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Flashback Photos: A look back at Atlanta railroads

Historical photos from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Georgia State University Archives collections.

The historic locomotive Texas, constructed in 1856 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad, is removed from the old Cyclorama building in Grant Park, December 21, 2015. The locomotive, which became famous for its role in the “Great Locomotive Chase” is now on display at the Atlanta History Center.

In 1871, Atlanta’s second Union Station was constructed to replace a temporary station, which had served the city since the end of the Civil War. The new station functioned as the heart of the city’s business district through the early 1900s. It is shown in this ca. 1890 postcard.

In 1887, Atlantans gathered at Union Station (also known as Union Depot) to greet President Grover Cleveland as he arrived aboard a passenger train. Cleveland delivered a speech at the Markham Hotel, shown at right. The street at the center of the photograph is Loyd Avenue, which is now called Central Avenue. The Zero Milepost is visible within the station at left.

Central of Georgia Railway steam locomotive no. 478, a 4-8-2 Mountain-type passenger locomotive, with a train under the Mitchell Street bridge near Terminal Station in Downtown Atlanta, ca. 1925.

Southern Railway operated a large locomotive repair facility in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta originally called South Shops (later called Pegram Shops). This photo by Atlanta Constitution photographer Kenneth Rogers ca. 1940 shows steam locomotives at the facility under overhaul. The two engines in the foreground were used on Southern Railway passenger trains of the era.

A 1941 Southern Railway publicity photo featuring a scene from a new tavern-lounge-observation car used on the famous Washington, D.C. to Memphis train called the Tennessean. Although the Tennessean didn’t serve Atlanta, the train was one of the railroad’s first streamlined trains. The Southern Railway’s passenger department was based at the railroad’s operating headquarters on Spring Street in Downtown Atlanta.

A Central of Georgia Railway crew at the counter of one of the railroad’s grille-lounge cars in a photograph from the early 1950s. The Central of Georgia ran two trains within Georgia, the Nancy Hanks II and the Man O’ War, respectively, and jointly participated with running several interstate trains which ran through the Peach State.

In the days of steam engines, locomotive firemen tended to the fires that made steam to power the locomotives. By the time this photo was taken in the cab of a diesel locomotive on a Central of Georgia Railway passenger train in the early 1950s, firemen had turned into roving locomotive repairmen. With the advent of more reliable diesel engines, locomotive firemen are no more.

At the beginning of the 1950s, the Southern Railway took delivery of new streamlined passenger equipment for its passenger trains like the Southerner and the Crescent. This publicity photo shows a couple boarding one of the new Pullman sleeping cars, which the railroad acquired as part of the order.

Central of Georgia Railway diesel-electric switch locomotive no. 31 in 1963. The engine is an S2 model manufactured by Alco for use around yards and on local freight trains. It was photographed in a location south of Terminal Station in Downtown Atlanta.

Inspectors, or “car knockers,” lubricating wheel bearings on boxcars in the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway’s Tilford Yard in northwest Atlanta in 1967. Photo by Bill Wilson of the Atlanta Constitution.

Passengers wait their turns to board Southern Railway’s famous New Orleans-Atlanta-Washington passenger train the Southern Crescent at Peachtree Station in Atlanta’s Brookwood neighborhood in the mid-1970s. At the time this photo was taken, the train was the last privately operated overnight passenger train in the country. Today, the Crescent, now operated by Amtrak, still serves Peachtree Station.

In the 1970s, Southern Railway invested heavily in intermodal freight, which combined the efficiency of rail transportation with the flexibility of trucking. Long-haul trailers like these were picked up from a shipper when full, hauled to a Southern intermodal yard by truck, placed on a railroad flatcar, and taken by train to a distant intermodal terminal, where they were offloaded. Another truck would then handle the final delivery of the trailer to the recipient. Benefits from this highly efficient system were many, including lower costs of transportation and energy conservation.

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The historic locomotive Texas, constructed in 1856 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad, is removed from the old Cyclorama building in Grant Park, December 21, 2015. The locomotive, which became famous for its role in the “Great Locomotive Chase” is now on display at the Atlanta History Center.

By Kiersten Willis

March 10, 2023

Atlanta wouldn’t be what it is today without railroads.

At what was Terminus in the 20th century, the locomotive Texas was constructed for the Western & Atlantic Railroad. By the 1970s, passengers would board the Southern Crescent at Peachtree Station in Atlanta’s Brookwood neighborhood.

Take a pictorial look at the rise of Atlanta as a railroad center — and an international city.

HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS FROM THE AJC ARCHIVES

Learn more about historic events in Atlanta and Georgia through the Journal-Constitution’s archival series, online and in print.

>> FLASHBACK PHOTOS: The past through our photographers’ lenses

>> DEJA NEWS: Check out what we’ve covered before (and again)

ABOUT FLASHBACK PHOTOS

In this series, we scour the AJC archives for the most interesting photos from days gone by. If you have a subject you’d like researched and featured in AJC Flashback Photos, send an email with as much information as you know.

Email: malbright@ajc.com. Use the subject line “AJC Flashback Photos.”

About the Author

Kiersten Willis

Kiersten Willis is a native advertising specialist at the AJC.

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Flashback Photos: A look back at Atlanta railroads

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