View source for Georgia Northeastern Railroad

{{Infobox rail
| railroad_name=Georgia Northeastern Railroad
| logo_filename=Georgia_Northeastern_Railroad_logo.svg
| marks=GNRR
| image=Blue Ridge train - panoramio.jpg
| caption=GNRR 8704 on the [[Blue Ridge Scenic Railway]]
| gauge = {{track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| locale=[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| start_year=1987
| hq_city=[[Marietta, Georgia]]
}}
The '''Georgia Northeastern Railroad''' {{reporting mark|GNRR}} is a [[short-line railroad|short line]] [[freight]] [[railroad]] which runs from the town of [[Elizabeth, Georgia]] (now within [[Marietta, Georgia|Marietta]], northwest of [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]) to the city of [[Blue Ridge, Georgia]].  Goods hauled are mostly [[timber]], [[cereal|grain]], [[poultry]], and [[marble]] products.  The GNRR's [[subsidiary]], the [[Blue Ridge Scenic Railway]], also operates on this line north of Blue Ridge.  Despite the name, it actually operates between north-central and [[northwest Georgia]], from north-northwest [[metro Atlanta]], and is a few [[counties in Georgia|counties]] away from [[northeast Georgia]].

Purchased from [[CSX]], the line [[interconnect]]s with the [[Western & Atlantic]] subdivision of CSX at '''Elizabeth Yard''' in Marietta at [[milepost]] 22.0 ({{coord|33|58|29|N|84|33|25|W|display=inline,title|name=Elizabeth Yard, Georgia Northeastern Railroad}}), located {{convert|22|mi|km|0}} from [[downtown Atlanta]].  GNRR tracks include a long [[rail siding]] along the east side of the triple CSX tracks, from just north of [[Kennesaw]] Avenue, over Tower Road, to just north of Loudermilk Drive, where it rejoins what becomes the main northbound CSX track.  The main GNRR track splits from the GNRR siding at a [[rail switch]] just north of Tower Road, and parallels the other tracks to just before Marr Avenue, before a sharp turn to the east.  Between Marr, Loudermilk, the GNRR siding, and GNRR mainline, there are two dead-end sidings extending north on the east side of the GNRR office, and one of those has another dead-end siding extending north on the west side of the office.

==Communities==
[[File:Downtown Woodstock, Georgia, December 2019 03.jpg|thumb|The GNRR in [[Woodstock, Georgia|Woodstock]]]]
Counties and communities served by the line are as follows, from north to south (major towns in bold):
*[[Fannin County, Georgia|Fannin]]:
**'''[[Blue Ridge, Georgia|Blue Ridge]]'''  ''(new)''
*[[Gilmer County, Georgia|Gilmer]]:
**[[Cherry Log, Georgia|Cherry Log]] ''(new)''
**'''[[Ellijay, Georgia|Ellijay]]'''
*[[Pickens County, Georgia|Pickens]]:
**[[Whitestone, Georgia|Whitestone]]
**'''[[Jasper, Georgia|Jasper]]'''
**[[Tate, Georgia|Tate]]
*[[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee]]:
**[[Ball Ground, Georgia|Ball Ground]]
**[[Keithsburg, Georgia|Keithsburg]]
**'''[[Canton, Georgia|Canton]]'''
**[[Holly Springs, Georgia|Holly Springs]]
**[[Lebanon, Georgia|Lebanon]]
**'''[[Woodstock, Georgia|Woodstock]]'''
*[[Cobb County, Georgia|Cobb]]:
**[[Noonday, Georgia|Noonday]]
**[[Blackwells, Georgia|Blackwells]]
**[[Westoak, Georgia|Westoak]]
**[[Elizabeth, Georgia|Elizabeth]], within '''[[Marietta, Georgia|Marietta]]'''

==History==
The route has had several names since it was [[charter]]ed in 1854:
*[[Ellijay Railroad]], changing name to
*[[Marietta, Canton and Ellijay Railroad]], changing name to
*[[Marietta and North Georgia Railroad]], changing name to
*[[Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railroad]], later purchased by
*[[Louisville and Nashville Railroad]], later sold to
*[[CSX Transportation]], then sold to GNRR.

==Commuter rail==
{{cite section|date=June 2021}}

At least one [[proposal (business)|proposal]] is also considering using the line for [[commuter rail]] on the lower part of the route, from Canton to Marietta, and possibly along the [[CSX]] main route down to Atlanta.  Canton, Marietta, and Cobb County put together $40,000 for a study, a [[draft document|draft]] of which says that it would cost $97 million to upgrade the old [[rail track]]s and add [[passenger]] [[train station]]s, [[train]] cars and [[locomotive]]s.  Another $1.8 million would be needed annually above the intake of [[fare]]s.  

The line would be 22 miles or 35 kilometers long from Canton to Elizabeth, where riders could [[transfer (public transit)|transfer]] to [[CobbLinc]] buses.  The draft study [[Guesstimate|estimates]] about 300 people per day would initially ride if it were already in place (600 if it went to Atlanta), and about 1700 would ride in 20 years.

The study urges local governments (Cobb and Cherokee counties, and the cities of Marietta, Woodstock, Holly Springs, and Canton) to preserve any areas where a [[Right-of-way (railroad)|right-of-way]] may be necessary, allow no new [[grade crossing]]s of [[road]]s, and prevent [[land development]] too close to the line (so that new residents cannot complain about it, though it has been there since the 1890s).

The [[Transport corridor|corridor]] may be in addition to [[GRTA]] [[Georgia Regional Transportation Authority|Xpress]] or even CCT [[bus]]es on the [[Parallel (geometry)|parallel]] [[Interstate 575]], which is scheduled open [[High-occupancy toll lane]]s in 2018.

==External links==
{{Portal|Railways}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030921201537/http://www.gnrr.com/ GNRR company site]

{{Georgia (U.S. state) railroads}}
{{Atlanta railyards}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia Northeastern  Railroad}}
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) railroads]]
[[Category:Cherokee County, Georgia]]
[[Category:Spin-offs of CSX Transportation]]