Western & Atlantic – Railfanning.org

Western & Atlantic Railroad: History You Must Know!

August 11, 2025 Railfanning.org Digital Library

Explore two antebellum Southern railroads — the Western & Atlantic and the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville. Both share striking similarities, but their fates diverged dramatically. What factors led to such different outcomes? Dive into history!

A ‘Bitter’ Row Led to Shooting Along the Western & Atlantic

July 5, 2025 Railfanning.org Digital Library

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 1889, probably seemed like a normal day for William Roberts.

Get Ready: Eating and Drinking the Western & Atlantic is Coming!

June 18, 2025 Todd DeFeo

To appreciate the Western & Atlantic is to appreciate the local communities where the rail line runs, delving into the people and the places that made — and make — the line unique.

Great Locomotive Chase participant Franklin Alexander Crawford later kept history alive at the Cyclorama

January 28, 2025 Todd DeFeo

Franklin Alexander “Van” Crawford is one of the lesser-known participants in the Great Locomotive Chase, even if his role was minor.

People & Places of the Western & Atlantic Railroad: ‘Uncle Joe’ Renard

January 24, 2025 Todd DeFeo

Joseph F. “Uncle Joe” Renard was a “pioneer engineer” on the Western & Atlantic, and when he died in 1905 at 68 years old, he was said to be among the best-known railroad men in the state.

Sanford Bell, an unknown stalwart of the Western & Atlantic Railroad

January 21, 2025 Todd DeFeo

I’ve grown particularly fascinated by the people who worked on and shaped the Western & Atlantic Railroad.

The 1960s political quandary tied to leasing the Western & Atlantic Railroad

January 16, 2025 Todd DeFeo

As the calendar turned to 1967, Georgia lawmakers faced a political quandary: the impending lease of the state-owned Western & Atlantic Railroad.