Roswell Railroad

The Roswell Railroad was chartered on April 10, 1863, but it wasn’t until Sept. 1, 1881, that the railroad began operations. The line operated from Roswell Junction, where it connected with the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway (in modern-day Chamblee), and the Chattahoochee River (near Roberts Drive in present-day Sandy Springs). In 1902, the 2.7-mile-long Bull Sluice Railroad branched off near Dunwoody to help the Georgia Railway and Power Company build its hydroelectric Morgan Falls Dam. The railroad initially built the line to a narrow, three-foot gauge; it was broadened to standard gauge circa 1903. The railroad likely operated a combination passenger coach and baggage car, two boxcars and four flat cars. Ike Roberts served as the railroad’s only engineer. The federal government operated the railroad between Jan. 1, 1918, and March 1, 1920, and afterward, the railroad determined it was no longer a viable line; it ceased operations in 1921.