The railroad never paid dividends to its stockholders and it was later sold before construction could reach Clayton.
The Cornelia-Tallulah Falls line was purchased in 1887 by the newly chartered Blue Ridge and Atlantic Railroad, also doomed to fail.
While in the hands of the Tallulah Falls Railway, these tracks were extended all the way to Franklin, North Carolina, before they were abandoned; they are no longer in operation.
The Athens-Lula line was consolidated into the Southern Railway Company in 1899.
[1] These tracks are now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway.