The Georgia 300 on the inaugural passenger excursion of the Sugar Express on December 12, 2021, in Lake Placid, Florida.
(Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
GEORGIA 300 PRIVATE RAILCAR
The Georgia 300 is a privately owned railroad car owned by John H. "Jack" Heard of Florida. It has been used by several recent presidents for various campaign related Whistle Stop Tours.
History
Georgia 300, is a heavyweight observation car from the golden era of rail travel that was built by the Pullman Standard Co. shops in 1930. Sporting a Packard blue with silver striping livery, the train car operated as a lounge car named the General Polk on the New Orleans-New York Crescent Limited (operated by the L&N, West Point Route, Southern, and Pennsylvania), and was later purchased by the Georgia Railroad and reconfigured to Office Car 300. The Georgia Railroad used the car in trips to venues like The Masters Tournament and the Kentucky Derby. It ran until its retirement in 1982 after being made redundant as surplus due to the merger between Georgia Railroad and Family Lines.
Georgia 300 on National Train Day, which is held each year to introduce the general public to trains and train history. This year it also was a way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of streamline passenger service to Florida so what better place to hold it than Tampa's historic Union Station. Amtrak still uses Tampa Union Station to host the Silver Star, which carries passengers between New York City and Miami. 10 May 2014. (Walter from Tampa/St Petersburg, Florida, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Private ownership
Heard, who owns a rail yard in Orange Park, Florida, purchased the car in 1985 and made a series of refurbishments in 1986, 1989, 1995, 2000 and 2008. The car has a dining room, an observation lounge, one master bedroom, two additional bedrooms, two bathrooms with showers, a section lounge, crew quarters, and kitchen. It is Amtrak compliant and compatible to be used on most scheduled Amtrak trains as well as other private venues.
In 2020, the car was on loan to U.S. Sugar Corporation, who used it in excursion service as part of their heritage Sugar Express tourist passenger train.
Barack Obama aboard the Georgia 300 on January 17, 2009.
(ajac, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Use by US Presidents
The Georgia 300 has hosted/carried Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. In 2004, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry and running mate Sen. John Edwards, travelled aboard the car from St. Louis, Missouri to Kingman, Arizona on the Believe In America Train Tour, following the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston.
Overview
Manufacturer: Pullman Company
Order Number: Lot 6323
Constructed: 1930
Fleet numbers: 300
Specifications
Track gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
