North Georgia is rich in railroad history, what with efforts in the 1800s to get a main line through Gainesville, trials and tribulations of the Gainesville and Northwestern Railroad into the mountains, the Gainesville Midland, one of the last steam trains in the country, as well as the colorful but troubled Tallulah Falls Railroad from Cornelia to Franklin, N.C. The 1950s were turning points on railroads throughout the country, and 1959 was a milestone year for trains in this area. On June 23, Engine 209 steamed into Gainesville with two diesel road switch engines and 30 cars of freight. It was the final run for 209, a steam engine that chugged the tracks between Gainesville and Athens for years.
1959 critical year for rails in N. Georgia
