Chattanooga, Rome & Columbus Railroad The company that constructed the railroad between its three namesake cities began in 1881 as the Rome and Carrollton Railroad. The name was changed to Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad in 1887. Construction began that same year. No tracks had been built by the Rome and Carrollton. The first section, a 20-mile stretch between Rome and Cedartown, had been constructed as a narrow-gauge railroad. It was torn up and rebuilt at a gauge of 4ft.-9in. to match that of the longer line of which it was to be a part. On July 1st, 1888, the 140-mile line from Chattanooga to Carrollton formally opened. By 1890 the railroad also had 18 miles of branch lines to area iron ore mines and furnaces. The owners planned to build the line as far as Columbus, some 230 miles from Chattanooga. The line was bought by the Savannah and Western Railroad, a subsidiary of the Central of Georgia, in 1891. Soon after the purchase, the S&W and its parent Central of Georgia went into receivership. In early 1894 the federal courts separated the CR&C from the Savannah and Western and returned it to its original owners. Three years later, the line was once again in financial trouble. It was sold to Simon Borg and Company and was reorganized as the Chattanooga, Rome and Southern Railway. In 1900 the CR&S purchased the Chattanooga and Durham Railroad, a 17-mile road that ran west from Chickamauga to coal mines atop Lookout Mountain. On May 16, 1901, the Central regained its connection to Chattanooga by purchasing the CR&S. Abandonments: Chambers (south of Silver Creek) to a junction south of Relay (6 miles) was abandoned in 1981. The line ran from Silver Creek through Reeseburg and Relay to a point near Lake Creek. Apparently the Central constructed a cut-off of its line so that it would intersect the Southern near Seney instead of near Silver Creek. 1893 map (184K) 1895 timetable (96K)   Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. Copyright, Steve Storey. Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home