History (Fictional)
In
1869 the Roswell Railroad was making final decisions on the complete route for
the railroad. Even though the communities around Chamblee, which was the
Roswell RR’s southern terminus, wanted more rail access to the farms and other
industries in the area, the R.R.R. did not extend the line to reach them. The
farmers, and the industries soon gave up the battle for a railroad and
continued to use horse drawn wagons to transport goods, but one farmer did not.
The farmers name was Sam McMullen. One day he and his friends decided to build
a railroad themselves, so they started to look for financers. The Georgia Rock
& Gravel Co. wanted was looking for a better way than horses to transport
the gravel and granite slabs that it produced. When Sam came too ask for funding
they said yes instantly as long as the railroad came to the quarry in Keswick.
Not soon after a new logging company sprouted up in Huntley Hills, and also
helped to fund the startup. Then in 1872
just as the railroad started to grade the right-of-way the railroad started to
go over budget due to rock and hard clay in multiple places caused them to have
to blast the rock, and bring in people with heavy equipment to do most of the
cuts, instead of using cheap labor to do the work. It took the railroad until
1877 to get enough money to continue building. The railroad finished the track
and ordered the equipment later the same year. The Huntley Hills Southern
Railroad opened in 1878. The railroad started with a few cars, 2 0-4-0T, and 2
0-4-2Ts. The locos were built by H.K. Porter. The railroad soon needed to get
more motive power due to high demand for the railroads services. In 1888 the
railroads biggest competitor came, the Chamblee & Atlanta’s Huntley Hills
Branch, a 2 foot line. In 1890 the railroad decided to modernize with six new
Baldwin 4-4-0’s. The old 0-4-2T and 0-4-0Ts were starting to get old. In 1891
#2 (a 0-4-0T) and #3 (a 0-4-2T) were heavily damaged, and subsequently sent to
the parts / junk pile after a head on wreck near Huntley Hills. The railroad
did very well through the beginning of the 19th century. In 1903 the
railroad decided to buy it’s first geared locomotive to help out on the logging
lines, which was a two-truck Climax. After the success of the Climax, in 1905
HHS decided to buy a new two-truck Heisler, and a used two-truck Shay. The Shay
was too weak for the lengths of trains it needed to pull and was soon sold to a
logging railroad in Washington. Also in 1905 the Roswell Railroad was converted
to standard gauge. When the RRR standard gauged the 3’ equipment was sold the
HHS and converted to 30” gauge. After a rash of the 4-4-0’s failed, the
railroad decided to upgrade motive power again. In 1911 the railroad decided to
buy three new Baldwin 4-4-0’s, the last new steam locomotive order from HHS. The railroad hit an all-time high, which was
never to be repeated, in 1918 due to good crop yields. In 1921 the Roswell
Railroad failed and closed up shop. The HHS declined throughout the depression,
but some of the depression era government programs helped keep the railroad
afloat. During the depression the railroad had to put many cars in storage. In
1924 and 1925 the railroad picked up two used 2-6-0’s from Rogers Locomotive
Works. The railroad’s business picked up to almost pre-depression levels during
WWII, and continued to improve for a few years after, because of government
work for the nearby Fort Gordon. In
the late 1940’s and early 1950’s the railroad’s future seemed bleak, because
most of HHS’ customers failed. In 1945 the railroad bought it’s only diesel
locomotive new from Plymouth, #6. Then, the Chamblee & Atlanta, which over
the years had been gaining more and more control over the railroad, officially
took control. Under C&A control the railroad began to improve and rebound.
The R.H. lumber Co. which had failed, came back, with more things to ship by
rail, including the occasional pulp wood load, whole logs, which are sent elsewhere
for processing, fire wood, and 2x4’s, for the booming post-war
housing industry. During this time, and a bit in the depression, the railroad
started to make open air cars for the tourist industry. Because of the
railroads beautiful woods that surrounded it, it was perfect for tourist
trains. The railroad also bought ex. East Tennessee & Western North
Carolina Railroad’s #11. Of course all good things must end. In 1962 the mining
and logging business in the area failed. The farms surrounding the railroad all
sold their land to make subdivisions. The only thing keeping the railroad
afloat was the dwindling tourist industry. The railroad retired all the
locomotives except #1, #2, #6, #21, which were the only locomotives still
running at the time. The railroad folded in 1967, and was ripped up the same
year. When a local businessman by the name of Mark Holster found out that the
cars and locomotives were going to be cut up for scrap the next day, he knew he
had to do something. Early the next morning he and a group of his friends went
to the yard where all the equipment was being stored to be burnt up to salvage
the metal, like what they did at the end of Maine’s 2’ gauge railroad. Mark
bought all the equipment, and shipped it to the railroad he was starting in
Brazil. The equipment still bears the HHS logo and name, and all of the
equipment still survives.