View source for Duck River Valley Narrow Gauge Railway

{{short description|Railway line}}
{{Infobox rail line
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| name             = Duck River Valley<br>Narrow Gauge Railway
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| image            = DuckRiverValleyRRSpur.jpg
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| caption          = A spur of the line remains in operation in Lewisburg
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| start            = Columbia, Tennessee
| end              = Fayetteville, Tennessee
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| planopen         = <!--{{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}}-->
| open             = 1877
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| yearcompleted    = 1879
| close            = 1961
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| linelength_km    = 77
| linelength_mi    = 48
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| tracks           = Single
| gauge            = 3 ft (914 mm)
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The '''Duck River Valley Narrow Gauge Railway''' was a [[narrow gauge]] [[railway]] that connected the cities of [[Columbia, Tennessee|Columbia]], [[Lewisburg, Tennessee|Lewisburg]], and [[Fayetteville, Tennessee]] along the [[Duck River (Tennessee)|Duck River]].
Chartered on November 4, 1870,<ref name ="register">
{{cite web
|url= https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/778de69a-87b0-4644-afd6-4c94529ba988
|title= National Register of Historic Places Inventory: Belfast Railroad Depot
|last= Quinn
|first= Richard
|date= April 1984
|website=
|publisher= [[National Park Service]]
|access-date= May 6, 2020
|quote=}}
</ref> construction began from Columbia southward, with the line to Lewisburg opening in 1877. The railway fell into financial difficulty, and was leased to the [[Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway]] in 1879. It assumed full control of the line in 1888, and [[Track gauge conversion|converted]] it to [[standard gauge]]. [[Union Station (Columbia, Tennessee)|Union Station]] in Columbia was built to serve the line. Both it and the [[Belfast Railroad Depot]] are on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].
The line between Columbia and Lewisburg closed in 1945 and between Lewisburg and [[Petersburg, Tennessee|Petersburg]] in 1961. Only a spur serving factories in Lewisburg remains. Parts of the route were used to build [[Tennessee State Route 50]] in [[Maury County, Tennessee|Maury]] and [[Marshall County, Tennessee|Marshall]] counties.
[[File:1903 Poor's Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway.jpg|thumb|400px|A 1903 map of the NC&StL, showing the route between Columbia and Fayetteville]]
[[File:NC&StL Belfast, TN edited.jpg|thumb|400px|The depot in [[Belfast, Tennessee|Belfast]] was added to the National List of Historic Places in 1984]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/caving/albums/72157639905697216 Photos of remaining infrastructure from the line]
*[http://www.abandonedrails.com/Duck_River_Valley_Narrow_Gauge_Railway Map of the line at abandonedrails.com]
[[Category:Defunct Tennessee railroads]]
[[Category:Predecessors of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1870]]
[[Category:1870 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1870]]
{{Tennessee-transport-stub}}
{{US-rail-transport-stub}}