Western and Atlantic Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia' (W&A) is a historic railroad that operated in the southeastern United States
from Atlanta
, Georgia
to Chattanooga
, Tennessee
.
It was founded on December 21, 1836 as the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia. The city of Atlanta was founded as the terminus of the W&A. The line is still owned by the State of Georgia
from Atlanta to CT Tower in Chattanooga, and is leased by CSX Transportation
.
This line is famous because of the Andrews Raid (commonly referred to as the Great Locomotive Chase), which took place on the W&A during the American Civil War
on the morning of April 12, 1862.
voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia to provide a link between the port of Savannah
and the Midwest
. The initial route was to run from Chattanooga to a spot called simply "Terminus," located east of the Chattahoochee River, which would eventually be linked to the Georgia Railroad from Augusta and the Macon and Western Railroad
, which ran from Macon to Savannah. An engineer was chosen to recommend the location of the terminus. Once he surveyed various possible routes, he drove a stake (the “zero milepost”) into the ground in what is now Five Points
, Atlanta. A year later, the area around the railroad terminus had developed into a settlement, and "Terminus" was incorporated as "Atlanta" in 1847.
appointed by and reporting to the governor of Georgia. On December 27 of that year, operations were transferred to the Western & Atlantic Railroad Company, a group of 23 investor
s including Georgia's wartime governor Joseph E. Brown
, who lease
d it (both tracks and rolling stock
) from the state for $25,000 per month. This expired exactly 20 years later in 1890, when the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
(NC&StL) leased it for 29 years. The railroad that was handed over to the NC&StL was in very poor condition. The locomotives that were transferred consisted only of those listed on the 1870 lease as property of the State. All of the new ten-wheel locomotives purchased by Gov. Brown's Western and Atlantic Railroad Company were sold to other railroads. While most of the passenger equipment was usable, almost all of the locomotives were condemnable and all of the freight cars were scrapped. The value of the locomotives was disputed for some twenty years. A major change in the new lease in 1890 stipulated that all improvements made to the road by the lessee would become property of the state at the termination of the lease. Included in the definition of improvements were modifications to the facilities, right of way and new equipment purchased for use over that line including but not limited to passenger cars, freight cars and locomotives. As it turned out, the NC&StL would continue to hold the lease to the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia until it was absorbed by its parent company, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad which was itself owned by the Atlantic Coast Line-one of the principal railroads in the Family Lines System and later CSX Transportation which continues to operate the line as the Western and Atlantic Subdivision. CSXT signed the current lease on the W&A from the State of Georgia in May 1986, set to expire on December 31, 2019.
After being captured by the Union in mid-1864 and until the end of the war in 1865, the line was briefly operated by the United States Military Railroad
(USMRR).
Trains departed from Atlanta at 8:50 a.m. and 7 p.m. and arrived there at 1:35 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Not much has happened in between 1867 and now, track realingments in some areas resulted in height clearances and track improvements.
of most railroads in the South were exactly five ft (1.524 m) gauge. In 1886, the change to the northern standard of was mandated on June 1, and the W&A accomplished this along all 138 miles (222 km) in less than 24 hours, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on May 31 and finishing at 10 the next morning. This was done by over 400 men, prying up one rail and moving it closer to the other by exactly three inches (76 mm), leaving a compatible gauge of 4 ft 9 in (1.448 meters). The General and many other locomotives were also regauged at this time.
General
was stopped at Big Shanty, Georgia
(now Kennesaw) so that the crew and passengers could have breakfast
. During this time, James J. Andrews
and his Union
raiders (Andrews Raiders), stole the General. The only damage the raiders did involved cutting telegraph lines and raising rails, although an attempt to burn a covered bridge
failed. The train's conductor, William A. Fuller, chased the General by foot and handcar
. At Emerson, Georgia
, Fuller commandeered the Yonah and rode it north to Kingston, Georgia
. At Kingston, conductor Fuller got the William R. Smith and headed north to Adairsville
. The tracks were broken by the raiders two miles (3 km) south of Adairsville and Fuller had to run the two miles on foot.
