Now here's how they got stuff done in the old days. Thirteen months from beginning to end, including buying the land, surveys and actual construction, and battling through a court injunction and an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
From Robert H. Hanson's fantastic
The West Point Route:
At the annual meeting of the stockholders on September
13, 1898, a majority of the A&WP shareholders voted to
build a branch line from Oakland City (southwest Atlanta)
to Hulsey, site of the Georgia Railroad freight yards, a
distance of approximately six miles. The company promptly
secured an amendment to its charter to permit it to do so, and
spent $39,455.64 on land, surveys and - apparently - some
construction.
On December 9, 1898, the Superior Court of the City
of Atlanta issued a temporary restraining order stopping
all work on the belt line, as the Hulsey branch was known,
pending a hearing on the legality of the matter. This was
done at the behest of several minority stockholders, Julius M.
Alexander and the Central of Georgia Railway among them.
These shareholders maintained that, without a unanimous
vote in favor of the project, it was illegal for the company to
pursue the project.
The hearing was held on January 25, 1899, and a decision
adverse to the company was rendered on March 9th. The
decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia,
the case being argued on May 26-27, 1899. The Georgia
Supreme Court upheld the decision on July 20, 1899.
Not to be outdone, a group of Atlanta businessmen, led
by A&WP President George C. Smith, obtained a charter
for the Atlanta Belt Line Railroad Company on October 17,
1899, and proceeded to complete the project. These investors
had apparently purchased the completed work from the
A&WP and contracted with the company to continue with
the work on their behalf, as the project was completed three
days following the granting of the charter by the State of
Georgia.
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