CHICKAMAUGA AND DURHAM RAILROAD, 1892
Originally chartered in 1889 as the Chattanooga and Gulf Railroad, the Chickamauga and Durham Railroad (C&D) had the mission of bringing coal from the Durham Mines atop Lookout Mountain to be turned into coke in the Chickamauga Ovens in Chickamauga, Georgia. Until 1936, it also provided passenger service. It began operating in 1892 with two locomotives. The owner of the railroad, James English, also owned the Durham Coal and Coke Company. After a foreclosure in 1894, it reorganized as the Chattanooga and Durham Railroad. It was sold to the Chattanooga, Rome, and Southern Railroad (CR&S) in 1900, and CR&S was in turn bought the next year by Central of Georgia Railroad (COG), which operated this line until 1951.
English built his railroad and operated his mines with convict slave labor under the same system in Georgia which Tennessee used.
Although not a Chattanooga railroad strictly speaking, it was first chartered with Chattanooga in its name and operated for six years with the city’s name as part of its title. Its later connections to both CR&S and COG gave it direct connections to the city also.
The stations on the Chickamauga and Durham Railroad and its successors were as follows.
Chickamauga
The headquarters for the railroad. It was also the junction with the CR&C and its successors.
For more information, see the entry for this station in the section on the Chattanooga, Rome, and Columbus Railroad (CR&C), the predecessor of the CR&S.
Wallaceville
This station two-and-a-third miles out stood in a community that has been incorporated into the city of Chickamauga.
The post office of Wallaceville operated from 1892 to 1904.
Harp Switch
This station three miles out from Chickamauga primarily serviced a side-track here. It most likely would have been at the Harp Switch Road crossing of the railway, but since the tracks have been taken up is now impossible to locate more accurately.
Durham Junction
This station stood at the junction of this railroad with the CS, in the later community of Cenchat.
For more information see the entry for Cenchat under the Chattanooga Southern Railway.
Eagle Cliff
Although this station bore the same name as a station on the CS line, this one a little over four miles from Durham Junction probably stood at the base of the actual cliff.
Lula Lake
A notable attraction of Lookout Mountain and once the intended terminus of the Lookout Incline and Lula Lake Railway. Clearly this railroad carried passengers who were tourists and pleasure seekers as well as employees of the mines.
Massey’s Station
This station stood two miles south of Lula Lake in what is now the Hinkle community.
The post office of Hinkle operated here from 1914 until 1930.
Gary’s Camp
This station a little over a mile further south could have either been a work camp or a resort; today it is the community of Vulcan.
Durham
This station was the end-of-the-road at the Durham Coal Mines and its company town, which was actually called Pittsburg. According to John Wilson, besides the mines and homes for employees, it had a commissary, a school, a ball field, and a post office. None of that exists now, and the land belongs to the Lula Lake Land Trust.
The post office of Pittsburg operated here from 1900 until 1946.
Chuck Hamilton
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