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Marietta & North Georgia Railroad

A Short History of the Prototype

The idea of a railroad from Atlanta to north-central Georgia dated back to the Ellijay Railroad of 1854, but no finances were available until the Narrow Gauge era. The Marietta & North Georgia line was originally projected to develop marble quarries in north Georgia and the iron pits at Murphy, N.C.

 

Under the leadership of William Phillips, the line began laying track from the Western & Atlantic at Marietta and reached Canton on May 1, 1879. The state of Georgia assisted the project by providing gangs of convict labor, and the line reached Ellijay in 1884 and Murphy, N.C. at the end of 1886.

 

All during this period the company encountered financial and legal problems, especially from disgruntled shareholders. By the time the line reached Murphy, it had come under new management and the focus of the line changed. Expanding the line to incorporate an Atlanta to Knoxville route took center stage, and building started south from Knoxville by the lines' subsidiary, the Knoxville Southern, at the beginning of 1889.

 

The line north from Marietta was at the same time being converted to standard gauge by means of laying a third rail, and the conversion was completed to Tate at the end of 1889. The conversion reached Blue Ridge in mid-May 1890, and the Knoxville Southern line reached Blue Ridge on August 1, 1890, completing the line.

 

The rest of the depressed 1890's saw many changes of ownership and finally the L&N took over the line in 1902.

 

The line earned the colorful nickname of the "Hook & Eye" in 1898, with the completion of the Hiawassee loop, which was built to replace a switchback. The loop provided the "Eye" and a sharp curve at Tate provided the "Hook".

 

Much of the original route still exists; however, the Blue Ridge to Murphy portion was abandoned in the late 1980's.

 

A summary of the Prototype history as found in American Narrow Gauge Railroads by George W. Hilton