Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad
| Company type | Railroad company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road Company, Georgia and Alabama Rail Road Company, Dalton and Jacksonville Railroad Company |
| Founded | August 6, 1866 |
| Fate | Foreclosure and acquisition by East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company |
| Headquarters | United States |
Key people | Joseph E. Johnston (president, Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road Company, 1866–1867) |
| Products | Rail transport services |
Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad Company was established on August 6, 1866, through the merger of the Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road Company (chartered in 1848), Georgia and Alabama Rail Road Company (chartered in 1854), and Dalton and Jacksonville Railroad Company (chartered in 1854). This consolidation received official approval from the Georgia General Assembly in December 1866 and from the Alabama Legislature in February 1867.
Joseph E. Johnston, a former Confederate general, held the position of president at the Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road Company from May 1866 until November 1867.
By 1862, the Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad had completed 135 miles of track connecting Selma to Blue Mountain, Alabama, which included a 22.5-mile extension heading toward Dalton, Georgia. Between May and August 1866, A. D. Breed leased the railroad to restore its operations and to continue work on the extension.
In 1870, the Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad undertook construction or reconstruction of 100.3 miles of railway between Blue Mountain and Dalton. This effort to rehabilitate and expand the line after the Civil War was largely funded by consolidated first- and second-mortgage bonds carrying a seven percent interest rate.
The segment of the railroad located in Georgia was sold through foreclosure in November 1874 and transferred to the Georgia Southern Railroad Company by March 1876. Subsequently, this company was acquired by the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company in November 1880. The Alabama section faced foreclosure in June 1880 and was also acquired by East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company early in 1881.
Entering receivership in January 1885, East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad was sold at foreclosure in May 1886 and reorganized as East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company by June of that year.
Eventually, on July 7, 1894, Southern Railway Company absorbed the property following its purchase of East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company.
See also
- Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad
- Confederate railroads in the American Civil War
- East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad
References
- Southern Ry. Co., Volume 37, Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation Reports, November 6, 1931. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1932.
- Symonds, Craig L. Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992. .
- Defunct Alabama railroads
- Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads
- Predecessors of the Southern Railway (U.S.)
- Joseph E. Johnston
- Railway companies established in 1866
- Railway companies disestablished in 1881
- 5 ft gauge railways in the United States
- 1866 establishments in Alabama
- American companies established in 1868