Alabama and Florida Railroad (1853–1869)

The Alabama and Florida Railroad was a rail line connecting Pensacola, Florida with Montgomery, Alabama during the late 1850s and early 1860s.

Citizens of Pensacola, led by William Chase, a captain in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, developed a plan to construct a railroad from Pensacola to the interior of Alabama in the early 1830s. The Florida, Alabama and Georgia Rail Road was chartered by the Florida Territory in February, 1834 to build a railroad from Pensacola to the border with Alabama. In December, 1834, Alabama chartered the Alabama, Florida and Georgia Rail Road to connect the Florida railroad with Columbus, Georgia. The next year, Florida rescinded the charter for the Florida, Alabama and Georgia Rail Road, and accepted the Alabama chartered Alabama, Florida and Georgia Rail Road as the operator of the proposed line from Pensacola to Columbus, with William Chase as president of the company. Funds were raised with the sale of stock and of bonds issued by the Bank of Pensacola and guaranteed by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, and a roadbed was graded and trestles built from Pensacola to the Escambia River. Strap rail and freight and passenger cars were ordered. The Bank of Pensacola closed during the Panic of 1837. The railroad company managed to obtain some further loans, and sold off much of the equipment it purchased earlier to raise funds. To shorten to length of the railroad, and reduce construction costs, the plan was changed to connect to Montgomery rather than Columbus, but work on the railroad ended in 1838. The Bank of Pensacola failed to pay the interest on the bonds due in 1840, and the Territorial Council repudiated its backing of the bonds.[1]

The project for a rail link between Pensacola and Montgomery was revived in the early 1850s. Alabama chartered the Alabama and Florida Railroad (of Alabama) to build a railroad between what became known as Pollard, Alabama (just north of the Alabama-Florida state line) and Montgomery, with Charles T. Pollard as president. In 1853, Florida chartered its own Alabama and Florida Railroad (of Florida), with William Chase as president, to build a railroad from Pensacola to Pollard. Construction on the Florida portion of the line began in Pensacola in 1856, and reached Pollard in 1861. The Alabama portion of the railroad reached Montgomery in May 1861, and through passenger service (a ten-hour trip) was instituted betweem Montgomery and Pensacola.[2][3]

The Alabama and Florida Railroad suffered severe damage during the Civil War, with much of the rail removed and most of its facilities and equipment destroyed. In 1869 the Pensacola and Louisville Railroad Company was chartered to replace the Alabama and Florida Railroad. The new company completely rebuilt the line. The rail line was later taken over by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.[4]

Citations
  1. Turner 2008, pp. 43–49.
  2. Turner 2008, pp. 85–87.
  3. Kaetz, James P. (September 14, 2016). "Pollard". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  4. Pettengill, George W.; Simmons, B. F. (1952). "The Story of the Florida Railroads 1834 - 1903". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin (86): 115. ISSN 0033-8842. JSTOR 43517668.

References
  • Turner, Gregg M. (2008). A Journey into Florida Railroad History. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-4149-0.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.