Railroad Legacy
By: Kelley Freund | Categories: Alumni Achievements
In 1893, a group of local businessmen launched the Sandersville Railroad Company to compete with Augusta Southern. But as those men got older, they began looking for someone younger to take over. That successor was Tarbutton’s grandfather, who Tarbutton says was an energetic entrepreneur always looking for new opportunities. (He also worked in the cotton warehouse business, did some farming, and was a Ford dealer at one point.) The elder Tarbutton laid the groundwork for the industrial development of the railroad, attracting companies that processed kaolin, a white clay used in products ranging from paper and ceramic tile to toothpaste. Sandersville, Georgia, is now known as the Kaolin Capital of the World.
As a kid, Tarbutton went to work with his father, visiting different job sites to oversee projects such as the replacement of cross ties and the laying of new tracks to support a growing local company. Tarbutton always knew he wanted to go into the family business, so when he graduated from Georgia Tech, he returned to the rail company, taking over as president in 2015.
Tarbutton describes the Sandersville Railroad Company as “the fingers of the North American rail network,” taking its freight to the larger railroads, which then deliver goods all over the continent.
“At our core, we’re in the customer service business,” Tarbutton says. “People probably don’t think of railroads in that light, but we exist to serve our customers. We do that by providing high-quality transportation service six days a week at good freight rates to get our clients’ products to their destinations.”
While the line had its beginnings in the kaolin industry, it has since added other businesses to its customer list, including Southern Chips, which provides wood chips to pulp and paper mills; Beasley Forest Products, a hardwood sawmill; and Dura-Line, which creates plastic pipe conduits. Tarbutton says the railroad company’s latest, biggest endeavor is building a rail spur to reach multiple new customers who aren’t currently rail-served. “While we work alongside some giant companies, we also serve smaller and medium-sized ones,” Tarbutton says. “We take it very seriously to give the same quality of service, whether the company is large or small.”
As president, Tarbutton says no two days are the same. One day he could be meeting with an engineering firm to lay out a new rail spur, the next he might speak with an operating team to discuss transportation issues, or with a business wanting to grow their service. Or he might help plan a retirement party for a long-time employee. The job can be challenging, but for Tarbutton and his family, being a valued member of the local communities along the rail line is worth it.
“I think the American dream starts with a job, and we’ve been in the community for 130 years, supporting companies that employ a lot of people,” he says. “That’s a great thing. We’re very active in supporting our local chamber of commerce, our local schools, and our local governments because we strive to be the best corporate citizen that we can be in the communities we serve.”
