The Macon and Western Railroad was an American

railway company A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation of the track is undertaken ...

that operated in

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 ...

in the middle of the 19th century. Originally chartered as the Monroe Railroad and Banking Company in December 1833, it was not until 1838 that it opened for business with a

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

line from

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

Northwest to

Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...

. It was extended to

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

in 1842. An economic depression halted building, but when the railroad started building again, it managed only another towards

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

for a total of before falling into bankruptcy. It was bought in foreclosure and the name was changed to the Macon and Western Railroad in 1845. This new railroad completed the line into

in 1846 by adding 21 more miles () for a grand total of .''Preliminary report on the Eighth Census 1860'' by United States Census Bureau (Washington DC: 1862), page 22

/ref> This railroad was purchased by the

Central Railroad and Banking Company 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 1872. The stops available to riders in 1867 were:

Distances of depots from Atlanta

Trains departed from Atlanta at 7:15AM and 8:15PM and arrived there at 2:00PM and 4:35PM.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macon and Western Railroad 5 ft gauge railways in the United States Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Predecessors of the Central of Georgia Railway Railway companies established in 1845 Railway companies disestablished in 1872 Railway lines in Atlanta American companies established in 1845 American companies disestablished in 1872