1892-1897

In early 1892, E. Warren Clark, of Columbia, Tennessee, a professional photographer and lecturer, located the General on the siding at Vinings and came up with the idea of having the old engine rehabilitated and displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He also made a historic photograph of the General and two other W&A engines while stored on the side track at Vinings. Clark approached Mr. John W. Thomas, President of the NC&StL Ry about the matter and the latter agreed. The General was then moved from Vinings to the NC&StL Ry Shops at West Nashville for repairs. The General was completely refurbished, and the diamond stack was replaced with a Radley & Hunter type balloon stack as the old engine was to be a wood burner again. The General was then taken to Atlanta awaiting time to go to Chicago.

The General at the Nashville Shops of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway after being rebuilt in 1892.

The General at Chickamauga, GA in September, 1892 after restoration. E. Warren Clark sits on the cowcatcher.

While on this trip the General stopped at Chickamauga and was there photographed by Clark. Conductor Fuller was along too, and in one of the photographs Clark is found sitting on the pilot. This photograph was later used by Clark on a brochure he had printed to pass out to visitors in Chicago. This trip brought out the problems involved in running the old engine as a wood burner, and the decision was made to prepare her again as a coal burner. The General was taken to Nashville Shops where new coal grates were installed, and a new stack of the balloon type, slightly smaller than the first one, was installed with a coal funnel inside. This gave the engine the appearance of a wood burner as she was originally built, but she would burn coal easily obtained on any railroad. On October 12, 1892, Clark visited the Shops in Nashville, photographed the General, and took her out for a trial run. Everything was found to be satisfactory, and the General was ready for her trip to the Fair in Chicago. However, the Fair in Chicago was not yet ready for the General. The World's Columbian Exposition was not scheduled to open until the spring of 1893, and Clark had to wait until then to take the General to Chicago.

The General moved to Chicago in the early spring of 1893 accompanied by Mr. Henry "Buster" Carden, a native of Rome. Georgia, and a long time engineer on the NC&StL Ry. The General was placed on display in Section N, Post 7-11 of the Transportation Building Annex at the World's Columbian Exposition, and was one of 62 locomotives shown. The NC&StL Ry also provided Clark with a specially equipped box car which carried displays of Tennessee farm and forest products and also had living space for Clark. When the fair ended the General was brought back to Nashville for storage. While it was a very interesting and well attended display at the Exposition, the whole thing was an expensive project for Clark, and he was broke when it was all over.

The General in Atlanta in 1895. William A. Fuller stands on the ground beside the tender.

In 1895 the General was brought to Atlanta for display at the Cotton States and International Exposition held that year. Conductor William A. Fuller was a frequent visitor to the engine during the Exposition and on one occasion was photographed with the General, complete with top hat and tails.

In 1897 the State of Tennessee commemorated her 100th year as a State with the Tennessee Centennial Exposition held in Nashville at what is today known as Centennial Park. John W. Thomas and E.C. Lewis, both officials of the NC&StL Ry, also served as officers of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, and the railroad gave much support to the affair. This included displaying the General, and again the old engine was under the control of engineer Henry "Buster" Carden of Rome, Georgia.