[2] Primary commodities include feed products, chemicals, plastic pellets, aggregates, lumber, grain, pulpwood, scrap metal, and fertilizer, amounting to around 7,500 annual carloads.

[3] An east–west route from Vidalia to Mahrt forms the core of the Heart of Georgia railroad and was built in segments over a period of several years.

[4] The railroad continued to grow in 1890, reaching Lyons in the east, as well as the Chattahoochee River, and eventually Montgomery to the west.

[9] On February 19, 2004, the Heart of Georgia expanded its line with the annexation of the Ogeechee Railway between Vidalia and Midville, a distance of 42.4 miles (68.2 km).

[12] On February 7, 2017, national shortline operator Genesee & Wyoming announced that it had purchased the Heart of Georgia, with the deal expected to be finalized later in the year after regulatory approval.

The train is managed by the Southwest Georgia Railroad Excursion Authority with the HOG providing the locomotives and operating crews.