It was 7 a.m. on Dec. 1, 1849, and the western portion of the Western & Atlantic Railroad was open for business, even if the tunnel at Tunnel Hill was more than five months away from completion.
The Western & Atlantic Railroad operated some of the earliest locomotives in Georgia and the Southeast. The road, built and owned by the state of Georgia, acquired 10 locomotives during the 1840s.
Even though the Louisville & Nashville Railroad controlled the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, which in turn leased the Western & Atlantic Railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee, the L&N wanted its own line into Atlanta.
The amendment outlines jurisdictional roles and responsibilities relating to the development of the MARTA system. It also ratifies the extension of the full penny sales tax levy through 2057, which the Georgia General Assembly approved in 2015.