At Adairsville, Fuller got the locomotive Texas
and chased the General. While all of this was happening, Andrews' Raiders were cutting the telegraph wires so no transmissions could go through to Chattanooga. With the Texas chasing the General in reverse, the chase went through Dalton, Georgia
, and Tunnel Hill, Georgia
.
At milepost 116.3 (north of Ringgold, Georgia
), Andrews' Raiders abandoned the General and scattered from the locomotive just a few miles from Chattanooga. After the chase, Andrews and most of his raiders were caught. After they were found guilty, Andrews and seven members of his party were executed by hanging
.
. The Texas was retired shortly after the turn of the century, and was stored on a siding. In 1911, it was moved to Grant Park and later placed in the Atlanta Cyclorama
.
is shown working the CSX Tyner Branch on the Western and Atlantic Sub, the Tyner Branch leads to the old Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant
which now leads to the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant
.
Today, the W&A has not changed much since the chase of 1862 (except for a few track realignments by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
). The most significant changes were realignment during the creation of Lake Allatoona (removing the tracks from the original alignment through Allatoona Pass, the replacement of the Etowah River bridge and the replacement of the Chettogetta Mountain tunnel by the current tunnel in 1928. A marker indicating where the chase began is near the Big Shanty Museum in Kennesaw, Georgia. A marker for where the chase ended is at Milepost 116.3, north of Ringgold, GA, which is not far from the recently restored depot at Milepost 114.5.
A monument
dedicated to Andrew's Raiders is located at the Chattanooga National Cemetery
and it currently has the General on top of the monument and a brief history of the great locomotive chase.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
to Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
It was founded on December 21, 1836 as the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia. The city of Atlanta was founded as the terminus of the W&A. The line is still owned by the State of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
from Atlanta to CT Tower in Chattanooga, and is leased by CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
.
This line is famous because of the Andrews Raid (commonly referred to as the Great Locomotive Chase), which took place on the W&A during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
on the morning of April 12, 1862.
Establishment
In 1836, the Georgia General AssemblyGeorgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia to provide a link between the port of Savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
and the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. The initial route was to run from Chattanooga to a spot called simply "Terminus," located east of the Chattahoochee River, which would eventually be linked to the Georgia Railroad from Augusta and the Macon and Western Railroad
Macon and Western Railroad
The Macon & Western Railroad was originally chartered as the Monroe Railroad and Banking Company in December, 1833. It was not until 1838 that it opened for business with a line from Macon, Georgia to Forsyth. It was extended to Griffin in 1842...
, which ran from Macon to Savannah. An engineer was chosen to recommend the location of the terminus. Once he surveyed various possible routes, he drove a stake (the “zero milepost”) into the ground in what is now Five Points
Five Points (Atlanta)
Five Points is a district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the primary reference for the downtown area. The name refers to the convergence of Marietta Street, Edgewood Avenue, Decatur Street, and two legs of Peachtree Street Five Points is a district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the...
, Atlanta. A year later, the area around the railroad terminus had developed into a settlement, and "Terminus" was incorporated as "Atlanta" in 1847.
Leasing
Through 1870, it was called the State Road, and was operated directly by the state under a superintendentManagement
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
appointed by and reporting to the governor of Georgia. On December 27 of that year, operations were transferred to the Western & Atlantic Railroad Company, a group of 23 investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
s including Georgia's wartime governor Joseph E. Brown
Joseph E. Brown
Joseph Emerson Brown , often referred to as Joe Brown, was the 42nd Governor of Georgia from 1857 to 1865, and a U.S. Senator from 1880 to 1891...
, who lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d it (both tracks and rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
) from the state for $25,000 per month. This expired exactly 20 years later in 1890, when the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia...
