Savannah, Americus & Montgomery Railroad In December 1888, the SA&M was organized as the successor to the Americus, Preston and Lumpkin Railroad, a narrow-gauge line running from Louvale, near the Georgia-Alabama state line, to Abbeville. An extension from Abbeville to Lyons opened in June, 1890, and an extension from Louvale to Chattahoochee River was completed a few months later. At Lyons the SA&M connected with a new line to Savannah opened in May 1890 by the Savannah and Western Railroad, a subsidiary of the Central of Georgia. At Abbeville, the SA&M connected with its fleet of riverboats operating on the Ocmulgee and Altamaha rivers to Darien, Brunswick, and Savannah. The railroad owned five such boats in 1891. At the time, the railroad operated 19 locomotives and 1,048 cars, noted Poors 1891 Manual of the Railroads. In 1892, the SA&M leased the Albany and Northern Railway, a 35-mile line between Albany and Cordele. In 1895, the SA&M was sold under foreclosure to a syndicate formed by the Richmond banking firm of John L. Williams and Sons and the Baltimore firm of Middendorf, Oliver and Company. It was reorganized as the Georgia and Alabama Railway. The Cordele-Albany line was reorganized as a separate independent company, the Albany Northern Railway. 1892 map (59K)   Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. Copyright, Steve Storey. Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home