Macon and Western Railroad

The Macon & Western Railroad was 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 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 towards Atlanta for a total of 81 miles 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 for a grand total of 102 miles.[4] 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

# Name Miles Notes
1 East Point, Georgia 7
2 Rough & Ready, Georgia 13
3 Forest Park, Georgia 15
4 Morrow's Station, Georgia 19 Old Name Morrow, Georgia
5 Jonesborough, Georgia 23 Shortened to Jonesboro
6 Lovejoy Station, Georgia 29 Old Name. Now just Lovejoy, Georgia
7 Bear Creek, Georgia 34 Now called Hampton, Georgia
8 Fayette, Georgia 38 Now called Sunny Side
9 Griffin, Georgia 44
10 Thornton, Georgia 50 Now called Orchard Hill
11 Milner, Georgia 56
12 Barnesville, Georgia 62
13 Goggins, Georgia 67
14 Collins, Georgia 72
15 Forsyth, Georgia 78
16 Smarr, Georgia 83
17 Crawford, Georgia 89
18 Howard, Georgia 96
19 Macon, Georgia 103

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

References

  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