Decatur Station circa 1987 courtesy of RailPictures.net

So I realize that the railroad lines in Decatur are anything but “hidden”.

Horns blare. Trains regularly stop traffic.  Especially this week, as CSX has caused major traffic havoc along Decatur streets, closing the South McDonough and Candler Street intersections for rail maintenance.

But have you ever considered: why IS there a train line in Decatur?  Or perhaps a better question is “why was a railroad built through Decatur?”

Quite often the location of cities and towns are highly influenced by the natural landscape.  This is most obvious in cities situated along rivers, lakes and oceans.  Cities more likely to survive and thrive exist in areas when the natural landscape provides them with an advantage over other areas.  Think about the  “natural ports” of New York City, Charleston and Savannah.

Decatur – and Atlanta’s – natural advantage isn’t quite as noticeable as a large body of water or a rushing river.  Yes, Atlanta has a river, but the fact that it’s no where near the population center is a good clue that it wasn’t a major influencing factor in the settlement and success of the city.

To see Atlanta and Decatur’s natural advantage, you actually gotta look at a topographic map.

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