Atlanta History Center exhibit explores city's railroad ties

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - It’s impossible to tell the story of Atlanta without including the importance of the railroad industry — and a new exhibit at the Atlanta History Center takes visitors on a train ride to the past with the help of some incredible artifacts.

Locomotion: Railroads and the Making of Atlanta officially opened to the public in November, tracing the history of Atlanta through its inextricable link to the railroad.  Front and center in the exhibit is the restored locomotive Texas, built for the Western & Atlantic Railroad in 1856 and best known for being part of the famed Great Locomotive Chase with the General in 1862. 

Also prominently featured in the exhibit is the Zero Mile Post, the Western & Atlantic Railroad marker from the 1850s around which Atlanta developed into the vibrant city we know today.  The post was moved to the Atlanta History Center from Georgia Building Authority property (located underneath the Central Avenue Bridge) after the Authority came to an agreement with the History Center to preserve the artifact.

Locomotion: Railroads and the Making of Atlanta is open now at the Atlanta History Center, located at 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW in Atlanta.  The center is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays and Noon to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays.  Admission costs $21.50 for adults, $18 for students and seniors, and $9 for youth ages four to 12.

Good Day Atlanta’s Paul Milliken couldn’t wait to "hop aboard" the Texas and take a trip back to the origins of Atlanta — so he spent the morning at the Atlanta History Center getting a look at this exciting new exhibit.