ATLANTA — The editor of Railfanning.org is writing histories about a pair of important Southern railroads.
Todd DeFeo is finalizing books on the Western & Atlantic and the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville railroads. Both books are scheduled to publish next year.
The Western & Atlantic is famous as the backdrop of the Great Locomotive Chase when Union spies led by James J. Andrews stole the General locomotive on April 12, 1862. Their mission failed but has been memorialized in books and film.
The state of Tennessee chartered the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville in 1852 to build a line between Guthrie, Ky., and Paris, Tenn. It opened just as the Civil War started and struggled throughout its existence; the Louisville & Nashville Railroad purchased the line in 1871.
