The Andalusia and Conecuh Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between Gantt and

Andalusia, Alabama Andalusia is a city in and the county seat of Covington County, Alabama, Covington County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 8,805. History Andalusia was first settled in 1841 after floodi ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was largely abandoned in 1987, with the remainder leased to the

Alabama and Florida Railway The Alabama and Florida Railway was a short-line railroad headquartered in Andalusia, Alabama. It was owned and operated by Pioneer Railcorp of Peoria, Illinois. It operated a former Louisville and Nashville Railroad branch line from Andalusia ...

. A portion of the railroad survives today as part of the

Three Notch Railroad The Three Notch Railroad runs from a connection with CSX Transportation at Georgiana to Andalusia, Alabama, . This short line railroad was created in 2001 and is currently a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. Primary commodities include chemical ...

History

Originally constructed by the

Mobile and Girard Railroad The Mobile & Girard Railroad was an Alabama railroad which was constructed in the mid-19th century; a portion of the line continues in operation under different ownership. The line was constructed with a track gauge of . Construction The Mobile a ...

(later

Central of Georgia The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

) from Columbus to Searight by 1891, the line was eventually realigned near Gantt to connect with the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

. The Central of Georgia became part of the Southern Railway in 1963, and the Southern Railway became part of the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

in 1990. Much of the former Mobile and Girard route was abandoned or sold throughout the 1980s, with the segment between Goshen and Gantt being abandoned on September 13, 1982. The Andalusia & Conecuh railroad began operations in June 1983 and was owned by the Alabama Electric Cooperative. Traffic consisted of inbound coal for the power plant at Gantt as well as plastics and chemicals for a carpet mill near Andalusia. Interchange was made with the

Seaboard System The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986. Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notably the Louisville & Nashville ...

(later

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

) at Andalusia. The railroad rostered a single GE 80t locomotive. The railroad was mostly abandoned on December 4, 1987, with approximately still in place near Andalusia operated by the Alabama & Florida railway. In 2001 the

took control of the lease on the A&C railroad and began operating the line.

References

{{US Class III - Alabama Defunct Alabama railroads Spin-offs of the Norfolk Southern Railway 1983 establishments in Alabama