Smyrna » Key Figures in Railroad History

Tom Lee Hamby concluded a 50-year career in railroading on January 31, 1939, when he stepped down from the cab of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway’s “Dixie Limited” for the final time.

Hamby began his railroad career in November 1889 with the Western & Atlantic Railroad.

“Railroading is something that gets into your blood,” he told The Atlanta Journal at the time of his retirement.

His career was not without peril. In 1911, while bringing a freight train into Dalton, Georgia, his fireman spotted another engine barreling toward them on the same track. Hamby slammed on the emergency brake and jumped, narrowly escaping the wreckage.

In 1925, he was at the throttle of the Dixie Flyer near Chickamauga when it collided head-on with Train No. 95. He again jumped, rolling the length of two telegraph poles. That time, his injuries took nearly a year to heal.

In both incidents, Hamby was cleared of any fault, and dispatching errors were found to be the cause.

Born in Gwinnett County and raised in Cobb County, Hamby made his home in Smyrna, Georgia, throughout his career.

John C. Moore is also notable as the first mayor of Smyrna, Georgia.