Today's Train of Thought- Smoke and Thunder, Aug 19, 2011

For the last 20 years, the Georgia Central has earned its living hauling clay, kaolin, chemicals, forestry products, and coal throughout Southern and Central Georgia. The 175-plus mile regional railway began operations in November 1990 on the former Seaboard Air Line route between Savannah and Macon, GA by way of Vidalia and Dublin, GA.

One of the things that separates the Georgia Central from other railroads is its penchant for some of the older GE products. Shortly after acquiring the line from CSX, the Georgia Central began operations with a small fleet of U30Bs- also from CSX. In the mid-1990s, the U30Bs gave way to more than a dozen high-hood former Norfolk Southern (nee Southern) U23Bs. In 2005, the Georgia Central was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming, although five years in there has been no sign of the trademark G&W orange and black showing up on the Georgia Central.

Some 15 years later, the high hood GE's are still soldiering on for the Georgia Central with a minimally modified Norfolk Southern paint scheme. Here, railpictures.net contributor Nikos Kavoori caught GC U23B #3959 leading a quartet of u-boats with an 80-car coal train during a break in a Georgia thunderstorm outside in Manassas, GA in July 2011. Tucked into the very end of the lashup is an SW1500 from nearby Genesee & Wyoming shortline Chatachoochee Industrial.