"The Firefly Trail is a planned 39-mile rail-trail from Athens to Union Point in Northeast Georgia, connecting Athens-Clarke, Oglethorpe, and Greene Counties. The historic rail line, known as the Athens Branch of the Georgia Railroad, branched off the still-active Augusta-to-Atlanta line in Union Point and passed through the towns of Woodville, Maxeys, Stephens, Crawford, Arnoldsville and Winterville on its way to Athens." - fireflytrail.com/proposed-trail.html
The Firefly was the name of the train that ran on the Athens Branch. Its name is used to describe the multi-use trail that is proposed to run on the original railroad bed where possible or on adjacent roadway.
No. 3 Railroad Street is located in Arnoldsville, one of the train stops on the Athens Branch and part of the proposed Firefly Trail. We were thrilled to be an official stop on the 2017 The Ticket to Ride, an annual educational and fundraising bike ride along much of the proposed route. The official event started in Athens with provision for 15, 40, 60, or 85 miles (on-road) excusions and No. 3 Railroad Street was the first opportunity for a rest stop and snacks.
It was a glorious day and most of the 250 riders took the short dead-end spur to No. 3 Railroad Street and they seemed to all arrive at exactly the same time. We were barely able to feed and water all of them.
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Photos by Glenn Galau © 2017. Visit the Photo Gallery for the complete set of images.
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