| Railroad Name: | East and West Railroad of Alabama |
| Locale: | Alabama, Georgia |
| Old Gauge: | and prior to that |
The East and West Railroad of Alabama was a railroad in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The railroad started out with narrow gauge track, but it was eventually converted to track.[1]
The Alabama end of the line began at Pell City, where it connected with what became the Southern Railway, and the narrow gauge Talladega and Cousa Valley Railroad. The line then passed through Broken Arrow, Alabama (which was officially renamed to Coal City around 1883 and then to Wattsville in 1929),[2] and headed east-northeast toward the Georgia state line. 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 broad gauge route from Cartersville to Prior, near the Alabama state line. The entire 45miles route was graded and of track was laid to Taylorsville, Georgia before being reorganized as the Cherokee Railroad in 1870. 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. During this same period, the track was converted from broad gauge to .