Marietta & North Georgia Railroad The Ellijay Railroad, incorporated in 1854, was the first attempt to build a rail line from Marietta to the north Georgia mountains. It was followed by the Marietta, Canton & Ellijay Railroad and the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad. Construction finally started in 1874, and the line from Marietta to Canton was completed in May 1879. It was extended to Marble Cliff in 1883, to Ellijay in 1884, and to Murphy, North Carolina in 1887. In 1887 the company was consolidated with the Georgia and North Carolina Railroad and renamed the Marietta and North Georgia Railway. Originally built as narrow gauge (3’-0”), the line was converted to standard gauge in 1889-90 (except for the Blue Ridge-Murphy branch which was not changed over until late in 1897). On August 9, 1890, the line became part of a through route from Atlanta to Knoxville when the Knoxville Southern Railroad, a subsidiary, completed tracks from Tennessee to Blue Ridge. (A notable feature of the Knoxville extension was the Hiwassee Loop near Farner, Tennessee, 32 miles north of Blue Ridge.) In early 1891 the railroad entered receivership, but it wasn’t until 1896 that it was sold. The Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway, chartered in June of 1896, became the successor to the Marietta and North Georgia. Six years later, in 1902, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad acquired the line. After the L&N was incorporated into CSX, some sections of the line in north Georgia were semi-abandoned while the southern end was sold to a shortline operator, the Georgia Northeastern Railroad. 1883 map (66K) 1894 timetable (39K)   Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. Copyright, Steve Storey. Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home