Conecuh Valley Railroad Explained

Railroad Name:Conecuh Valley Railway, L.L.C.
Marks:COEH
Logo Filename:Conecuh Valley Railroad logo.png
Locale:Southeast Alabama
Start Year:2001
Predecessor Line:Southern Alabama Railroad
Gauge:4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length:15.04miles
Hq City:Troy, Alabama

The Conecuh Valley Railway, L.L.C. connects with the CSX at Troy, Alabama, and travels 15.04miles to Goshen, Alabama. This short line railroad was created after 2001 from the former Southern Alabama Railroad and is currently owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming.[1]

Commodities include poultry feed, plastics, vegetable oil, assorted food products, and railcar storage, generating approximately 3,000 annual carloads.

In April 2011, the Conecuh Valley Railway was named as one of the three railroads to be purchased by RailAmerica from Gulf and Ohio for $12.7 million.[2] In 2012, RailAmerica was purchased by Genesee and Wyoming.

History

Originally constructed by the Mobile and Girard Railroad (later Central of Georgia) from Columbus to Searight between 1870 - 1891, the line eventually connected with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at Andalusia, Alabama. The Central of Georgia became part of the Southern Railway in 1963, and the Southern Railway became part of the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1990.

The remainder of the original Mobile and Girard railroad was sold by the Southern Railway to the Southern Alabama Railroad on October 31, 1988, and was under the control of the Abernathy Group.[3] The line was later sold by the Southern Alabama Railroad to Conecuh Valley Railroad (Gulf & Ohio Railways) on October 22, 2001.[4]

The previous owner, the Southern Alabama Railroad, allowed the line outside of Troy to Goshen to deteriorate to the point that the line was no longer usable. In 2002 it was rehabilitated with funds obtained from the USDA as well as the state in order to restore service to peanut producers in Goshen.[5]

Locomotives

ModelRoad number
EMD SW150052
2241
2242
EMD SW15041544
EMD GP302561
3069
EMD GP383615
3616
EMD SW97013
EMD GP189424

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Genesee & Wyoming - Our History . 22 December 2014 . 4 July 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100704164405/http://www.gwrr.com/about_us/our_history.be . dead .
  2. Web site: RailAmerica to Acquire Gulf and Ohio's Three Alabama Short Lines. Progressive Railroading. 11 April 2011.
  3. Book: Lewis, Edward A. . American Shortline Railway Guide . 5 . 1996 . Kalmbach Publishing Company . 0-89024-290-9 . 292 .
  4. Web site: STB Finance Docket No. 34106 . 14 November 2001 . 8 September 2010.
  5. Web site: Troy-Goshen Railroad Line to be Rebuilt . 2 October 2002 . 8 September 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716065116/http://www.cofg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=185&Itemid=43 . 16 July 2011 . dead .