The East and West Railroad of Alabama was a railroad in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The railroad started out with

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

track, but it was eventually converted to track. The Alabama end of the line began at

Pell City Pell City is a city in and one of the county seats of St. Clair County, Alabama, United States, other seat being Ashville. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,939. At the 2010 census, the city-limit population jumped to 12,695. It was hom ...

, where it connected with what became the Southern Railway , and the narrow gauge Talladega and Cousa Valley Railroad. The line then passed through Broken Arrow, Alabama (which was officially renamed to Coal City around 1883 and then to

Wattsville Wattsville is a small village in the Sirhowy Valley, eight miles north west of Newport, built in the 20th century for accommodation for mine workers. Amenities Modern Wattsville consists of two villages, Wattsville and Brynawel. It consists of o ...

in 1929), and headed

east-northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

toward the Georgia state line. Just over it, the E&W passed through Esom Hill, then Cedartown, where it connected with the Rome and Carrollton Railroad. From Cedartown, the route included Rockmart and Taylorsville before terminating at

Cartersville Cartersville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, Bartow County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city ha ...

and a connection with the

Western and Atlantic Railroad The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was fo ...

. The line that would become the East and West Railroad of Alabama actually began at the Georgia end, with the Cartersville and Van Wert Railroad, chartered in 1868 to build a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

route from Cartersville to

Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

, near the Alabama state line. The entire route was graded and of track was laid to

Taylorsville, Georgia Taylorsville is a town in Bartow and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 211 at the 2012 census. History Taylorsville was surveyed circa 1870 by Edward G. Taylor, and named for him. The Georgia General Assembly incorpor ...

before being reorganized as the

Cherokee Railroad The Cherokee Railroad is an historic railroad that operated in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was organized in 1870 to take over operations from the failing Cartersville and Van Wert Railroad. The Cherokee Railroad initially operated from Carte ...

in 1870. Under the railroad's new name, more track was laid and it eventually reached

Rockmart, Georgia Rockmart is a town in Polk County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 4,732 at the 2020 census. It developed as a railroad depot town when the Southern Railway built a station in the area. The community was incorporated in 1872, and wa ...

before being sold to

Cherokee Iron Company The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

in 1879. During this same period, the track was converted from

to .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East West Railroad Alabama 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Defunct Alabama railroads Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Narrow gauge railroads in Alabama Narrow gauge railroads in Georgia (U.S. state) Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Railway companies established in 1882 Railway companies disestablished in 1893 5 ft gauge railways in the United States American companies disestablished in 1893 American companies established in 1882