The William R. Smith

William R. Smith was a 4-4-0 locomotive that was owned by the Rome Railroad Company.
==History==
The engine was built by the Norris Locomotive Works for the Rome Railroad which ran from Rome to Kingston, Georgia where it connected with the Western & Atlantic Railroad Company.
The locomotive spent most of its life hauling Passenger Trains while it Operates from Rome, Georgia to Kingston, Georgia and back.
On April 12, 1862, it was sitting on a siding at Kingston with a Passenger train while waiting for Atlanta Passengers to travel to Rome. When William Allen Fuller, the conductor of the General left the Yonah and continued north aboard the William R. Smith and chase the General but, two miles south of Adairsville, the tracks having been lifted by the raiders, Fuller was forced to revert to foot. Arriving at Adairsville, he then took command of the southbound going Texas and resumed his pursuit.
When it was retired it was eventually sold to Samuel Noble for use in his blast furnace operation at the Woodstock Iron Company in Anniston, Alabama.
The Smith was transferred to the Muskogee RR on a Columbus-to-Macon, Georgia run. Soon after Appomattox, a Union cavalry raid destroyed her in Columbus and later it was scrapped during the Scrap Metal drives of World War 2.
==Trivia==
*As of November 1941, the boiler is actually in Birmingham, Alabama.
*William R. Smith continued its stint on the Rome Railroad until it was leased to the Muscogee line running between Columbus and Macon.
*Although the engine is not actually a Western & Atlantic engine the line which runs on the Rome railroad is connected to the Western & Atlantic railroad line and makes everyone think it is a Western & Atlantic locomotive.
*On April 16, 1865, it was one of many locomotives captured by Union cavalry under the command of General James H. Wilson.
*They laid siege to the town and destroyed its naval yards, railroads, and ultimately, the William R. Smith.
*When America entered WWII it was dismantled and sold for metal to support the war effort.
*It was originally built as a 4-2-0 locomotive until later rebuilt as a 4-4-0.
*When the locomotive operates on the Rome Railroad the tender has the word "Rome R.R.".
*The William R. Smith, on the other hand, led an innocuous life as a work-horse for the Rome Railroad.
*This locomotive was one of 2 locomotives built for the Rome railroad. The other Locomotive was Alfred Shorter.
*A replica model of the William R. Smith is now displayed at the Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History.
*It was originally going to be put on public display but instead it was scrapped.
*William R. Smith was played by the Virginia & Truckee No. 22 Inyo in the 1956 Disney live action film The Great Locomotive chase.
==Gallery==
File:WRSmith.png
File:William R. Smith model.jpg
File:Bandicam 2024-09-26 19-42-45-694.jpg
==References==
*http://www.csa-railroads.com/Rome_Locomotives.htm
*http://evhsonline.org/archives/42864
Category:4-4-0 locomotives
Category:4-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:Four-coupled locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:U.S. Civil War locomotives
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Scrapped steam locomotives