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.
[9] The Georgia & Alabama railroad began operation on June 1, 1989 under the Thoroughbred Shortline Program between Smithville and White Oak.
[10] Freight included peanuts, aggregates, pulpwood, and cement, which generated approximately 3,300 annual carloads for the line in 1995.
Interchange was made with Norfolk Southern at Smithville, CSX Transportation at Dawson until 1990, and fellow RailTex subsidiary Georgia Southwestern at Cuthbert.