Western and Atlantic Railroad Company

In 1836, the Georgia State Legislature approved bonds to finance the creation of a rail line to open Georgia to the trade of the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys. Initially called the State Road, the line began in an area of north Georgia that would become Atlanta, and ran 137 miles to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Competed in 1851, it was the first publicly financed railroad in the United States. It was operated by the State of Georgia until 1870, when the Georgia legislature leased the railroad to Western and Atlantic Railroad Company, which had been formed by ex-Governor Joseph E. Brown. The company leased the line until 1890. Subsequent lessees include Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway (1890-1957); Louisville and Nashville Railroad (1957-1983); and Seaboard System Railroad (later named CSX Transportation) which holds the lease at present (2008).