Substack – Railfanning.org

What’s it like to ride through the modern Western & Atlantic tunnel?

October 1, 2025 Todd DeFeo

TUNNEL HILL, Georgia — I filmed a quick video reflecting on passing through the 1928 tunnel on the Western & Atlantic Railroad during the “first-ever immersive reenactment of the Great Locomotive Chase” from Kennesaw, Georgia, to Ringgold, Georgia. Read more This article was published by Tales from the Rails and is republished here with permission. Click here to view the original.

Running through the ‘new’ tunnel in Tunnel Hill, Georgia

September 30, 2025 Todd DeFeo

Read more This article was published by Tales from the Rails and is republished here with permission. Click here to view the original.

Let’s start by defining what constitutes a railroad oddity

April 14, 2025 Todd DeFeo

I’ve been thinking about what oddities happened on the rails — and how to define oddity. In all the talks that I’ve given, something interesting has emerged.

Remembering the Great Locomotive Chase 163 years later

April 12, 2025 Todd DeFeo

It was a rainy Saturday morning — April 12, 1862 — when a group of suspicious men boarded a northbound Western & Atlantic train at Marietta, Georgia. The men held tickets to varying points along the line, trying to make it seem as though they were not a part of one large group.

‘Fanning Friday: Airport people movers count as railfanning, right?

April 11, 2025 Todd DeFeo

When asked, here’s what Google AI said: “No, airport people movers are generally not considered part of railfanning. While people movers use rail technology and are often operated by train operators, they are primarily designed for airport-internal transportation and don’t typically align with the hobby of railfanning, which focuses on long-distance passenger and freight rail travel.” Take that for what it’s worth. We’re counting it as railfanning today! Tales from the Rails is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This article was published by Tales from the Rails

A historic image showing the Western & Atlantic facilities in Atlanta, Georgia.

A look at the Western & Atlantic built locomotives

April 9, 2025 Todd DeFeo

On the eve of the Civil War, the Western & Atlantic Railroad had more than 45 locomotives on its active roster.

People & Places of the Western & Atlantic: The intro remarks never given

April 2, 2025 Todd DeFeo

I’m excited to highlight the people and places that made the Western & Atlantic Railroad the truly historic road that it is.