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Conecuh Valley Railroad

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Conecuh Valley Railway, L.L.C.
Overview
HeadquartersTroy, Alabama
Reporting markCOEH
LocaleSoutheast Alabama
Dates of operation2001–
PredecessorSouthern Alabama Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length15.04 miles (24.20 km)
Route map
Conecuh Valley Railroad
CSXT
Troy
U.S. Route 231
Goshen

The Conecuh Valley Railway, L.L.C. (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 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.[1]

History

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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

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Model Road number
EMD SW1500 52
2241
2242
EMD SW1504 1544
EMD GP30 2561
3069
EMD GP38 3615
3616
EMD SW9 7013
EMD GP18 9424
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References

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  1. ^ a b "Genesee & Wyoming - Our History". Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  2. ^ "RailAmerica to Acquire Gulf and Ohio's Three Alabama Short Lines". Progressive Railroading. 11 April 2011.
  3. ^ Lewis, Edward A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide (5 ed.). Kalmbach Publishing Company. p. 292. ISBN 0-89024-290-9.
  4. ^ "STB Finance Docket No. 34106". 14 November 2001. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Troy-Goshen Railroad Line to be Rebuilt". 2 October 2002. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2010.