The Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway was a Southeastern railroad that began after Reconstruction and operated up until the start of the 20th century.

The Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway was founded in 1886 with the goal of building a line from Monroe, North Carolina

Monroe, North Carolina

Monroe is a city in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 36,397 as of the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of Union County and is also part of the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC Metropolitan area.-Geography:...

, to Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. Construction on the line began in 1887 in North Carolina.

By 1892 the railroad had almost completed its original plan when a court injunction halted its progress into Atlanta. As a result, the GC&N developed the Seaboard Air Line Belt Railroad. The Seaboard Air Line Belt Railroad ran about 8 miles (12.9 km) from Belt Junction, Georgia, (near Emory University

Emory University

Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...

), west to the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia...

 for which the Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway had trackage rights into Atlanta. In 1898 the railroad acquired the Loganville and Lawrenceville Railroad

Loganville and Lawrenceville Railroad

The Loganville and Lawrenceville Railroad was founded in 1898 and operated a line between Loganville and Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. It was owned by the Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway which was incorporated into the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1901. The L&L was completely abandoned in...

.

In 1901 the GC&N was formally merged into the Seaboard Air Line Railway.