The General, Texas, & the Great Locomotive Chase
The 4-4-0 steam locomotives Crown Metal Products built for so many amusement park trains were patterned after the “American” model, popular in the mid-nineteenth century. Similarly, Bob Harpur’s General and Texas from Six Flags Over Georgia were Americans, but in this case specifically designed to mimic the two famous participants of the much-storied chase from the Civil War.
The General, #39 and one of forty-six locomotives in service on the Confederate Western & Atlantic RR, was actually a Yankee by birth. She rolled out of the shops of Rogers, Ketchum, & Grosvenor in Paterson, New Jersey, and began operations in January of 1856. This was no anomaly—a majority of major railroading equipment was manufactured in the industrial-rich north. Ironically, then, many of the engines serving Southern lines bore Northern nameplates such as Pennsylvania, United States, and so on. No one seems sure of where the General got her name, but at any rate she was one of the prime specimens of motive stock on the W&A.
The Texas was every bit her equal, boasting identical specs and looks. Typical 4-4-0 American models, both had large five-foot driving wheels and a fifteen-inch cylinder with a twenty-two-inch stroke. A decorative cover plate over the drivers added an extra touch of style. They were downright beautiful beasts, with a flair unmatched by many steam machines. Twin sisters they were not, though, as #49 had been manufactured at Danforth, Cooke, & Company, a competitor across town from Rogers.
On April 12, 1862, the General was all steamed up by 4am, ready for its nearly twelve-hour voyage up the 138 mile Western & Atlantic line from Atlanta to Chattanooga. Pulling a mixed consist of three empty box cars, a mail/baggage car, and two passenger coaches, the regular schedule included a variety of stops along the way, mostly for refueling and waiting at various stations to allow south-bound trains to pass (the W&A was a single-track road).
Right on schedule, engineer Jeff Cain released the tender brake, nudged the throttle, and they were off toward the first stop at Marietta, GA, where the band of Union invaders boarded. Next stop was for breakfast at a thoroughly unimpressive little place called Big Shanty, known today as Kennesaw. Passengers and crew had twenty minutes to depart and eat a hearty meal at George Lacy's hotel, but while everyone was streaming off toward the right side of the tracks toward their twenty-five cent breakfast, twenty men casually strolled off to the left, the ringleader Andrews and a few railroad-knowledgable compatriots sauntering up toward the locomotive, checking the track ahead to ensure things were all clear. The rest of the gang slipped into one of the open boxcars and quietly closed the door. No one noticed. Not even the raw Confederate recruits just across the way, waking up for their daily routine of drill and monotony.
Andrews looked over at the engineer—let’s go. The lever was yanked wide open, and after a great chuff of steam and a moment of wildly spinning wheels, the great engine tore off into the early morning light, leaving behind total confusion in her wake. Also left standing idle at the station were the mail and passenger cars, discretely decoupled from the train before departure.
Making a long story short, Conductor Fuller took off on foot, determined to reclaim his train, finishing the wild chase on the back of the now-famous Texas that steamed backwards for all she was worth the entire journey. For railroad fans and lovers of history, the entire tale is just too good to pass up. Although not quite the same as the highly dramatized movies and most books, the level and intensity of drama is every bit as intriguing—a nail-biter all the way through. Oh, by the way…the Yankees lost. At least this round.
The Texas was not the only chase vehicle, but she grabbed all the glory due to her part in the most visual, actual chase-portion of the entire affair. The pursuers started out on foot, then on handcar, before commandeering old Yonah, a small yard engine. Traffic congestion at the next depot, Kingston, made worse by all the fuss and trains everywhere, forced them to dump the smaller engine and take over the conveniently placed William R. Smith. This didn’t last too long before broken tracks stopped them in their, ahem, tracks. Running on foot once more, they encountered a long freight train that had just left Adairsville headed south. Decoupling everything, they jumped on board the Texas and, without any means for turning around, cracked the throttle wide open and raced backward for the remainder of the adventure.
Probably one of the best accounts of the saga is Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor, if you'd like to learn the real story. And then, of course, there's the Disney film featuring Fess Parker, which sort of tells the story.
The Texas after restoration at Spencer Shops, North Carolina. She was renumbered as #12 in 1870. Photo credit: KECN - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58370445
