Locomotives are Numbered / Rail Gauge Is Standardized

The locomotives of the Western & Atlantic RR were not given numbers until after the Civil War in 1866. Prior to this time they were named as were the Texas and the General. The numbering system assigned in 1866 was quite simple. It started with Number 1 and continued generally based on the date the engine was placed in service on the State Road. The Texas was the 49th locomotive to be acquired, and it was assigned that number. About 1880, the locomotives were renumbered, and the Texas was assigned the Number 12 and named the Cincinnati. Again, the numbers were assigned, based on date of acquisition, to those locomotives remaining on the roster. The Texas carried the Number 12 until 1890, following the lease of the Western & Atlantic RR by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, when it was assigned road Number 212 and continued with the name Cincinnati. It remained Number 212 until taken out of service after 1903.

Little is known of the Texas during the period from 1866 to 1900. It was in continuous service during this period and likely went through one or more major overhauls. It was converted to a coal burning locomotive in the early 1870's, and the balloon type Radley & Hunter stack was replaced with the more efficient diamond stack. Boilers did not last more than 15 or 20 years, and it is likely that the Texas had at least two replacement boilers. Prior to and during the Civil War period, annual reports of the Western & Atlantic RR reflected considerable data on the operation and performance of the locomotives. The year 1861, for example, was a good year for the Texas. At a total cost of $79.20 for repairs, the Texas ran 21,054 miles (equal to 76 round trips from Atlanta to Chattanooga) for an average of 30.3 miles per cord of wood consumed, and pulling 1,705 loaded cars and 991 empty cars. The engine must have been a good steamer for the average of 30.3 miles per cord of wood consumed was pretty close to a record for locomotives on the Western & Atlantic RR.

On May 31 and June 1, 1886, the gauge of the full length of the Western & Atlantic RR was changed from five feet to four feet nine inches, the standard gauge of the railroads of the United States. This was necessary in order to provide for the interchange of cars from one railroad to the other. Most of the railroads of the south were involved for they had been constructed of the broader gauge At this time, the gauge of the Texas was also changed. At some time during this period, new drivers of a smaller size were put on the engine. Originally the drivers were 60 inches in diameter, and they were changed to 56 inches in diameter.

The Texas under steam near Emerson, Georgia in September, 1903, the last known instance of the engine being photographed in use.

By 1903, the Texas had been shunted to a small branch line at Emerson, Georgia, which served some mines in the area. We are indebted to the late Wilbur G. Kurtz who arranged to have the engine photographed near Emerson in September, 1903, and this is the last known instance of the engine being photographed under steam while still in service. Soon after, the Texas was retired from active service and moved to the Western & Atlantic RR yards in Atlanta, where it suffered from exposure and lack of care.