A new book highlights the largely unknown history of the Indiana, Alabama & Texas Railroad.
“A Brief History of the Indiana, Alabama & Texas Railroad,” published by The DeFeo Groupe, an Atlanta-based content creation firm and publisher of Railfanning.org, focuses on the development and operation of the railroad, including the decade before the railroad formally formed. The book will be available starting in August.
The Indiana, Alabama & Texas Railroad emerged from a proposal to build a line between Mobile, Alabama, and Evansville, Indiana. Despite its grand plans, the railroad completed only about 30 miles of narrow-gauge track from Clarksville, Tennessee, toward Princeton, Kentucky.
The Louisville & Nashville Railroad purchased the railroad in 1886 and converted the line to standard gauge. The Louisville & Nashville abandoned the route, later known as the Clarksville & Princeton Branch, relegating it to the history books.
Clarksville, Tennessee, has a fascinating railroad history. The push for a railroad in the community dates to the 1830s, but it wasn’t until 1852 that Tennessee chartered the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad.
For more information, visit railfanning.org.
