The Savannah and Western Railroad is a historic railroad that was located 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 ...

. The S&W was incorporated in 1885, and acquired property in 1888 through a consolidation of seven different railroads owned 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 ...

. These included: * Buena Vista and Ellaville Railroad * Columbus and Rome Railway *

Columbus and Western Railway The Columbus and Western Railway (C&W) is a historic railroad that operated in Georgia, United States. Organized in 1880, the C&W was founded to connect Columbus, Georgia, to Birmingham, Alabama. The same year, the C&W started by purchasing the Sa ...

* East Alabama Railway * Eufaula and Clayton Railway * Eufaula and East Alabama Railway * Savannah and Columbus Railway Following the consolidation, the S&W operated about 400 miles of track between Americus and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

while passing through

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. In 1890–91, the railroad built 57 miles of track between Meldrim and

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

and purchased the

Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad The Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad (CR&C) was a railroad in Georgia. Originally chartered in 1881 as the Rome and Carrollton Railroad, the railroad's name became the Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad in 1887, before any tracks were c ...

, Savannah, Dublin and Western Short Line Railway, and Savannah, Griffin and North Alabama Railroad. In 1894, the S&W ran into financial trouble and the CR&C was split off and returned to its original owners. The remaining part of the S&W was then taken over by the newly reorganized

Central of Georgia Railway 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 1895.

References

Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Predecessors of the Central of Georgia Railway Railway companies established in 1885 Railway companies disestablished in 1895 Defunct Alabama railroads Defunct Tennessee railroads {{US-rail-transport-stub