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Southern Museum
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collection
One of the most famous locomotives in American history is now enshrined in a museum building within 100 yards of the spot where it was stolen on April 12, 1862. The Andrews Raid and The Great Locomotive Chase was one of the unusual episodes of the Civil War and has been much publicized over the years. The locomotive "General" survived the war and has been displayed and exhibited many times. The old engine is operable and was last operated in 1962. The "General" was placed in the museum building at Kennesaw, formerly known as Big Shanty, in 1972. The Big Shanty Museum was officially opened on April 12, 1972, 110 years after the historic seizure of the "General".
Big Shanty Museum, 1989
he Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History is the current name of a museum located in Kennesaw, Georgia, featuring a collection of artifacts and relics from the American Civil War, as well as from railroads of the state of Georgia and the surrounding region. It was previously known as the Big Shanty Museum, founded in 1972, then later the Kennesaw Civil War Museum, before a major expansion in 2003 prompted a wider focus and a final name change. The centerpiece of the collection is the General, one of two Western & Atlantic steam locomotives used in the nearby Great Locomotive Chase of 1862. Exhibits also feature records, locomotive parts, machinery, and equipment from the former Glover Machine Works. The museum archives house a significant collection of company records, engineering drawings, blueprints, glass plate negatives, photographs, and correspondence from various American businesses representing the railroad industry in the South after the Civil War. A French Merci Boxcar and a Southern Railway bay-window caboose are also on display. The museum sits adjacent to the CSX Transportation mainline through Kennesaw, formerly the Western & Atlantic (later Louisville & Nashville) mainline between Atlanta and Chattanooga.
Click to see the Southern Museum plotted on a Google Maps page
1893 Official Guide ad / collection
1910 Official Guide ad / collection
19189 tourist train guide ad / collection
1998 tourist train guide ad / collection
2006 tourist train guide ad / collection
brochure / collection
postcard / collection
See also these related pages:
- Atlanta History Center scrapbook in Preservation
- Great Locomotive Chase scrapbook in Steam
- Western & Atlantic Railroad page in Mainlines
Location
As a prestigious Smithsonian Affiliations member, the Southern Museum is an inclusive and committed history center dedicated to educating, inspiring and enriching people of all ages and backgrounds through knowledge-sharing and open dialogue, and providing a quality experience that fosters learning and conversation about the strategic and economic use of railroads during and after the Civil War.
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Oct 2021 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Click to see Kennesaw's Depot Park plotted on a Google Maps page
Depot Park is located in downtown Kennesaw, across from the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History. The park serves as the backdrop for many city events, provides passive recreation to residents and welcomes visitors to our historical community.
The Depot was constructed in 1908 by the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad and was originally used as a freight and passenger Depot, with two passenger waiting rooms added to the north end of the Depot in the 1920s. The City restored the building that is now used as a Welcome Center, centerpiece and stage for City sponsored special events and other activities throughout the year.
postcard / collection
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
1910 Official Guide ad / collection
"General" display
RWH
UNCOMMON or UNUSUAL locomotive
Western & Atlantic #3 "General"
Jun 2019 / RWH
Western & Atlantic #3 "General"
rebuilt after Civil War damage
to Western & Atlantic #39, later #3
leased to Atlanta & Florida Railroad
to Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
to Louisville & Nashville
to State of Georgia
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Oct 2021 / RWH
Oct 2021 / RWH
The General in Print
from The General: The Great Locomotive Dispute
- Joe F. Head / collection
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
L&N pamphlet / 1962 / collection
collection
postcard / collection
L&N pamphlet / 1962 / collection
postcard / collection
postcard / collection
postcard / collection
postcard / collection
postcard / collection
postcard / collection
collection
Abe Goolsby
HawkinsRails thanks artist Abe Goolsby for use of his wonderful General illustration created for his son
postcard / collection
L&N pamphlet / 1962 / collection
from Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition #11 - May 1962 / collection
from Railroading magazine #42 - Jan 1972 / collection
from Atlanta NRSH Hot Box newsletter - Mar 2022 / collection
Rolling Stock
collection
Southern Railway #X372
bay window caboose / Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
RWH
RWH
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
See more bay window cabooses in our Southern Railway Bay Window scrapbook in Mainlines
French Merci Boxcar
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
In gratitude, the people of France presented this Merci Boxcar loaded with gifts to the State of Georgia, February 11, 1949. This boxcar and others were used to transport soldiers and horses to and from the fighting fronts during WWI and soldiers during WWII.
Merci Boxcar plaque
Kennesaw, Ga / Jun 2019 / RWH
The Merci Train, also known as the French Gratitude Train or the Forty and Eight, was the 1949 Europe-US response to the Friendship Train. Composed of 49 cars and filled with "gifts of gratitude", the Merci Train arrived in New York City on February 3, 1949, and was divided amongst the 48 states with the remaining car to be shared by the District of Columbia and Hawaii.
Forty-and-eights were French 4-wheel covered goods wagons used as military transport cars. The term refers to the cars' carrying capacity, said to be 40 men or eight horses. Built starting in the 1870s as regular freight boxcars, they were originally used in military service by the French army in both World Wars, and then later used by the German occupation in World War II and finally by the Allied liberators.
In 1949, France sent 49 of those boxcars to the United States (one for each state then in existence and one for Washington, D.C. and Hawaii to share) laden with various treasures, as a show of gratitude for the liberation of France. This train was called the Merci Train, and was sent in response to trains full (over 700 boxcars) of supplies known as the American Friendship Train sent by the American people to France in 1947. Each of the Merci Train boxcars carried five tons of gifts, all of which were donated by private citizens.
Models
Western & Atlantic
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Central of Georgia "Macon"
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
See also our complete Central of Georgia Railroad scrapbook in Mainlines
Pullman "Cascade Pass"
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Glover Machine Works
RWH
Glover Machine Works had the distinction of being the oldest family owned manufacturing industry in Georgia. During its time in Marietta, it was a small but well established company producing small-to-medium machinery and fittings, steam hoisting engines and logging skidders (both stationary and rail-mounted versions) and locomotives on a modest scale.
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
collection
collection
Lagniappe
Storytelling
Oct 2021 / RWH
General Seating
Jun 2019 / RWH
Step Into My Office
Jun 2019 / RWH
Warning Signs
Jun 2019 / RWH
Southern Sensible Safety
Jun 2019 / RWH
Two Southerners
Jun 2019 / RWH
Image and Likeness
Jun 2019 / RWH
Links / Sources
- Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History website
- Wikipedia article for Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History
- Wikipedia article for General locomotive
- Wikipedia article for Great Locomotive Chase
- Richard L. Hillman, Glover Steam Locomotives: The South's Last Steam Builder (Heimburger House Publishing, 1996)
- Glover Machine Works Played Important Role in Shaping Post-Civil War South
