AMERICUS, Ga. - A state-operated excursion train to former President Jimmy Carter's childhood home will start its run through southwest Georgia, beginning this fall. <br>
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SAM Shortline which stands for Savannah-Americus-Montgomery, the line's historic route will travel from Cordele to Plains, gliding through cotton fields, pecan groves and peanut farms and over Lake Blackshear. Officials hope the project will stimulate tourism in southwest Georgia. <br>
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``It's like a rolling state park,'' said Tommy Bagby, project sales manager for the state Department of Natural Resources. Critics say the project is more like rolling pork. <br>
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``How many people are going to drive to Americus to ride a train to Plains?'' said state House Minority Leader Lynn Westmoreland (R-Sharpsburg). But, ``If it works, I think it will be a stroke of genius.'' <br>
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Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman George Hooks (D-Americus), said critics are missing the big picture. The service links two of Georgia's national historic sites the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains and the Andersonville National Historic Site in northern Sumter County. <br>
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``The Legislature can't do everything for metro Atlanta; we've got to do something for heartland Georgia,'' Hooks said. ``Standing alone, the sites don't have the same draw they will when they're linked together by the train.'' <br>
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Small towns along the route welcome the change. <br>
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``We've got to face it,'' said Ellen Harris, chairwoman of the Southwest Georgia Railroad Excursion Authority. ``I come from a farm family, but this area can't make it anymore on farming alone.'' <br>
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Fares will be $20 for adults and $10 for children in the passenger cars, and $30 and $15 in the club car, Bagby said. <br>
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``A lot of people don't know what's here,'' Leslie resident Tommy C. Smith said. ``But if we can get 'em off the highway and onto the train, they'll be surprised at what they see.'' <br>
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