The Chattahoochee Valley Railway was a shortline railroad linking a number of textile mills between

West Point, Georgia West Point is a city in Troup County, Georgia, Troup and Harris County, Georgia, Harris counties in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is located approximately halfway between Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama and Atlanta ...

and McGinty, Alabama for a total distance of . As a subsidiary of West Point Pepperell, the entire railroad was abandoned in 1992.

History

Originally the line was constructed by the Chattahoochee Valley Railroad on July 2, 1895 from Langdale to Lanett, and was extended to Riverview by 1897. In 1900, the railroad was reorganized to become the Chattahoochee Valley Railway. Further expansion included new tracks south to Jester in 1899 and north to Standing Rock, Alabama by 1908. By extending tracks further to Bleecker in 1916 the railroad totaled and connected to the

Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad The Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad was organized in 1926 to replace the bankrupt Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. The AB&C was controlled by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which owned a majority of the stock. In 1944 it report ...

, the

West Point Route The West Point Route was actually a nickname used in the early 20th century for the joint operations of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad and the Western Railway of Alabama. The name refers to the city of West Point, Georgia, where the two railr ...

, and the

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 ...

. In 1932 part of the railroad was abandoned from Standing Rock to West Point and passenger service ended that same year. In the 1960s, a dam was constructed north of West Point, and the CHV built a short spur line to reach the construction site for delivery of materials. When construction of the dam was completed in 1973 the spur was abandoned. Around the same time, the railroad abandoned the line from Riverview to Bleecker. The railroad shut down completely on September 23, 1992, with tracks removed the following year. By the time of the abandonment the railroad numbered less than . CHV 2-8-0 steam locomotive No. 21, built in 1924 by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

, is now on display at the

Southeastern Railway Museum The Southeastern Railway Museum ( initialised SRM, AAR code SMRX) is a railroad museum located in Duluth, Georgia, in suburban Atlanta. The museum was founded in 1970 by the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. There are o ...

Duluth, Georgia Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, Duluth had a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chattahoochee Valley Railway Defunct Alabama railroads Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads 1900 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1992 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)