Conecuh Valley Railroad

Conecuh Valley Railroad
Reporting mark	COEH
Locale	Southeast Alabama
Dates of operation	2001–
Predecessor	Southern Alabama Railroad
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length	15.04 miles (24.20 km)
Headquarters	Troy, Alabama

The Conecuh Valley Railroad (reporting mark COEH) connects with the CSX at Troy, Alabama, and travels 15.04 miles (24.20 km) to Goshen, Alabama. This short line railroad was created after 2001 from the former Southern Alabama Railroad and is currently owned and operated by Gulf and Ohio Railways.^[1]

Commodities include poultry feed, plastics, vegetable oil, assorted food products, and railcar storage, generating approximately 3,000 annual carloads.^[1]

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

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]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Conecuh Valley Railroad". 7 May 2009. http://www.gulfandohio.com/railroads_alabama_coeh.htm. Retrieved 8 September 2010. 
2. ^ "RailAmerica to Acquire Gulf and Ohio's Three Alabama Short Lines". Progressive Railroading. 11 April 2011. http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article/RailAmerica-to-acquire-Gulf-and-Ohios-three-Alabama-short-lines--26280. 
3. ^ Lewis, Edward A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide (5 ed.). Kalmbach Publishing Company. pp. 292. ISBN 0-89024-290-9. 
4. ^ "STB Finance Docket No. 34106". 14 November 2001. http://www.stb.dot.gov/Decisions/readingroom.nsf/8fd5532a0c425c5c8525740f005f36d4/d4cda61436b8f54885256afd006303ff?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,Yadkin. Retrieved 8 September 2010. 
5. ^ "Troy-Goshen Railroad Line to be Rebuilt". 2 October 2002. http://www.cofg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=185&Itemid=43. Retrieved 8 September 2010.