Atlantic and Western Railway

Overview
Headquarters	Jacksonville, Florida
Reporting mark	ATW
Locale	North Carolina
Dates of operation	1896–present
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Atlantic and Western Railway (reporting mark ATW) is a Class III short-line railroad operating about 10 miles (16 km) of track in Lee County, North Carolina. Atlantic and Western is part of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and formerly part of Rail Management and Consulting. It was reorganized in 1927 from the Atlantic and Western Railroad.

Originally the A&W ran between Sanford and Lillington, 25 miles. In 1961, the line was abandoned except for 3 miles from Sanford eastward. In the 1970s, the ATW's fleet of modernized 40-foot boxcars in food lading service were some of the last 40' boxcars in revenue service in the United States. In 2001 the A&W began operating between Sanford and Cumnock over a line that was originally a segment of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway and subsequently Southern Railway and Norfolk Southern. In 2011, Norfolk Southern granted the A&W additional rights to serve customers between Cumnock and Brickhaven over the original Norfolk Southern Railway.

• Sanford, North Carolina
  • CSX Transportation (CSXT)
  • Norfolk Southern (NS)

• Robl, Ernest H. (March 1978). "Distance Isn't Everything". Rail Classics. Vol. 7, no. 2. pp. 58–67. ISSN 0194-9187.

• Atlantic and Western Railway (Genesee & Wyoming website)
• Railway Association of North Carolina - ATW
• American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association: ATW
• Abandonment History
• Rail Map of North Carolina
• Records of the City of Sanford