The General

1887

The Kennesaw Gazette of February 14, 1887 reported that the General was still in service on the Road and had recently been photographed along with Conductor William A. Fuller and Captain Jacob Parrott.

The April 15, 1887 issue of the Kennesaw Gazette was devoted to a story of the General and was headed "The Capture of a Locomotive Number." This account was written by Joseph M. Brown with the aid of Conductor William A. Fuller and was to be published in many forms during the seventy years that followed. An interesting feature this issue is an illustration of the locomotive General on the front page. This illustration was made from a photograph taken of the engine sometime around 1886 or 1887. While the engine was then still in operation and fitted with a diamond stack for burning coal, the artist gave the engine a balloon stack of the Radley & Hunter variety with which the General was equipped when burning wood as fuel. The likeness presented in 1887 resembles very closely the restored General on 1892. Another interesting feature in this drawing is the small cow catcher on the rear of the tender.

Joseph M. Brown, writing in the Kennesaw Gazette of April 15, 1887, gave evidence that the W&A's famous locomotive, the General, was still in good condition and capable of some speed. It seems that the W&A passenger train No. 1, northbound, broke down near Chickamauga, and the passengers missed connections with the Cincinnati Southern Railway train at Boyce, a few miles south of Chattanooga. The train was unable to go forward until the General, pulling passenger train No. 19, overtook her. The General with nine coaches, two of which were heavy Pullman sleepers, proceeded from Chickamauga to Boyce making the run of six and a half miles in ten minutes. Brown concluded that this record was not being beaten by some of the big engines of modern build. A few days later, the General was again in the news. The International Convention of Car Accountants was held in Atlanta, April 19 through April 22, 1887. Approximately 100 of the delegates met in Chattanooga on the morning of Monday, April 18th, and at noon, boarded a special train for Atlanta via the W&ARR, pulled by the General.

The General in Atlanta in 1887. Conductor William A. Fuller is standing to the left and Jacob Parrott, one of the Raiders, is in the cab.

In the Kennesaw Gazette of September 1, 1887, Joseph M. Brown called attention to the fact that the "old General has of late been thoroughly overhauled and rejuvenated, and is now pulling one of the accommodation trains." During the overhaul, a small cowcatcher was put on the rear of the tender as was the custom for locomotives in accommodation train service when they would often be in a reverse position pulling the train.

Though small compared to other locomotives then in service, the General was referred to as a fast traveler. One remarkable run was cited while pulling train No. 19 from Atlanta to Kennesaw. The train left Atlanta nearly 45 minutes late with three coaches and a sleeping car. The General often ran at speeds of a mile a minute and pulled in to Kennesaw on time allowing the passengers to enjoy supper at the Railroad House operated by Judge G.T. Carrie at the regular time. Joseph M. Brown may have stretched this story a bit. The distance from Atlanta to Kennesaw is 28 miles by rail, and the schedule allowed one hour and 28 minutes including three stops for this run. In this instance the General practically cut the running time in half.

During March, 1887 the W&ARR Company acquired three new modern locomotives from the Rhode Island Locomotive Works of Providence, RI. These were ten wheelers and able to pull heavier loads than the eight wheelers like the General were able to do. For a time this created a surplus of motive power on the W&A, and they assisted in the construction of the Atlanta & Florida Railroad from Atlanta to Fort Valley, by renting them the General. The General was employed in this service for a short time in late 1887 and early 1888.