This 5 ft (1,524 mm)[2] gauge railroad was first chartered as the Memphis Branch Railroad and Steamboat Company of Georgia in 1839. This company built a 20-mile (32 km) line between Rome, Georgia and Kingston where it connected with the Western and Atlantic Railroad.[3] The name was changed to the Rome Railroad in 1850.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Rome, Georgia |
| Locale | Georgia |
| Dates of operation | 1848–1896 |
| Successor | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm), converted to 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) in 1886[1] |
In spite of this, the railroad was often referred to as the Rome and Kingston Railroad in both the 1860 Census and during the Civil War.[4] This railroad was acquired by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway in 1896 who finally abandoned it in 1943.[5]
Notable people edit
- Eben Hillyer (1832-1910), physician; president, Rome Railroad
References edit
- ^ The Days They Changed the Gauge
- ^ Confederate Railroads Rome
- ^ Georgia's Railroads and Heritage
- ^ Preliminary report on the Eighth Census 1860 by United States Census Bureau (Washington DC: 1862), page 222 [1]
- ^ Georgia's Railroads and Heritage
