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Frank Hamby
Biography
Frank Hamby joined the Western and Atlantic Railroad circa 1865.
Tom Lee Hamby
Engineer
Biography
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.
Luther Claude Hames , Sr.
Motorman
Biography
Luther C. Hames (November 1, 1892-November 13, 1968) joined the Atlanta Northern Railway in 1910 at 17 years old.
On Monday, January 2, 1928, Hames was the motorman of an Atlanta Northern interurban car when it crashed in the Jonesville community south of Marietta, Georgia. Six people died in the wreck or soon afterward.
The wreck did not harm his standing within the community. After his tenure with the railroad, he was elected as Cobb County’s tax receiver in 1948 and served as the county’s deputy tax commissioner from 1956 to 1963. His son later served as a judge in Cobb County.
Thomas Haney
Machinist
Biography
Thomas Haney (1812-July 20, 1901), a native of Belfast, Ireland, came to Atlanta in 1852 and began working for the Western & Atlantic Railroad’s shops shortly after his arrival.
During the Civil War, Haney ran on the Western & Atlantic as an engineer. At the war’s close, he returned to the shops, where he proved valuable as a machinist. He spent more than 28 years with the Western & Atlantic.
In 1867, he was elected to represent the first ward on the city council.
Haney died on July 20, 1901, and held membership in the old Volunteer Company No. 1 at his death. He had been an active member for many years.
Oliver Wiley Harbin
Engineer
Biography
Oliver Harbin was born on June 16, 1834, in Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, Georgia. He spent his entire adult life working for different railroads, starting with the Rome Railroad in 1848. During the Great Locomotive Chase, Harbin served as the Engineer of the William R. Smith and helped pursue the General to a point several miles north of Kingston, Georgia. After passing on November 29, 1910, he was laid to rest at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.
Richard R. Hargis
Conductor
Biography
Dick Hargis was the conductor on the last Western and Atlantic Railroad train from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia, to operate over the railroad’s five-foot gauge. The railroad subsequently changed the railroad’s gauge to match the national gauge.