John C. CarterAlabama railroadsMon Oct 23 15:53:12 2000 The railroad between Montgomery and Selma was not completed during the war mainly because they could not bridge the Tombigbee River to the west. There were alternate lines (a little out of the way), including the Alabama & Mississippi R.R. which was founded in 1850 with a line completed between Selma and York, Alabama in 1864. Some of this can be found in the Alabama Department of Archives & History.Additionally Alabama railroads (like their counterparts in other southern states) were discouraged from creating inter-state links via the railroads before the war. It was feared by many of the planters and their factors that opening up such commerical lines would threaten the established ports (like Mobile and Charleston)and the southern economic system. They did not want to make the cotton directly available to northern or western cities. Hope this helps,JohnSelma RR circa 1888 — Beverly Jones Saunders, Sun Oct 29 00:02 Mobile and Birmingham Railroad — Hayes Lowe, Thu Nov 2 16:55 Selma RR — Beverly Jones Saunders, Thu Nov 2 17:21 Railroad — Hayes Lowe, Thu Nov 9 14:23 Southern trunk line — Bob Redman, Tue Oct 24 06:04 Alabama Railroads — John Carter, Thu Oct 26 15:22