Dooly Southern Railway The Dooly Southern received its charter on January 21, 1897 and completed its 9-mile line between Richwood and Pinia in August of 1898. It was operated by the Parrott Lumber Company but served as a common carrier as well as a lumber road. One of its advertisements noted that it was “operated for freight business, but passengers are carried on freight trains.” According to the March 15, 1901 issue of Railway Age, the Dooly Southern was planning to continue its line about 25 miles farther southeast to Irwinville. That extension had not been constructed by early 1903, when the entire line was abandoned. The Georgia State Gazetteer and Business Directory of 1896 listed Pinia as a place of 100 residents on the Savannah, Americus & Montgomery Railway about five and a half miles east of Cordele. Its businesses consisted mainly of sawmills and naval stores operations. 1900 map (29K) 1904 map (30K) On this 1902 advertisement, Pinia was misspelled. From: Official Guide of the Railways, 1906. Pines chipped for their gum from which naval stores such as rosin and turpentine were made. (From: Natural Resources of Georgia, prepared by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Department of Education, Atlanta [1938]. Online at HathiTrust Digital Library here.) RailGa.com. Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. © Steve Storey. Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home