At a Glance
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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.
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