Railfanning.org Railfanning Review

Athens, Georgia, once boasted a robust streetcar network, and streetcars operated in the college town for about 45 years.

For this first episode of “People and Places of the Western & Atlantic Railroad,” we’re in the historic Smyrna Memorial Cemetery in Smyrna, Georgia, not far from the Western & Atlantic Railroad.

In an earlier episode, I introduced my talk on “Death on the Rails,” a look at the many ways death might befall people on the rails, whether they were workers, passengers or innocent bystanders.

I had the opportunity to speak with author Edward Segal, whose new book highlights the history of campaign trains. Segal has compiled a fascinating narrative, giving insight into one of the most overlooked aspects of railroad and political history: how candidates traveled.

Recently, I gave a presentation titled “Death on the Rails.” It was an interesting look at railroad calamities across the years. It’s the kind of topic one could talk about for hours. I had 45 minutes.

Earlier this year, I spoke to the Georgia Archives about my book on the Atlanta Northern Railway. I took an opportunity to focus on some happenings that I researched at the state archives and the difficulty in determining the facts of history.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority plans to spend $176 to 215 million to extend Atlanta’s streetcar line eastward.

A while ago, I spoke to the Tri-State Railway Historical Society about my book on the Northeast Corridor. I titled my presentation “Pivotal Moments on the Northeast Corridor.” These presentations are fun to pull together and present, but the challenge is how to pack so much information about the Northeast Corridor’s history into a short presentation.

Railfanning.org Editor Todd DeFeo previously gave a talk about Indiana, Alabama & Texas Railroad at the Southern Museum in Kennesaw, Georgia. The talk was titled, “If you don’t succeed, try again: One community’s ‘success’ with the railroad.”

Today marks the anniversary of the 1869 disaster at Budds Creek on the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad. Montgomery County, Tennessee, declared July 28, 2019, the sesquicentennial of the wreck, as Budds Creek Disaster Day of Remembrance.