Richard and Tom:

Thanks for the clarification. It brings up an interesting point. Since Spence was the one that sold the four locomotives before his death, perhaps he realized that he had too many locomotives for his proposed belt line railroad. The engines sold were all small (the 4-4-0's) or a passenger engine (GM&O # 580), the types which he may have determined he would not need for his freight line. Perhaps then he was in the process of earmarking certain engines as being available for sale. In that case, his untimely death was even more of a shame.

Les

Richard,

I moved to the Atlanta area for graduate school in 1981 and one or both of the 4-4-0's were still in steam at that time, I am fairly sure. It was not too long afterward that they were taken out of steam, however. They had a stripped SW-1 set up like a vintage boxcar that assisted with the pull up the hill to Walkup Station, and later had an Alco converted to look like an over-sized tender to push the dead steamers around. When that didn't work out too well, I guess they finally went to using the Geeps to push them around, then went to just the Geeps for most of the runs. It has been much too long since I was last there to know what they are operating now, but I believe it is an all-diesel operation.

The park wound up with the 2 New Georgia Railroad FP-7's (ex Southern) and I don't know if they are utilizing them or letting them sit out and rust away. Those would be great power for the SAM Shortline, but since they severed the rail connection to the Georgia Railroad main at Stone Mountain Village, they would need to be trucked out, I suppose. I don't know how much of the wye track and spur back to the main was removed, or if any earthwork or bridges were removed.