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, during the 1880s.
In 1886, the Louisville & Nashville purchased the Indiana, Alabama & Texas and took possession or the road by the end of 1887. The Louisville & Nashville rebuilt a portion of the Indiana, Alabama & Texas because it “had virtually no terminal facilities at Clarksville,” according to an 1887 Louisville & Nashville report.
After acquiring the road, the Louisville & Nashville built new facilites and converted the line its standard gauge of four feet, nine inches. The road was later known as the Clarksville & Princeton Branch. The Louisville & Nashville abandoned the route following the May 13, 1933, run of a mixed train.
Railroad Officials
| March 1882 | New directors were elected: F.W. Darby, W.L. Edmunds, Eugene C. Gordon, Walter S. Gordon, A. Howell, D.N. Kennedy, H.C. Merritt, C.G. Smith, G.B. Wilson, W.B. Wood and W.J. Wood. Eugene C. Gordon was named president, while W.B. Wood was named vice president, W.S. Gordon installed as treasurer and H.C. Merritt named the company’s secretary. |
| August 1886 | Following the purchase by the Louisville & Nashville, a new company formed with F.P. Gracey as president, T. Herndon as vice president, Gracey Childers as secretary and treasurer and T.D. Luckett and J.T. Edwards as directors |
Locomotive Roster
The Indiana, Alabama & Texas locomotive roster is not entirely clear. The railroad apparently purchased at least a pair of locomotives, possibly second-hand, from Pittsburgh Locomotive Works.
| Pittsburgh Locomotive Works | 4-4-0 | December 1878 | Possibly owned by the Pittsburgh & Western and the Painesville & Youngstown railroads before the Indiana, Alabama & Texas acquired it. |
| Pittsburgh Locomotive Works | 4-4-0 | 1880 | Possibly owned by Montgomery Iron works before the Indiana, Alabama & Texas acquired it. |