Atlanta
Who was the owner of The Texas (locomotive) from 1908 to 1909?
The Texas ( locomotive ) Western & Atlantic Railroad #49 Texas is a 4-4-0 American type steam locomotive built in 1856 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad by Danforth , Cooke & Co. , best known as the principal pursuit engine in the Great Locomotive Chase , chasing the General after the latter was stolen by Union saboteurs in an attempt to ruin the Confederate rail system during the American Civil War . The locomotive is preserved at the Atlanta History Center . Antebellum . The Texas was built in October 1856 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad by locomotive manufacturer Danforth , Cooke and Company in Paterson , New Jersey , and subsequently shipped from Paterson to the Port of Savannah , thence delivered via the Georgia Rail Road & Banking Company and Macon & Western Railroad to the W&A headquarters in Atlanta . The Texas provided freight and passenger service on the W&As main line between Atlanta and Chattanooga , Tennessee . Civil War and the Great Locomotive Chase . At the onset of the Civil War , the locomotive primarily hauled local freight and cargo without any major incident . However , on April 12 , 1862 , the Texas , while pulling a load of 12 cars from Dalton southbound towards Atlanta , was commandeered by William Allen Fuller to chase down spies , led by James J . Andrews , during the Great Locomotive Chase . Steaming in reverse after jettisoning the railcars , the Texas pursued the fleeing General over 50 miles before the raiders abandoned their stolen engine two miles north of Ringgold , Georgia . The Texass engineer , Peter Bracken , towed the abandoned General back to Adairsville , Georgia , and then picked up his 12 cars and steamed into Atlanta , well behind schedule , but with good reason . Following the incident , the Texas and nine boxcars were loaned to the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad to haul salt and cargo from the mines at Saltville , Virginia in 1863 . While in Virginia , the engine was captured by the U.S . Military Railroad ( USMRR ) . Eventually , as Union forces made their way toward Atlanta , the W&ARR and its 46 other locomotives were captured as well . Postbellum . The USMRR returned the Texas , W&ARR , and its other locomotives to the State of Georgia on September 25 , 1865 . The engine continued to serve the W&ARR during the Reconstruction era , though under several different stewards as the public railroad was steadily privatized . The State of Georgia numbered the W&ARRs engines in 1866 , leading to the Texass designation as number 49 . In 1870 , the W&ARR was leased out , for a period of twenty years , to a group of Georgia investors led by former war-time governor Joseph E . Brown . Alongside the W&ARRs other 44 locomotives at the time , the Texas was renumbered and renamed - becoming the Cincinnati , number 12 . During the lease period , the engine received a new boiler ( 1877 ) , was converted to burn coal , and was regauged ( 1886 ) as the W&ARR converted its entire locomotive rolling stock to the national standard gauge . The W&ARR lease was renewed in 1890 , though with a different lessee : the Nashville , Chattanooga and St . Louis Railway . The Texas remained the Cincinnati under the NC&StL and was renumbered 212 . In 1895 , the engine was withdrawn from mainline service and stored on a siding in Vinings , Georgia . By 1903 , the engine had briefly returned to service on a branch line serving a corn mill in Emerson , Georgia . It served there until its retirement in 1907 , at which time it was sent to the W&ARRs yard in Atlanta , where it would await its disposition . In August 1907 , an article in the Atlanta Constitution brought to attention the deteriorated state of the locomotive and its historical significance . A fundraising effort began for its preservation . In response , NC&StL president John W . Thomas stated that he was willing to turn the engine to either the State of Georgia or the City of Atlanta , should either be willing to accept it . Accordingly , the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing the need to preserve the engine . However , neither the railway nor the state took any physical action to move and/or protect the engine , which thus remained derelict on a siding . A grassroots campaign led by the Atlanta Georgian newspaper and an ad-hoc group ( composed of the Atlanta chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy , the Inman Park Students Club , and the Atlanta Womans Club ) succeeded in securing the locomotive for the City of Atlanta instead . On February 17 , 1908 , the Texas was officially donated to the Ladies of Atlanta by the NC&StL . The group , in turn , transferred the engine to the city . However , despite the Texass donation , the locomotive remained in the W&A yard . In 1910 , Atlanta artist and historian , Wilbur G . Kurtz , began writing articles in the Atlanta Constitution advocating preservation of the Texas . The following year , the engine was moved to Grant Park , though it remained exposed to the elements and funds for its restoration were still lacking . In 1927 , the Texas was placed in the basement of the newly constructed Cyclorama , but remained unrestored or altered from its retirement appearance in 1907 . As stated , during its service life , the Texas underwent numerous rebuilds and modifications . Most notably , the engines smokestack was replaced with a diamond design suited for coal-burning , and its cowcatcher had been replaced with a wooden step for use in yard service . The locomotives current tender originally belonged to the United States Military Railroads Dalton locomotive , built in 1864 by the Mason Machine Works of Taunton , Massachusetts . The Dalton was sold to the Western & Atlantic after the war , renamed William MacRae , and operated on