Tour the Western & Atlantic Railroad

The General is an American-type (4-4-0) steam locomotive built in December 1855 by Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor (construction No. 631). Purchased by the state-owned Western & Atlantic Railroad, it became one of the best-known locomotives in U.S. railroad history due to its role in the Great Locomotive Chase during the Civil War associations and its later preservation.

At 6 a.m. on April 12, 1862, the General steamed into Big Shanty (today Kennesaw).

Passengers disembarked and headed to the Lacy Hotel for a 25-cent breakfast that included ham, waffles, grits, gravy, fried chicken, coffee, fresh vegetables, biscuits, and flapjacks with sorghum syrup. George Lacy began leasing the house in 1859 or 1860, giving it the name it is remembered for. While there, a group of Union spies stole the General locomotive and three empty box cars.

Quick Facts

• Builder: Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor Locomotive Works
• Completed: December 1855
• Wheel arrangement: 4-4-0 (“American”)
• Drivers: 62 in
• Cylinders: 15 in × 22 in stroke
• Tractive effort: 8,500 lb
• Length (engine + tender): 50 ft 10¼ in
• Owner: State of Georgia

In June 1901, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway erected a monument of White Georgia Marble in Ringgold, marking the end of the Great Locomotive Chase. A tablet mounted on the monuments offers a brief retelling of the Chase and the names of the men who participated in the daring event.

In 1901, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway erected a monument of White Georgia Marble in Kennesaw, marking the start of the Great Locomotive Chase. A tablet mounted on the monuments offers a brief retelling of the Chase and the names of the men who participated in the daring event.

The Texas is an eight-wheel American type steam locomotive of the four-four-zero configuration built by Danforth Cooke and Company of Paterson, New Jersey. It entered service on the Western and Atlantic Railroad in October 1856 at a cost of 9,050 dollars. The locomotive was equipped with cylinders measuring fifteen inches in diameter with a 22-inch stroke. It was constructed for a five-foot-gauge track.

The Western & Atlantic Railroad began assigning numbers to its locomotives in 1866, at which time the engine received number forty-nine as the forty-ninth locomotive acquired by the railroad. Earlier locomotives had been identified by name rather than number. Around 1880, it was renumbered twelve and given the name Cincinnati. After the Western and Atlantic was leased to the Nashville, Chattanooga, and Saint Louis Railway in 1890, the locomotive was renumbered 212. It remained in service under that number until approximately 1904.

On May 1, 1886, the railroad converted its track gauge from five feet to four feet eight-and-one-half inches. The locomotive was altered to conform to the new gauge.

After retirement from active service, the locomotive remained outdoors in Atlanta rail yards until 1911 and later stood on display at Grant Park. In 1927, it was moved into the basement of the Cyclorama Building. A cosmetic restoration completed in 1936 returned the engine to its approximate 1860 appearance.

In 2017, it was relocated to the Atlanta History Center after a 16-month restoration at the N.C. Transportation Museum. It was restored to an 1880s appearance.

Zero Mile Post is a stone marker that designates the starting point of the Western & Atlantic Railroad in Atlanta.

For years, it sat in a little-seen, disused structure in downtown Atlanta within the Underground Atlanta Historic District, beneath the Central Avenue viaduct between Alabama and Wall streets.

The marker was awarded a Georgia Historical Commission marker in 1958 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

In the 1980s, the post was moved indoors when a passenger depot was built around it for the New Georgia Railroad’s tourist operation. After that railroad stopped operating in 1994, the depot was secured behind a locked fence, with access typically available only by appointment through the Georgia Building Authority.

In October 2018, the post was relocated to the Atlanta History Center as part of work tied to the reconstruction of nearby bridges. It was removed from the register in 2019 after its relocation.