SMYRNA, Georgia — Todd DeFeo, publisher and editor of Railfanning.org, will present a lecture on May 3 on the “Transcontinental Railroad and the Standard Gauge.”
The talk is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at the Smyrna Public Library in “historic” downtown Smyrna.
The presentation will examine how the growth of the national rail network helped drive the adoption of a standard track gauge across the United States, including on the Western & Atlantic Railroad line that connects Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and runs through Smyrna and Northwest Georgia.
DeFeo, a member of the Friends of the Smyrna Library board, has spoken at the library multiple times on railroad history, including talks on the Atlanta Northern Railway and the Western & Atlantic Railroad. He has also presented “Death on the Rails,” which was later featured in two episodes of the Railfanning Review Podcast.
DeFeo previously led two acclaimed bus tours for a Smithsonian Institution-affiliated museum in Georgia.
“I could have listened to him all day. I wanted him to talk more,” one tour participant later said.
DeFeo’s research, much of it included in his books and on Railfanning.org, has rewritten railroad history, bringing to light long-forgotten tales and preserving them for a new generation.
For more information, visit Railfanning.org.