There are three Railfan Platform locations in Jesup. One at the Train Depot, one at Madge’s Place and the big one above.

The following information was excerpted and updated from the website – http://www.frograil.com/tours/csx/ACLeastCoastSavJax.php
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Jesup — Station Area. Continue southwest on US-84 in to Jesup. There are logging roads leading to crossings of the tracks on the islands in the Altamaha basin, but most are not accessible unless there is active logging taking place, and you don’t want to be on them then. Another dead end is to pass the Rayonier wood products mill on the east edge of town, and take Doctortown Road back to the area of Doctortown. The entire area is now part of Rayonier’s property, and is completely inaccessible by the general public. Therefore, from the intersection of US-341 and US-84 in the center of Jesup, go south on US-341. Within the first block, the street will rise up and go over the railroad tracks, Just before the road rises up, go right at the foot of the overpass, go one block, and turn right to get to the station area. Note that Broad Street runs on both sides of the tracks. As you proceed west from the area of the US-341 overpass, you’ll pass in order: Ex-ACL passenger depot, Chamber of Commerce, Jesup Railfan Platform. The depot has been restored and there are bathroom facilities in the Amtrak waiting room. There is a large trash can in front of the Chamber building (on Broad Street) that can come in handy. The Railfan Platform on the west side of the tracks is on the Chamber lawn.

The platform itself is small, has a good radio, and benches. You are in the northeast quadrant of the Broad Street/Orange or Magnolia (? — not sure which) Street crossing, and the overall photo ratings are NE4 (because of the platform itself), NE1, SW1, NW1.  Even though the traffic thru here is less than that in Folkston, there is certainly enough Savannah – Waycross/Folkston volume to make a visit worthwhile. I highly recommend it.

On the southeast quad is a big Bradford pear tree that offers excellent shade in hot weather; walk just a little further east and you have unrestricted viewing east and west. At the tree is a small, circular picnic table, and just to the south of the tree is an ACL caboose. A temporary platform is located next to the caboose with a good radio, fan and seating.  A new two story railfan platform has been built on the north end of this block.  At this time, the radio has not been moved from the gazebo by the caboose.  The Waycross and Folkston routes diverge just to the west of this location. See the next railfan location.

There’s a Norfolk Southern line northeast of this area which goes over CSX; this is the Brunswick – Macon secondary main line, and is not within the scope of this tour. However, you can definitely get pix of trains over the A-Line here, but you’ll have to be lucky, as they are few and far between.

Jesup — Magnolia Street. To get to the actual junction, drive south on Broad Street (on the east side of the tracks) to Magnolia Street. Actually, it’s fairly easy to get to either the west or east side via streets. Therefore, it should go without saying that you do not, under any circumstances, want to walk across this junction area. It’s a fairly large area, trains are surprisingly fast, and they can come from 3 directions. Trains coming up from Folkston are virtually invisible until they’re right in your lap. Viewing from the west is tight, but OK from the east. Actually, other than observing the mechanics of the interlocking/junction area, this site is inferior to that south of the station described above. Note that MapQuest shows a really excellent railfan-type road extending from a block south of Magnolia, right alongside the Nahunta Sub for several miles. Unfortunately, this road no longer exists. Therefore, you’ll need to get out to US-301 to head south.

Jesup — Sunset Boulevard. To get to US-301, you have 2 options. If you’re familiar with the southeast, you’ll probably want to go back to US-341 via either Brunswick or Wayne streets, and then head south on US-341 until its intersection with US-301, and then head south on US-301. However, if you’ve not spent much time in the deep south, here’s a much more lovely way to continue your tour. Go southeast on Magnolia Street, and it will bend around to head due south as Oak Villa Drive. All thru this area are modest homes on large lots, with magnificent live oaks, southern red oaks, magnolias, and pines. This is the penultimate small-town southern scenery, and it is to be enjoyed. You can imagine how cooling those beautiful trees are in the heat of the summer. Oak Villa will dead end (at a somewhat awkward intersection with South Palm Street. Go right on Palm to continue south. Palm will end at a T with Sunset Boulevard. If you’re in a hurry, take a left and US-301 is about 300 yards east. On the other hand, to enjoy a pretty good photo location, take a right and drive a mile or so to the crossing.

The photo ratings for the crossing are NE2, SE1, SW2 and NW2, so this is a good location. Just to the south is the Jesup defect detector, at MP A551.1. Note that the Steam Powered Video Railroad Atlas has this point erroneously as MP A511.1. The northwest quadrant is the site of a large prison, so be circumspect in your movements there, although it looks far enough from the prison itself to not be a problem. Just take your pix and get back to the other side of the tracks. With two tracks here, and a busy, noisy street, you need to be very alert in this area.

Driving considerations: Retrace your drive on Sunset Boulevard, and travel straight east to US-301. Take a right and head south. You’ll immediately be in tree plantation countryside, which will continue south all the way to Folkston. There are some navigational concerns from here on. Several streets identified on MapQuest don’t exist, and others exist which are not on MapQuest. A deLorme Atlas and Gazetteer would be a real asset for you, but it also will not be 100% accurate. You can’t get lost, because US-301 and the railroad closely parallel each other all the way to Folkston, but you will definitely have trouble finding some crossings. Additionally, what passes for “Such n Such Road” may be little more than a white dirt track slithering between the trees.
Alas, many of the roads have no numbers or names posted, so it’s essential that you do your map work ahead of time. Without a good map, you will get frustrated and miss some sites — guaranteed.

Be advised, however, that a surprising number of people live and work in this seemingly vast emptiness, and those little rural roads can carry a significant amount of traffic. On weekdays, especially, be alert for log trucks which seem to outnumber sedans and pickups in some places. Those truckers get paid by how much they transport, not by the hour, so they tend to hustle. One more word about rural roads. The sandy dirt roads tend to ripple or washboard very quickly after being scraped. They can be bone-rattling. Go slow, relax, and save your car from premature death. Still another thing: Along these back roads you will probably encounter quite a collection of critters out and about, including big turtles, dogs, cats, possum, coons, deer, and maybe even a gator. One more reason for taking it slow and enjoying the drive.

Broadhurst. As you drive south on US-301, you’ll see some dirt roads leading towards the tracks (which are close but invisible behind the trees). You can take these and some will get you to the tracks, but others will end up in someone’s yard. Be careful. You’ll pass Broadhurst Road coming in from the east, and will shortly come to Broadhurst Road going to the west. There may be a sign to the Broadhurst Landfill. The crossing isn’t much for photos, at NE3, SE2, SW3, NW4, but the Broadhurst siding begins just to the south, and signals are visible. If the Jesup junction is clogged up, expect to see trains waiting to go northbound here.

​McKinnon. Further south on US-301, look for a sign announcing the McKinnon community. Take Finland Road west to the tracks. NE2, SE2, SW3, NW2. This area is part of a Wildlife Management Area, and if you’re properly equipped and knowledgeable, this can be an excellent point of departure for some cross-country excursions. If you don’t know orienteering and basic survival techniques, don’t attempt to wander around the backwoods. This is an extremely peaceful, quiet location.