(NC&StL) leased it for 29 years. The railroad that was handed over to the NC&StL was in very poor condition. The locomotives that were transferred consisted only of those listed on the 1870 lease as property of the State. All of the new ten-wheel locomotives purchased by Gov. Brown's Western and Atlantic Railroad Company were sold to other railroads. While most of the passenger equipment was usable, almost all of the locomotives were condemnable and all of the freight cars were scrapped. The value of the locomotives was disputed for some twenty years. A major change in the new lease in 1890 stipulated that all improvements made to the road by the lessee would become property of the state at the termination of the lease. Included in the definition of improvements were modifications to the facilities, right of way and new equipment purchased for use over that line including but not limited to passenger cars, freight cars and locomotives. As it turned out, the NC&StL would continue to hold the lease to the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia until it was absorbed by its parent company, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad which was itself owned by the Atlantic Coast Line-one of the principal railroads in the Family Lines System and later CSX Transportation which continues to operate the line as the Western and Atlantic Subdivision. CSXT signed the current lease on the W&A from the State of Georgia in May 1986, set to expire on December 31, 2019.
After being captured by the Union in mid-1864 and until the end of the war in 1865, the line was briefly operated by the United States Military Railroad
United States Military Railroad
The United States Military Railroad was an organization during the American Civil War that ran railroads for the Union Army wherever they were needed. It was established in 1862 under General Daniel McCallum.- Petersburg Campaign :...
(USMRR).
Distances of Depots from Atlanta (1867 list and 2008 list)
| # | Name | Miles (1867) | Miles (2008) | Notes |
| 1 | Marietta, Georgia Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs... |
20 | 20 | begun in 1838, completed 1842 |
| 2 | Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It had a population of 29,783 according to the 2010 census. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Founded in 1887, Kennesaw has a past surrounded with railroad history... |
28 | 28 | Chase starts in front of the depot |
| 3 | Acworth, Georgia Acworth, Georgia Acworth is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,425. Acworth is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona on the Etowah River.Acworth's nickname is "The... |
35 | 35 | |
| 4 | Allatoona, Georgia Allatoona, Georgia Allatoona was a town located in extreme southeastern Bartow County, Georgia. Built along Allatoona Creek, it was a gold mining area later in the first U.S. gold rush, which occurred in Georgia and North Carolina. Reaching its height in the 1840s, the Georgia Gold Rush continued into the 1850s... |
40 | 40 | Near Lake Allatoona Lake Allatoona Lake Allatoona is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir in Georgia, located in northwestern metro Atlanta. The lake is mostly in southwestern Cherokee County, but a significant part is in southeastern Bartow County, and a small part in Cobb County near Acworth. Cartersville is the nearest... |
| 5 | Emerson, Georgia Emerson, Georgia Emerson is a city in far southern Bartow County, Georgia, United States, on highways 41, 293, and 75. The population was 1,092 at the 2000 census.... |
45 | 45 | |
| 6 | Cartersville, Georgia Cartersville, Georgia Cartersville is a town in Bartow County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 19,7314. The city is the county seat of Bartow County.-Geography:Cartersville was named for Colonel Farish Carter.... |
47 | 47 | |
| 7 | Cass, Georgia | 52 | 52 | |
| 8 | Kingston, Georgia Kingston, Georgia Kingston is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 659 at the 2000 census; the 2005 official estimate listed a population of 868.-Geography:Kingston is located at .... |
59 | 59 | |
| 9 | Adairsville, Georgia Adairsville, Georgia Adairsville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,542 at the 2000 census. As of 2007 data Adairsville's population was 3,076: 1,414 males and 1,662 females. Adairsville is south of Calhoun, northeast of Rome and north of Atlanta.-Geography:Adairsville is an... |
69 | 69 | |
| 10 | Calhoun, Georgia Calhoun, Georgia Calhoun is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,650. The city is the county seat of Gordon County.-Geography:Calhoun is located at , along the Oostanaula River.... |
79 | 79 | |
| 11 | Resaca, Georgia Resaca, Georgia Resaca is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, and Whitfield County, Georgia along the Oostanaula River. The population was 815 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Resaca is located at .... |
84 | 84 | |
| 12 | Tilton, Georgia | 90 | 90 | |
| 13 | Dalton, Georgia Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield County and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,128... |
99 | 99 | |
| 14 | Tunnel Hill, Georgia Tunnel Hill, Georgia Tunnel Hill is a town in northwest Whitfield County, Georgia, United States,and southern Catoosa County, Georgia, United States . It is part of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,209 at the 2000 census.-History:... |
107 | 108 | Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel The Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel refers to two different railroad tunnels passing through Chetoogeta Mountain in northwestern Georgia, USA.The first tunnel was completed on May 7, 1850, as part of the construction of the Western & Atlantic Railroad , the first state road in Georgia... opened October 31, 1849; first train passed through May 7, 1850 |
| 15 | Ringgold, Georgia Ringgold, Georgia Ringgold is a city in Catoosa County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,422 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Catoosa County... |
115 | 114 | Chase ends at 116.4 |
| 16 | Graysville, Georgia | 121 | 121 | |
| 17 | Chickamauga, Tennessee | 126 | 126 | |
| 18 | Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County... |
138 | OWA 137.3/OOJ 149.4 | End W&A Sub, End Chattanooga SD (at Wheland) |
Trains departed from Atlanta at 8:50 a.m. and 7 p.m. and arrived there at 1:35 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Not much has happened in between 1867 and now, track realingments in some areas resulted in height clearances and track improvements.
