of the Atlanta area


The following map is Georgia DOT's rail tonnage map of the Atlanta area:


The following map is Georgia DOT's train traffic map of the Atlanta area:


And finally, the following map is Georgia DOT's rail map of the Northern part of Georgia:


Floobydust


the Western & Atlanta Railroad

From Wikipedia: In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad in order to provide a link between the port of Savannah and the Midwest.  The initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would be linked to Savannah.  After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the "zero milepost" was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points.  A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later Thrasherville, after a local merchant who built homes and a general store in the area.  By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha.  Later, John Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlanta.  The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847.


Additional Amtrak Info

  Stations in Georgia served by Amtrak

    Off the cover of the Crescent schedule

  Route map for the Crescent

  Timetable as of 11/2011


For You Walking Dead Fans

GPS Coordinates: 33.73308, -84.39929
https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/Terminus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0dK-CMLs28

Norfolk Southern's South Yard, which apparently isn't used a whole lot anymore, was used in AMC's The Walking Dead, at the end of the 4th season, and the first episode of the fifth season, as a place called Terminus.









 






Historical USGS Maps


Courtesy of the University of Texas Library, click here for their index page.


Music/Dance Links


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2S1I_ien6A my fav from the 30's, Go Bennie (without the Jets :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw Take Five with Brubeck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keIPYS0ddLE Trance, from what movie?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzDIz1DOtms And then there is this version.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXIPSTEUUR0&t=364s 26 minutes of headbanging Trance including Zombie Nation!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaKgQATdB6I probably my fav from Woodstock, had to be there.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qTFGmgfei4 sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQrlBIMTzIM sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvYl_omr9Zg X
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKSB2O2Shts Xpt1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daV_3tI-1NM sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGeY-8Lx85I sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGSKfCF44W8 chk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE&t=124s uptn fnk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT3SBzmDxGk celo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM probably the best beginning for a song, ever :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg-upcgaJfY sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Kb0nyrMnY sh/L
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qe-nP41vqI sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBYDzsTdT30 ladyv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnnbYagLaXM sabineboogie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrnkwSGGcOE mocba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLuZjpxmsZQ&t=66s carlin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPmBnnon0Ek sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8obnvD14H0 BGsh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL5A4H8QJH8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5acGPmhpDZ0 sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEslf98lVIk sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN0eR7bgAO4 shecaudor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roVJXqBkuM8 sh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOjD6-Rb1wI shhotstuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJcoaPwnXOU ellebelles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGsfzsWkybc uptowndance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJwnZT7tuZY miavanhalen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwvzeyI65xA sinaradarlove
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0zTY0y8VQ0 5girlhustle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz3CPzdCDws dance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTsZ0Xj4upw kanadesatomall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SWjDuxc9AQ morekanade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn2Yvjd5kqY beckwilkenfeld
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_zrgBobQV4 justbass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mch6omtVH0U honeybees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qBj8YsyvhQ smalljets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8k1W1UakvU&t=560s bigRCs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB0VT2OnFvM bird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2FPQvwhSDY ju
ngle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAZQaYKZMTI whitewedding


Disclaimers:

I love trains, and I love signals.  I am not an expert.  My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page.  This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.

Please Note:  Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.  For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.

If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct.  Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)

My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning.  Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented.  Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost!  I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches.  ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them.  If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads.  Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.

Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted.  Screen captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it! 

By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous and/or other stuff.

Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given!  Please be NICE!!!  Contact info is here

Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly inaccurate, wrong, or not true.

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Last Modified 09-Nov-2021