Friday Night Steam

Have a real treat for you tonight! Buster Keaton in "The General".  It's in HD, so you can enjoy it in full screen and with music. The movie was made less than 90 years ago and it is astonishing to see how advanced we have become in less than a hundred years. A lot of the scenes probably didn't look much different than they did during the actual battles.

 Grab some popcorn,  a cold one, put your feet up and enjoy! (You'll be glad you did - promise!)

The General

The General Locomotive and the Great Locomotive Chase

On April 12, 1862, James J. Andrews and a band of Union Civil War spies stole the General locomotive in Big Shanty (today called Kennesaw). Andrews and his raiders were attempting to use The General to  travel up to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in an attempt to damage the Western & Atlantic Railroad linking Atlanta with that city.
The theft did not go unnoticed, however, and the General's crew used everything at their disposal- including other locomotives, a pushcar and even their legs- to pursue the stolen locomotive for 87 miles.
After a day-long chase, the spies were stopped just before reaching Chattanooga. Those who were caught, including Andrews and Sgt. John Scott, were hanged. The Union participants of this Great Locomotive Chase were later among the first recipients of the Medal of Honor, many posthumously.
At the Southern Museum, you'll follow in the daring footsteps of Confederate Conductor William Fuller as he chases the "Andrews Raiders" through north Georgia with a dramatic exhibit featuring an exciting movie about the raid, art and artifacts explaining the event, a mockup of Tunnel Hill,Georgia, and the locomotive General itself.

The General

The General on display in Chattanooga, Tennessee circa 1907
Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor
Serial number	631
Build date	December 1855
Specifications
Configuration	4-4-0
Gauge	Originally 5 ft (1,524 mm), regauged to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) in 1886
Driver diameter	60 in (1,524 mm)
Weight on drivers	32,000 lb (15,000 kilograms; 15 tonnes)
Locomotive weight	50,300 lb (22,800 kilograms; 22.8 tonnes)
Boiler pressure	140 lbf/in2 (965 kPa)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	15 in (381 mm)
Career
Operator(s)	Western and Atlantic Railroad, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Number(s)	39, renumbered 3 in 1880
Official name	General
First run	January 1856
Retired	1891
The General
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Kennesaw, GA
Coordinates	34°1′24.7″N 84°36′51.96″WCoordinates: 34°1′24.7″N 84°36′51.96″W
Built	1855
Architect	Rogers,Ketchum & Grosvenor
Architectural style	Other
Governing body	State
NRHP Reference #	73000617 [1]
Added to NRHP	June 19, 1973
Current owner	Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
Disposition	static display

For lots of information, please visit:

http://www.southernmuseum.org/exhibits/the-general/