Prior to the Civil War, the rail gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
of most railroads in the South were exactly five ft (1.524 m) gauge. In 1886, the change to the northern standard of was mandated on June 1, and the W&A accomplished this along all 138 miles (222 km) in less than 24 hours, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on May 31 and finishing at 10 the next morning. This was done by over 400 men, prying up one rail and moving it closer to the other by exactly three inches (76 mm), leaving a compatible gauge of 4 ft 9 in (1.448 meters). The General and many other locomotives were also regauged at this time.
Great Locomotive Chase
On the morning of April 12, 1862, the locomotiveLocomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
General
The General (locomotive)
The General is a type 4-4-0 steam locomotive that was the subject of the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War. The locomotive is preserved at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-...
was stopped at Big Shanty, Georgia
Kennesaw, Georgia
Kennesaw is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It had a population of 29,783 according to the 2010 census. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Founded in 1887, Kennesaw has a past surrounded with railroad history...
(now Kennesaw) so that the crew and passengers could have breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
. During this time, James J. Andrews
James J. Andrews
James J. Andrews was a Kentucky civilian who worked for the Union Army during the early years of the American Civil War. He led a daring raid behind enemy lines on the Western and Atlantic Railroad, known famously known as the Great Locomotive Chase...
and his Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
raiders (Andrews Raiders), stole the General. The only damage the raiders did involved cutting telegraph lines and raising rails, although an attempt to burn a covered bridge
Covered bridge
A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
failed. The train's conductor, William A. Fuller, chased the General by foot and handcar
Handcar
A handcar is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a maintenance of way or mining car, but it was also used for passenger service in some cases...
. At Emerson, Georgia
Emerson, Georgia
Emerson is a city in far southern Bartow County, Georgia, United States, on highways 41, 293, and 75. The population was 1,092 at the 2000 census....
, Fuller commandeered the Yonah and rode it north to Kingston, Georgia
Kingston, Georgia
Kingston is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 659 at the 2000 census; the 2005 official estimate listed a population of 868.-Geography:Kingston is located at ....
. At Kingston, conductor Fuller got the William R. Smith and headed north to Adairsville
Adairsville, Georgia
Adairsville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,542 at the 2000 census. As of 2007 data Adairsville's population was 3,076: 1,414 males and 1,662 females. Adairsville is south of Calhoun, northeast of Rome and north of Atlanta.-Geography:Adairsville is an...
. The tracks were broken by the raiders two miles (3 km) south of Adairsville and Fuller had to run the two miles on foot.
At Adairsville, Fuller got the locomotive Texas
The Texas (locomotive)
The Texas is a type 4-4-0 steam locomotive that played an important role in the Great Locomotive Chase during the American Civil War. The locomotive is preserved at the Atlanta Cyclorama building within Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia...
and chased the General. While all of this was happening, Andrews' Raiders were cutting the telegraph wires so no transmissions could go through to Chattanooga. With the Texas chasing the General in reverse, the chase went through Dalton, Georgia
Dalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield County and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,128...
, and Tunnel Hill, Georgia
Tunnel Hill, Georgia
Tunnel Hill is a town in northwest Whitfield County, Georgia, United States,and southern Catoosa County, Georgia, United States . It is part of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,209 at the 2000 census.-History:...
