View source for East and West Railroad of Alabama

{{Infobox rail
|railroad_name = East and West Railroad of Alabama
|locale = [[Alabama]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|gauge = {{Track gauge|4ft8.5in|allk=on}}
|old_gauge = {{Track gauge|3ft|lk=on}}<br>and prior to that<br>{{Track gauge|5ft|lk=on}}
|hq_city =
|start_year =
|end_year =
}}
The '''East and West Railroad of Alabama''' was a railroad in the [[U.S. state]]s of [[Alabama]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. The railroad started out with {{Track gauge|3ft|lk=on}} [[Narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] track, but it was eventually [[Track gauge conversion|converted]] to {{Track gauge|4ft8.5in|allk=on}} track.<ref>{{cite book|author = Hilton, George W. |title = American Narrow Gauge Railroads|publisher = [[Stanford University Press]]|year = 1990|location = [[Stanford, California]]|isbn = 0-8047-2369-9}}</ref>
The Alabama end of the line began at [[Pell City, Alabama|Pell City]], where it connected with what became the [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]] {{Track gauge|4ft8.5in|disp=1}}, 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, Alabama|Wattsville]] in 1929),<ref>{{cite web|author = Smith, Jerry|title = Coal City History|publisher = Discover St. Clair|year = 2012|location = [[Pell City, Alabama]]|url = http://discoverstclair.com/traveling-the-backroads/coal-city-history/}}</ref> and headed [[east-northeast]] toward the Georgia [[Border|state line]]. Just over it, the E&W passed through [[Esom Hill, Georgia|Esom Hill]], then [[Cedartown, Georgia|Cedartown]], where it connected with the [[Rome and Carrollton Railroad]].  From Cedartown, the route included [[Rockmart, Georgia|Rockmart]] and [[Taylorsville, Georgia|Taylorsville]] before terminating at [[Cartersville, Georgia|Cartersville]] and a connection with the [[Western and Atlantic Railroad]].
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 {{Track gauge|5ft|lk=on}} [[broad gauge]] route from Cartersville to [[Prior, Georgia|Prior]], near the Alabama state line.  The entire {{convert|45|mi|adj=on}} route was graded and {{convert|14|mi}} of track was laid to [[Taylorsville, Georgia]] before being reorganized as the [[Cherokee Railroad]] in 1870.  Under the railroad's new name, more track was laid and it eventually reached [[Rockmart, Georgia]] before being sold to [[Cherokee Iron Company]] in 1879. During this same period, the track was converted from {{Track gauge|5ft|disp=1}} [[broad gauge]] to {{Track gauge|3ft|disp=1}}.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:East West Railroad Alabama}}
[[Category:3 ft gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct Alabama railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads]]
[[Category:Narrow gauge railroads in Alabama]]
[[Category:Narrow gauge railroads in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1882]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1893]]
[[Category:5 ft gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1893]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1882]]