BELLVILLE, GA DEPOT RESTORED AND DEDICATED

The Bellville depot, which served numerous southeastern railroads and railways such as the Central of Georgia and
the Seaboard Air Line, has been restored!  The following is a copy of the write up in the brochure which was
availible at the dedication ceremony :

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"The renovation of the Bellville depot has long been a dream of many area residents.  Former Bellville mayor
Jerry Coleman was the individual who first promoted making the idea a reality.  In 1996, with the approval of city
counsil members Derwood Tootle, James "Buddy" Benton, Alvin Blalock, and David Deloach, the City of Bellville
purchased the depot building from Mike Mulligan of Glenville.  The mayor and counsil then began developing
plans for the renovation.

In the fall of 1998 the city retained the construction firm Murphy, Canady, and Temples of Metter to renovate
the depot.  In the words of current mayor Derwood Tootle, "We realised that something had to be done
pretty soon.  We either had to fix it up or tear it down."  Tootle further explained, "Years of neglect had taken
a toll on the building, and it would have soon collapsed without some type of corrective maintenance."  The city
used the special purpose sales tax and a state grant to finance the project.

The city's contractor used vintage protographs to make the restoration as true to the original as possible.  The
building's exterior was completed in June 1999, and the inside renovation was finished in August 2000.  The
building that once facilitated the town's early commercial interests and provided a "window to the world" for
its residents will house a small museum and will be availible for use as a community center.

The City of Bellville expresses thanks to all those involved with the restoration.  The building's preservation provides
a rememberance of the town's past and an investment in the future.  Generations to come will be able to enjoy
the railroad depot that put Bellville on the map.

Special appreciation goes to the Georgia Historic Society and Danielle Bachant, Local History Services Coordinator,
for assistance in placing the historical marker in Bellville."

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Dedication started at 3:pm on Saturday, September 9, 2000 at the depot.

Furthermore, an annual event called "Railroad Days" is being held every year in honor of the depot's restoration and town history.

These images are of the Bellville depot as it was before the restoration
began.  Note the modification to the station masters booth/window.  Also, the
roof is metal in these photos, but the restored depot has a shingle roof.

This is a drawing of the depot as it stood many years ago prior to being
remodeled by a later occupant/owner.  In its current, restored condition the
depot now looks almost identical to the drawing.

These images are of the Bellville depot as it is now.

SAL's 1959 OGEECHEE RIVER TRESTLE DISASTER

This trestle on the SAL's Savannah-Montgomery Division mainline which crosses the Ogeechee River between Effingham County
and Bryan County got its infamy in 1959 when two butane gas-filled tank cars on a Savannah bound Seaboard Air Line freight train
derailed just before making it across this trestle. The cars fell to the river bed, the second puncturing the first.

This spot on the Ogeechee was a popular swimming hole due to the shallow waters around the trestle, and a large number of people
were there on this day. After witnessing the derailment, people began to leave the area... but not soon enough. The blue, vaporous
butane gas, leaking from the punctured tank car, slowly spread out across the water until something ingited it.

"It was like looking into an open oven," said one of the survivors.

The death toll rose to 22 before it was over.

Only one of the train's caboose-crew survived ( The caboose was coupled very close behind where the tank cars had been in the train ).

The wreck made WORLD news.

The I.C.C. (now known as the D.O.T.) determined the cause of the derailment to be the excessive summer heat and the passing of
the train causing the ties on the trestle to expand, thus causing the wheels of the tank cars to drop between the rails, and eventually
bounce off the trestle.

The railroad was not satisfied with the I.C.C.'s findings (apparently suspecting foul play).

To this day, sheets of metal can be found near the trestle under the sand in the river bed... remnants of the derailed, burnt cars.

News Paper Clipping Of The Wreck

Trestle (pic 00)

Trestle (pic 01)

Trestle (pic 02)

Photographer.:.JOHN..DEGNAN

Trestle (pic 03)

Satellite Image Of The Trestle

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