Jump to content

Macon and Western Railroad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Macon & Western Railroad)

The Macon and Western Railroad was an American railway company that operated in Georgia 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 5 ft (1,524 mm)[1] gauge line from Macon, Georgia Northwest to Forsyth. It was extended to Griffin in 1842. An economic depression halted building, but when the railroad started building again, it managed only another 11.25 miles (18.11 km) towards Atlanta for a total of 81 miles (130 km) before falling into bankruptcy.[2]

It was bought in foreclosure and the name was changed to the Macon and Western Railroad in 1845.[3] This new railroad completed the line into Atlanta in 1846 by adding 21 more miles (34 km) for a grand total of 102 miles (164 km).[4] Portions of this railroad were destroyed during Sherman's March to the Sea. After the Civil War, this railroad was purchased by the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia in 1872.

The stops available to riders in 1867 were:

Distances of depots from Atlanta

[edit]
# Name Miles Kilometers Notes
1 East Point, Georgia 7 11
2 Rough and Ready, Georgia 13 21 Now called Mountain View, Georgia
3 Forest Park, Georgia 15 24
4 Morrow's Station, Georgia 19 31 Old Name Morrow, Georgia
5 Jonesborough, Georgia 23 37 Shortened to Jonesboro
6 Lovejoy Station, Georgia 29 47 Old Name. Now just Lovejoy, Georgia
7 Bear Creek, Georgia 34 55 Now called Hampton, Georgia
8 Fayette, Georgia 38 61 Now called Sunny Side
9 Griffin, Georgia 44 71
10 Thornton, Georgia 50 80 Now called Orchard Hill
11 Milner, Georgia 56 90
12 Barnesville, Georgia 62 100
13 Goggins, Georgia 67 108
14 Collins, Georgia 72 116
15 Forsyth, Georgia 78 126
16 Smarr, Georgia 83 134
17 Bolingbroke, Georgia 89 143
18 Lorane, Georgia 94 151
19 Macon, Georgia 102 164

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

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Confederate Railroads - Macon & Western
  2. ^ Georgia's Railroad History and Heritage
  3. ^ Georgia's Railroad History and Heritage
  4. ^ Preliminary report on the Eighth Census 1860 by United States Census Bureau (Washington DC: 1862), page 222 [1]