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.
On a November evening in 1891, tragedy struck when a Western & Atlantic passenger train was derailed between Atlanta and Smyrna, and sabotage was likely to blame for the wreck.
Shortly before Christmas in 1923, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway’s southbound Dixie Limited passenger train derailed after passing the station in Kennesaw, Georgia.
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.
In 1963, in advance of a new lease of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, Georgia officials hired a New York engineering firm to help determine the value of the line.
In addition to voting on the next leader of the free world this presidential election, voters in the Atlanta suburb of Cobb County will also decide whether to implement a 30-year 1-cent Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.