Bridge Piers, Tallulah Falls RR (Tallulah Falls, GA)

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These abandoned bridge piers mark where the Tallulah Falls Railroad crossed Tallulah Gorge via a 500 foot long concrete and steel bridge. Traces of the roadbed can still be seen north and south of the approaches to this point.

Various schemes for building a RR through this area of northern Georgia had been floated around since prior to the Civil War. A line from Cornelia to Clayton was finally completed in 1904, named the Tallulah Falls Railroad. The line was extended to Franklin, NC by 1907.

In its early years, much of the revenue on the TF was generated by tourist traffic to view the nearby Tallulah Gorge and as yet unimpeded Tallulah Falls. When the falls were dammed by Georgia Power in 1913, tourist traffic dropped dramatically and the line was forced to rely on freight revenue alone. Much of the freight revenue was generated from hauling construction materials for the highway which ultimately put the line out of business. Last passenger operation was in 1946. Final operations of any sort on the line were in 1961.

For a line only 57 miles long, the TF boasted an impressive 42 trestles. This includes one that measured over 900 feet while crossing over the rooftops of the town of Tallulah Falls. In 1955 The Walt Disney Studios shot many scenes of the film “The Great Locomotive Chase” on the TF. Locals often joked that the reporting marks of TF stood for “Total Failure.”