Southwestern Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Southwestern Railroad started a spur line from Sparta, Tennessee
to McMinnville, Tennessee
to connect with the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad.
The Southwestern Railroad Company was chartered in 1951–52 to build a railroad from Danville, Kentucky
to McMinnville in less than ten years. The company received several extensions to complete the road during and after the American Civil War
.
Former Confederate
general George Gibbs Dibrell
served as president. The company went bankrupt in 1871 having constructed only a small part of the road from McMinnville to Sparta.
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway (NC&StL)
purchased the assets. In 1884, NC&StL finished the 26 miles (41.8 km) segment to Sparta to reach the coal mines at Bon Air, Tennessee.
The track is operated today by the Caney Fork & Western Railroad (CFWR)
.
Sparta, Tennessee
Sparta is a city in White County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,599 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of White County. It was the hometown of Lester Flatt of the bluegrass music legends Flatt and Scruggs.-Geography:...
to McMinnville, Tennessee
McMinnville, Tennessee
McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,605 at the 2010 census...
to connect with the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad.
The Southwestern Railroad Company was chartered in 1951–52 to build a railroad from Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
to McMinnville in less than ten years. The company received several extensions to complete the road during and after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Former Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
general George Gibbs Dibrell
George Gibbs Dibrell
George Gibbs Dibrell was an American lawyer and a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives from the 3rd Congressional District of Tennessee. He also served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and as a railroad executive.-Biography:Dibrell...
served as president. The company went bankrupt in 1871 having constructed only a small part of the road from McMinnville to Sparta.
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway (NC&StL)
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...
purchased the assets. In 1884, NC&StL finished the 26 miles (41.8 km) segment to Sparta to reach the coal mines at Bon Air, Tennessee.
The track is operated today by the Caney Fork & Western Railroad (CFWR)
Caney Fork and Western Railroad
The Caney Fork and Western Railroad is a shortline railroad operating since 1983 from a connection with CSX Transportation at Tullahoma to McMinnville, Tennessee, . Currently the railroad is a subsidiary of Ironhorse Resources....
.