Following the trains on Highway 41

There's a reason that I titled this Highway 41 end-to-end StreetView trek post that way.  It's because many of the next stops and sights on this part of the ride run right next to one of the Civil War's most unique events, the Great Locomotive Chase.

You can click on that link to get the full story, but the quick summary is that a Union agent (could be termed a spy) recruited a few soldiers and commandeered a train while the train passengers and crew we're having breakfast.  He took it north, intending to break tracks and burn bridges, but due to timing, weather, and some ineptitude (if they'd had better tools, they might have pulled it off), and also a really determined conductor from the train he'd taken (William Fuller), the escapade was thwarted, and the agent, James Andrews, was captured and later hanged for his spy-like exploit.

So, here we go.


Off the highway slightly - Cartersville, Georgia court house




"Drink Coca-Cola" sign on Young Brothers Pharmacy building (remember that nearby Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola)




Adairsville, Georgia public square (off the highway again)



Crossing the railroad tracks in Adairsville.  During the Great Locomotive Chase, the raiders (the Union troops led by Andrews) had managed to break a track, forcing the pursuers to get off the train they were using and pursue on foot until they found another train, the Texas.  (The train that the raiders commandeered was the General.)



So, in the next post, we'll be moving on down the line!  And if you're worried that the trek is off Highway 41, the train tracks here are roughly 2,000 feet from the highway, which in this location runs parallel to the tracks.