.
At milepost 116.3 (north of Ringgold, Georgia
Ringgold, Georgia
Ringgold is a city in Catoosa County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,422 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Catoosa County...
), Andrews' Raiders abandoned the General and scattered from the locomotive just a few miles from Chattanooga. After the chase, Andrews and most of his raiders were caught. After they were found guilty, Andrews and seven members of his party were executed by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
.
After the chase
When the chase was over, both engines returned to service. After the "General"'s service with the W&A was over, she retired to the L&N Union Depot in Chattanooga. In 1962, 100 years after the chase, the L&N performed work necessary to allow the locomotive to operate under her own power for a series of appearances marking the 100th anniversary of the Andrews Raid. The premier appearance was her run from Atlanta to Chattanooga over the Western and Atlantic Railroad. After this run, the General would make excursion trips on various rail lines across the eastern US through most of the 1960's. In the late 60's, the General was to go to Kennesaw for another appearance when the City of Chattanooga officials halted it. The engine was put in storage in Louisville while a legal battle for its custody ensued. In 1971 Kennesaw won custody of the engine, and it was moved there (via a route bypassing Chattanooga) in 1972 where it was placed in the Big Shanty MuseumSouthern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History is a museum in Kennesaw, Georgia, that contains a collection of artifacts and relics from the American Civil War, as well as from railroads of the state of Georgia and surrounding regions...
. The Texas was retired shortly after the turn of the century, and was stored on a siding. In 1911, it was moved to Grant Park and later placed in the Atlanta Cyclorama
Atlanta Cyclorama
The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum is a civil war museum located in Atlanta, its most noted attraction being the Atlanta Cyclorama, a cylindrical panoramic painting of the American Civil War Battle of Atlanta...
.
W & A in modern times
Enterprise South Industrial Park
The Enterprise South Industrial Park, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee consists of . A large portion of this property is now home to Volkswagen's new United States automobile plant.- History :...
which now leads to the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant
Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant
Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant is an automobile assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee that began production in April 2011, was formally inaugurated in May 2011 and is expected to employ approximately 2,000 once fully operational...
.
Today, the W&A has not changed much since the chase of 1862 (except for a few track realignments by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia...
). The most significant changes were realignment during the creation of Lake Allatoona (removing the tracks from the original alignment through Allatoona Pass, the replacement of the Etowah River bridge and the replacement of the Chettogetta Mountain tunnel by the current tunnel in 1928. A marker indicating where the chase began is near the Big Shanty Museum in Kennesaw, Georgia. A marker for where the chase ended is at Milepost 116.3, north of Ringgold, GA, which is not far from the recently restored depot at Milepost 114.5.
A monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
dedicated to Andrew's Raiders is located at the Chattanooga National Cemetery
Chattanooga National Cemetery
Chattanooga National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located near the center of the city of Chattanooga in Hamilton County, Tennessee...
and it currently has the General on top of the monument and a brief history of the great locomotive chase.
Chief executives
While under construction the road was led by the Chief Engineer and when construction was completed by the Superintendent.Chief Engineers
- Stephen Harriman LongStephen Harriman LongStephen Harriman Long was a U.S. army explorer, topographical engineer, and railway engineer. As an inventor, he is noted for his developments in the design of steam locomotives. He was also one of the most prolific explorers of the early 1800s, although his career as an explorer was relatively...
: May 12, 1837 – November 3, 1840 - James S. Williams: 1841
- Charles Fenton Mercer Garnett: February 7, 1842 – December 31, 1847
- William L. Mitchell: January 1, 1848 – 1852
Superintendents
- William L. Wadley: February 2, 1852 – February 1, 1853
- Geoerge Yonge: 1853 – ?
- Jown W. Lewis: January 1, 1858 – Dec. 1860
- John S. Rowland: 1860 – November 1863
- George D. Phillips: November 5, 1863 – ?
External links
- Building the Western and Atlantic Railroad
- Western & Atlantic Railroad
- Western and Atlantic Railroad in the Civil War
- The original records of the Western and Atlantic Railroad are housed at the Georgia Archives.