Old Railroad Bed

Old Railroad Bed (HMQ8I)

Location: Sheffield, AL 35660 Colbert County
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Country: United States of America
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N 34° 46.764', W 87° 40.032'

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Inscription
Side A
Ashe Boulevard was built on the early railroad bed which connected Florence and Southport to the main railroad line in Tuscumbia. Trains first traveled along the railroad bed and across the Tennessee River in 1858 after the Memphis and Charleston Railroads replaced the old Florence Bridge with a double-decked bridge. The upper deck was used for trains to transport passengers and freight. The lower deck was open to the public as a toll road. Large warehouses once lined both sides of the railroad bed to accommodate a busy cotton trade. In 1864, over 29,000 Confederate troops camped and assembled around this site before crossing the Tennessee River, prior to the Battle of Franklin in Middle Tennessee.
(Continued on the other side)

Side B
(Continued from the other side)
In 1904, the Sheffield Development Company replaced local passenger train service with streetcars which utilized the railroad tracks until 1933. The railroad was abandoned in 1988 by the Norfolk-Southern Railroad Company and was donated in 1993 to the Old Railroad Bridge Company with the adjoining right-of-way. In 1995, this property, minus the bridge, was given to the City of Sheffield. The railroad bed was paved by the city in 1999 and named Ashe Boulevard in memory of Laughlin Ashe, Mayor of Sheffield from 1992 until his death in 1995.

Details
HM NumberHMQ8I
Tags
Year Placed2010
Placed BySponsored by the Old Railroad Bridge Company and Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation Alabama Historical Association
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, October 11th, 2014 at 4:26am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 438953 N 3848782
Decimal Degrees34.77940000, -87.66720000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 34° 46.764', W 87° 40.032'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds34° 46' 45.84" N, 87° 40' 1.92" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)256
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1223 TVA Nature Loop, Sheffield AL 35660, US
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