[1] The Alabama end of the line began at Pell City, where it connected with what became the Southern Railway 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in, and the narrow gauge Talladega and Cousa Valley Railroad.
Just over it, the E&W passed through Esom Hill, then Cedartown, where it connected with the Rome and Carrollton Railroad.
From Cedartown, the route included Rockmart and Taylorsville before terminating at Cartersville and a connection with the Western and Atlantic Railroad.
The line that would become the East and West Railroad of Alabama actually began at the Georgia end, with the Cartersville and Van Wert Railroad, chartered in 1868 to build a 5 ft (1,524 mm) broad gauge route from Cartersville to Prior, near the Alabama state line.
Under the railroad's new name, more track was laid and it eventually reached Rockmart, Georgia before being sold to Cherokee Iron Company in 1879.