the W&A until retired in 1890 , with its tender salvaged for the Texas when the latter was briefly returned to service in 1900 . In 1936 , the locomotive , under the guidance of Kurtz , was cosmetically restored to resemble what he believed to be its wartime appearance . The engines smokestack was replaced with one resembling the balloon design of the Civil War era , its horizontal strap-iron slat cowcatcher was restored , as were the nameplates on the sides of the boiler . The basement in which the engine was placed , while adequate to protect the engine , had been criticized for its small size which made viewing the engine difficult . As with the General , several proposals had been made as to where the Texas should be displayed , including placing it on display in the Atlanta Union Station , at the site of present-day Underground Atlanta , at Stone Mountain Park , among others - none of which materialized . By the late 1960s and early 1970s , there was growing concern about the condition of the panoramic painting of the Battle of Atlanta ( the Atlanta Cyclorama ) , which had suffered from storm damage as well as long periods of neglect . In 1972 , the City of Atlanta developed plans to renovate the Cyclorama building , including a complete restoration of the painting as well as an enlarged display area for the Texas . However , the renovation did not begin until 1979 , and was completed in 1982 . Contemporary . After the 2008 restoration of the Gettysburg Cyclorama , focus shifted once more to the Atlanta Cyclorama and its deteriorated condition , prompting the City of Atlanta to explore another restoration and potential relocation of the painting . Ultimately , a decision was made to relocate and restore the painting , with a transfer ultimately including the Texas locomotive and other artifacts at the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum as well . Around this time , the cities of Marietta , Kennesaw , as well as the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth , Georgia expressed interest in acquiring the locomotive . However , city officials in Atlanta determined the engine should remain preserved in tandem with the painting . In July 2014 , the city of Atlanta announced that the Cyclorama collection , including the painting , locomotive , and other artifacts were to be relocated to the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead . The Texas was removed from the Cyclorama building in December 2015 , marking the first time the Texas has been removed from the building since its 1981 remodeling . The engine received a cosmetic restoration performed at the North Carolina Transportation Museum by a private contractor , Steam Operations Corporation , who had previously restored the Norfolk and Western Railway no . 611 to operation at that facility , before being placed in the expanded history center . The engine has been restored to its 1880s appearance , as opposed to the wartime appearance it had from the 1936 restoration . As such , it has received a new diamond stack similar to the one it had when retired , as well as a new cowcatcher with vertical wooden slats ( similar to that currently worn by the General ) , a black paint scheme , and was returned to its 1870s number , 12 , though retains the Texas name , with a newly fabricated number plate to reflect the number . The old balloon stack , cowcatcher , and other removed elements from the 1936 restoration will remain in the history centers collection , and may be exhibited separately . The engines new look caused a controversy in some circles , with critics saying the Texass new look erased its Civil War history . Commenting on the engines new appearance , Gordon Jones , of the Atlanta History Center , noted that the Texas was in service for fifty years , the Great Locomotive Chase occupying but a few hours of its service life , and said Weve already got one locomotive [ the General ] telling the story of the Great Locomotive Chase . We can utilize the Texas to tell a different story . The fully restored Texas was publicly unveiled by the North Carolina Transportation Museum on April 28 , 2017 , during a weekend long celebration in which it was exhibited alongside other engines at the museum , including the visiting Lehigh Valley No . 126 and the above mentioned Norfolk and Western no . 611 . The Texas was scheduled to begin its two-day move to the Atlanta History Center on May 3 , 2017 , but a logistical issue delayed the beginning of the move from North Carolina until May 4 . It arrived on May 5 . The Atlanta History Centers new Atlanta railroads exhibit , featuring the locomotive , opened on November 17 , 2018 . The Cyclorama painting and related exhibits opened to the public in spring 2019 . Confirmation of legal ownership . On April 12 , 2015 , the 153rd anniversary of the Great Locomotive Chase , the Marietta Daily Journal published an article advocating the transfer of the Texas to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw , Georgia . Several state legislators indicated their support , arguing the locomotive was state property due to its association with the once-public W&ARR . Following the piece , the Georgia State Properties Commission requested a legal opinion from the States Office of the Attorney General concerning the engines ownership . The State Attorney Generals office concluded that the Texas was property of the City of Atlanta given the evidence discovered , particularly citing the NC&StLs right to disposition of property as clarified in their 1890 and 1919 leases with the State of Georgia for the W&ARR . As a result , the donation of the Texas to the City of Atlanta on February 17 , 1908 was a legally permissible transfer , meaning the City of Atlanta continues to hold ownership rights to the locomotive today . References . - Andrews Raid description of the Texas - Texas Information Page