CORDELE, Ga. — Back in the day, people would climb aboard a train to travel instead of their cars, but in South Georgia you can still do that on the SAM Shortline and many people are.
City of Americus Mayor, Lee Kinnamon, said riding a train was how people got around.
"There was a time when the only way to travel was by rail. It was that way or no way," Kinnamon said.
The SAM Shortline Excursion Train carries some of the most precious cargo — people. The shortline started back in 2002 to let people ride the tracks and visit some historic places.
The Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway has been around since the 1880s. In 2000, founders decided to keep this piece of history rolling. Over the past 20 years, they've been sidetracked by one problem.
"We have currently been forced to take cars from this site that is our site here at Georgia Veterans State Park and run them to off-site locations for maintenance which adds to the expense and the difficulty to provide the service to the cars," Kinnamon said.
To help, the Georgia Department of Transportation is sending $1.6 million dollars from the state Locomotive Tax Program. It will add a maintenance and storage track at Georgia Veterans State Park. It will allow the cars to stay in house when they need attention.
One of the big stops on the route is the city of Plains. People get to see the childhood sights of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Cathy Williams is on the State Transportation Board said it's fun to stop and learn about the cities.
"I was excited about getting off at the different towns and learning about their history, and their culture, and their heritage," Williams said.
Williams said President Carter wanted to bring attention to South Georgia.
"One of the things President Jimmy Carter wanted to do when he returned to Plains after his service to this country was to bring relevance to these communities and that's why the shortline got started," Williams said.
The grant money will help keep the shortline rolling longer. Kinnamon is also chairman of the Southwest Georgia Railroad Excursion Authority. He said people can feel the difference when the tours come to a halt.
"They will tell you when it goes into it's down season when we're not running the train, they notice a huge difference in the bottom line. When we're operating receipts are great. When we're not operating, they see a difference," Kinnamon said.
Williams said the shortline even pulls in passengers outside of Georgia.
"I meet people from all over the world that travel shortlines to see America and this is America at its pure essence," Williams said.
SAM Shortline staff said crews are hoping to start the building process for the new track and storage unit after their June events.
The Department of Transportation said it should be completed in the next 12 to 18 months. The train will still chug along through construction.