Georgia and Alabama Railroad

The original Georgia and Alabama Railroad was based in Rome, GA, incorporated in 1853, and started initial rail construction in 1857.^[1] In August 1866, the G&A officially consolidated with the Dalton and Jacksonville Railroad and the Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad Company with the intent to create a consolidated rail system from Selma, AL to Dalton, GA.^[2] The consolidated corporation was to do business under the name of the latter, but it officially took the name Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad Company in December of that same year.^[3] Still, in some cases, business continued under the name of Georgia and Alabama Railroad. For instance, in May 1868, a contract was executed to the Georgia and Alabama Railroad, leasing 100 African American convicts in the state of Georgia to work for the railroad company without pay.^[4]

The Georgia and Alabama Railroad is not to be confused with the Georgia and Alabama Railway, which was a different entity entirely, formed in 1895 and based in Savannah. However, due to the similarity in their names, the G&A Railway was often referred to as the G&A Railroad^[5] until it became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway ca. 1900.^[6]

In 1989, the next iteration of the Georgia and Alabama Railroad (reporting mark GAAB) was formed as a shortline railroad operating between Smithville, Georgia and White Oak, Alabama, 79 miles (127 km). RailTex consolidated its holdings in the area into the Georgia Southwestern in 1995, and the Georgia & Alabama ceased to operate under that name.^[7] The rail system, however, is still in use by the Georgia Southwestern Railroad.