The Macon and Western Railroad was an American

railway company A rail transport company is a company active within the rail industry. It can be: * a manufacturing company, * a rail transport operations, railway undertaking providing services through operating rolling stock, * a railway infrastructure manager ...

that operated in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in the middle of the 19th century. Originally chartered as the Monroe Railroad and Banking Company in December 1833, it was not until 1838 that it opened for business with a

gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

line from

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

Northwest to Forsyth. It was extended to

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

in 1842. An economic depression halted building, but when the railroad started building again, it managed only another towards

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

for a total of before falling into bankruptcy. It was bought in foreclosure and the name was changed to the Macon and Western Railroad in 1845. This new railroad completed the line into

in 1846 by adding 21 more miles () for a grand total of .''Preliminary report on the Eighth Census 1860'' by United States Census Bureau (Washington DC: 1862), page 22

/ref> Portions of this railroad were destroyed during Sherman's March to the Sea. After the Civil War, this railroad was purchased by the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia in 1872. The stops available to riders in 1867 were:

Distances of depots from Atlanta

Trains departed from Atlanta at 7:15AM and 8:15PM and arrived there at 2:00PM and 4:35PM.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macon and Western Railroad 5 ft gauge railways in the United States Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Predecessors of the Central of Georgia Railway Railway companies established in 1845 Railway companies disestablished in 1872 Railway lines in Atlanta American companies established in 1845 American companies disestablished in 1872