-- An adventure, a few years too late. --

    In 2003, my family's plans were once again centered around one of my railroad chasing ventures. I was finally getting to go to Augusta and see where #300 and the World's Shortest Railroad once called home. Not wishing my family extra undue time sitting in the van, listening to the radio and reading magazines while I trek off along an overgrown railroad bed, I made sure that we made the trip during the annual Augusta Days festival. Augusta Days is an annual street festival, complete with the usual vendors and carnival rides. I must say, I was quite impressed with the size of the festival.

     Heading toward the Downtown area of Augusta, we passed the Woodruff County Courthouse- a beautifully restored and maintained structure- and many well kept older homes that give a sense of driving back in time. Living up to my promise, we exited the family van and meandered around the festival for a couple of hours or so. After eating our prerequisite, over priced festival meal of smoked turkey legs, funnel cakes and lemonade, we wandered toward White River. Suddenly, I felt as though I knew exactly where I was. Facing White River (looking West), there was a building on my right that had a rounded back wall. Without any doubt, I instantly knew that this was the place that the Augusta made a turn and headed in a northerly direction. Glancing up at the street sign, I was standing on Locust Street. Confirmation! Now I was excited. For the first time, I was standing on the roadbed of the Augusta Railroad.

     Grab the kids! Let's get back to the van! Gotta get crackin'! Adventure awaits! (Hey, it's railroad stuff, I'm easily excited.)

     With the feeling of great urgency, and at a slow run while dragging the wife and kids behind (not really, but that's what was going on inside my head), we made our way back to the van. Not being able to cut through the festival activities, and with a determined look on my face, I headed South along one of the streets, knowing that I will surely come to the Mo-Pac line running east/west. Just like I knew where I was going, we soon came to the Mo-Pac railroad, only about a block west of the old Augusta line. From that vantage point, we could see the power plant line making it's way across an overgrown field.

     Feeling as though the Power Plant line deserved a slight bit of exploration as well, we drove until we came to the gates of the Power Plant where we turned around. As we drove back, I remembered how the satelite photos and maps had shown that the Augusta had joined the Mo-Pac on the north side, near the same spot that the Power Plant spur had exited on the south side. This was very near the location where the Cotton Gin stills stands today.

     Driving across the Gin's lot, we could see the rise of the old railroad bed, and it's apparent curvature heading toward town. Never one to want to miss out on a bit of exploring, I walked around the area hoping to see a remnant of the old railroad. Having found very little, and no signs of there ever being a turnout in the area (not surprising), we climbed back in the van and headed along what was obviously the railroad bed. We neared one of the Gin's larger structures, and as I glanced out the window, a few remaining crossties (in understandably poor condition) were peeking just above the gravel and weeds. It might sound silly to most of you- and I know it does to my wife and kids- but this was one of the neatest things I'd seen in a while. The cross ties of the Augusta Railroad, the very ones that #300 had more than likely made her way over, were still visible. You do recall that I'm completely engrossed with this old locomotive and the Augusta Railroad, right?

     After taking a few photos (after all, they won't be there forever) we again started our northerly journey along the old railroad bed. Most places showed an obvious roadbed, others had lost their features to time and continued developement of the area. Of the places that it showed the best, was an elevated (about 3 foot or so) roadbed along a deep ditch. At my wife's request, I resisted the temptation to drive along the elevated roadbed. Although, there had obviously been many others who had driven it because the worn dirt paths left from automobile tires were clearly visible.

     As could be expected, there were areas of the old track that could not be paralleled by street. Criss-crossing the area usually kept us within a block or two of the line. As we came to Main Street and turned east to intersect the railroad again, the raised roadbed once again became obivous, and left a "days gone by" impression. With no cars behind us, I slowed for a good look around. What was on the other side of the street (north) was to become a bit of a special place for me that day. This was where the Augusta started it's wide curvature toward the west. Although I haven't confirmed it's origin, there was a large, solidly built concrete platform on concrete pillars, with a concrete ramp leading to it. This structure was directly adjacent to the Augusta Railroad. Next to this, and conjoining the platform by way of the ramp, is a church. The church seems to have been built after the railroad's demise, but it's completely conceivable for it to have existed then, and served another purpose during the days of the railroad's existance. Maybe someone can help me on this.

     Opposite the platform, in thae area inside the railroad's curve, was an area over grown badly with several large trees and heavy underbrush. Later, while looking at the map on my web page, I could see that fighting chiggers, snakes, and "no-seeums", might have led to discovering more about the area. Looking closely, it is documented that there were more buildings in the area at one time. Now, there's only the platform, church, an empty lot, and the overgrown area. Next time I go to Augusta, I'll venture into the area more in hopes of discovering the foundations or remnants of the old buildings.

     After walking out onto the concrete platform, I could see that the church was apparently using the structure for a place to picnic and hold outdoor gatherings. Along the sides of the ramp were several pieces of narrow gauge (light weight) rail standing on end, driven into the ground. These probably held something else in days past, but now they're just reminders of the little railroad that ran just a few feet away.

     Walking around, looking around all the sides of the structure, I happened upon the remnants of more crossties. One small piece of crosstie not only appeared to be loose, but also raised slightly. (begins, sarcasm at it's finest... ) Being a safety conscience individual, I hated for the crosstie to pose a trip hazard, or something to catch a lawnmower blade. With that thought, I lifted the small piece from it's place of many, many years. But now, being an environmentally conscience person, I hated to throw the piece to the side and clutter the area. Besides, if a youngster were to find the chunk of wood like this laying about, he might be inclined to get into mischief with it. Windows are a great temptation to a young boy with a stick. Being so concerned with the situation, I decided the best thing for me to do was to place it in the van, and "dispose" of it properly. In other words, I saw a piece of railroad history that would have probably been pulled up and thrown to the side at some point in the future, without having any significance to anyone. I picked it up, brought it home, and it is now in my garage. Being able to pick up a small, unmistakable piece of Augusta Railroad history is what made this little area a special find for me that day.

     Thinking back, I don't recall seeing any worn tire paths along the old roadbed as it met Main Street near the side that we had earlier seen worn paths on. This should have sparked a further interest to make me want to explore where the paths stopped. I could be wrong, but I've seen similar cases that stopped at either fences or trestles. Could a trestle from the Augusta still be intact? Yet another reason to return someday soon.

    The adventure continued. Driving around to the other side of the inside of the curve, another smaller platform and ramp was near the roadway. It's origin remains a mystery as well, but these were obviously from either an industry, business, or for public use to load goods onto the train. I'd like to find out what they were used for. It makes me wonder if perhaps this was the location of the railroad's office. Can any one help shed some light on this?

     Following the street, which did in fact turn out to be Locust Street, led us back toward town. I couldn't tell exactly where the railroad ran along Locust, but it appeared that it was through the edge of existing home's yards. Some of these homes were obviously built well before the demise of the railroad. It must have been quite a sight to see a locomotive and freight cars making their way within only a few feet of homes. However, it's very possible that I'm mistaken and the railroad shared property with the street. It wasn't terribly uncommon for small industrial railroads, or occasionally a mainline, in times past to run right down the middle of the street.

    Since we weren't able to follow Locust Street in a vehicle due to the festival, we once again parked and walked back to the curved building near White River. Walking north from that location, I soon lost all indicators of where the railroad had run. However, if my sources and map are correct, the railroad did in fact only run about two blocks past this curve.

     Although not railroad related, there is a particularly interesting old church building just about 4 blocks north of Locust, near White River. Although now a bit run down, it's a great piece of architecture for the time in which it was built. There's a plaque on the East wall fo the church, but I failed to photograph it, or write down any details. I'll post a picture of the building a bit later. I can't recall the exact date, but it was built in the late 1800's.

    Throughout all the exploration, I never was able to determine where the locomotive storage shed was located that appeared in the film short, or if it were the same building that housed #300 when found by Mr. Mueller. Until my recent visit, I had always envisioned that the storage shed was probably near the Mo-Pac junction with the line. Now that I've seen the area first hand, I'm thinking that it might have been located at the end of the line near town. Can anyone confirm any of the locations mentioned? Can you add anything about the old railroad?

    That concludes my first adventure with tracking the Augusta Railroad first hand. I hope it's just the first of many, and I hope to return without the crowds and streets being blocked. Besides the railroad, Augusta seems to be an interesting town, with a lot of great architecture and history.