Todd DeFeo

Have Grade Crossings Always Been a Problem?

February 17, 2025 Todd DeFeo

The Federal Railroad Administration recently announced more than $1.1 billion in grants to help eliminate railroad crossings.

MARTA Unveils New Railcar Set to Enter Service This Year

February 3, 2025 Todd DeFeo

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) unveiled the first of its new rail cars last week.

Great Locomotive Chase participant Franklin Alexander Crawford later kept history alive at the Cyclorama

January 28, 2025 Todd DeFeo

Franklin Alexander “Van” Crawford is one of the lesser-known participants in the Great Locomotive Chase, even if his role was minor.

People & Places of the Western & Atlantic Railroad: ‘Uncle Joe’ Renard

January 24, 2025 Todd DeFeo

Joseph F. “Uncle Joe” Renard was a “pioneer engineer” on the Western & Atlantic, and when he died in 1905 at 68 years old, he was said to be among the best-known railroad men in the state.

Sanford Bell, an unknown stalwart of the Western & Atlantic Railroad

January 21, 2025 Todd DeFeo

I’ve grown particularly fascinated by the people who worked on and shaped the Western & Atlantic Railroad.

The 1960s political quandary tied to leasing the Western & Atlantic Railroad

January 16, 2025 Todd DeFeo

As the calendar turned to 1967, Georgia lawmakers faced a political quandary: the impending lease of the state-owned Western & Atlantic Railroad.

A new lease of the Western & Atlantic Railroad

January 14, 2025 Todd DeFeo

In 1963, in advance of a new lease of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, Georgia officials hired a New York engineering firm to help determine the value of the line.