Opinions and Stories by Bill Thomas, Editor
My middle child, Liam, is fast approaching the date he can take his driving test and have his own driver’s license – on the road! It reminds me of the day I turned 16! In the great state of Georgia, you got your learners license at 15, then you could take your driving test upon your 16th birthday or soon thereafter since the GA State Patrol Examiner was in Ellijay only on Wednesdays.
Most 16-year-olds made their first trips “alone” to a friend’s house, the Dairy Queen, or other spot where his peers would be impressed. Not this one! Nope! Off to the “new line” I went. About 30 miles west of my house was L&N’s flat and straight route that replaced the Hook & Eye line in 1916.
Still full of U-boats and a few Grey/Yellow L&N paint schemes, the Family Lines’ more-level route paralleling US 411 was a great stretch to chase with a new Yashica SLR in a 1974 Pontiac Bonneville.
First was the drive straight to Etowah, TN, division point, yard, and engine facility. Long I had passed this huge wood-frame station and facility in my parents car (now my car) on the way to Gatlinburg, hoping for glimpses of anything moving. Now, I could visit as long as I wanted.
Keep in mind, this was 1979, when most RR workers welcomed you in for a tour if you showed interest. The tour never materialized, but, crews loved having their pictures made. After walking around and getting some shots, it was time to head back south. I caught a couple of freights on the south ready tracks and for the next 60 miles or so, got ahead of them, shot them in pre-determined locations, then repeated the process.
If I can ever find the photo, I’ll scan and post the one that almost got away. In a foolish attempt to get one last shot on an overpass just south of Chatsworth, GA, I climbed the north side embankment, crossed the RR overpass on foot, turned just in time to catch the southbound in low throttle, gliding downhill, rounding the curve and giving me short blasts as a warning. I got the shot but probably gave the crew an anxious moment. By then they’d seen me trackside 3 or 4 times. They gave me a congratulatory thumbs up as they rolled by. Sure miss those days.