Train pictures from Wadley, GA part 1

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This is my great-grandfather, Jacob Daniel Metcalf. He was a locomotive engineer. He died on April 20, 1901 when this bridge over Buffalo Creek collapsed under his engine. This branch line became part of the Southern Rwy.

My grandfather wanted to work for the railroad when he turned 16, but his mother wouldn't sign for him. She packed him off to accounting school and he went into the lumber business. Here he is on a tractor in 1947.

When my grandfather started dating my grandmother, he took her out to watch trains. I did the same thing when I met Ruth. See my pictures at North Zulch.

They were married in 1913 and honeymooned near Spruce Pine, NC. This is Altapass at the top of the climb for the Clinchfield.

My grandfather liked to watch trains. He would always pull over and stop when he saw a train approaching. The family moved around quite a bit but finally settled down in Wadley, GA. Hard to believe but this little town was once the bustling center of three railroads. The Louisville and Wadley ran to its namesake city ten miles to the north. The Wadley Southern ran south 20 miles to connect with the Georgia & Florida in Swainsboro. All of the Wadley Southern was torn up in 1964 and the Louisville and Wadley was trimmed to just two miles in the 1971.

This is downtown Wadley in 1947. I lived in Wadley for a year in 1977. Even 30 years later, things hadn't changed that much. This is a composite of two photos merged together.

The best place to eat in downtown was at the Wadley Cafe. It was just a half block north of the train station.

This is the station in Wadley as it looked in 1949.

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Wadley part 2