Off to See the Wizard

Southern Railway's mighty "Tennessean"

On or about August 2, 1944, Claudy F. Osborn left Colbert County, Alabama, determined to find her Oz. 

Claudy Osborn,
1944 Senior Picture,
Colbert County High School.

Earlier that summer Claudy had graduated from High School and was eagerly looking for a job. She was lucky and she knew it. In ordinary times good jobs for young women were hard to find. But these were not ordinary times. The country was at war and most of the young men were now in uniform serving in the army or navy, including at least three of her brothers, Gilbert, Randolph and Ellis. All kinds of job positions usually done by men were now being filled by women.

CEW newspaper ad 

for electricians, 

The Anniston Star,

Anniston, Alabama, 

26 June 1944.

Somehow, possibly through a newspaper ad similar to the one at left, Claudy learned that a company called Clinton Engineer Works (CEW) was hiring new workers for a war related project in Tennessee. The best part was that they seemed especially interested in hiring young women who were recent high school graduates from rural communities in Tennessee and Alabama. The pay they offered was good too, better than anything she could get in Colbert County. The curious thing though was that the job recruiters wouldn't tell anyone exactly what the jobs were about. They only said that it was important work for the war effort that would help bring all the soldiers and sailors back home. That was good enough for Claudy. But first she had to get there.

Claudy had never been as far away as Knoxville, Tennessee, before, although she had been to Chattanooga once when she was fifteen. Now, in the dark early hours of August 2, 1944, Claudy Osborn found herself in the Tuscumbia Railroad Depot waiting for the 2:40 AM arrival of "The Tennessean", the shiny emerald train that would carry her to Knoxville. She brought with her a single small suitcase that contained all that she owned. It would take "The Tennessean" ten hours to reach Knoxville. The first stop would be in Decatur. Alabama at 3:46 AM. After picking up passengers the train would leave the Decatur Railroad Depot at 3:56 AM and immediately cross the Norfolk Southern Bridge over the Tennessee River. Claudy could clearly see the full moon reflected in the waters below. It would be almost another hour before the train briefly stopped in Hunstville, then pushed on through the darkness towards Scottsboro, Stevenson, and ultimately Chattanooga. At 7:28 AM the rising sun would allow Claudy to view the green rolling hills of north Alabama and southern Tennessee, as the cotton fields of Colbert County receded further and further into the distance. Crossing the mighty Tennessee River once again at Tenbridge, the train arrived at Chattanooga's Terminal Station at 8:30 AM.

Terminal Station, Chattanooga, Tennessee

The stop in Chattanooga would last over an hour, giving passengers time to walk around a bit and explore beautiful Terminal Station. Opened in 1909 and Terminal Station was owned and operated by Southern Railway. It was designed by architect Donn Barber, in the Beaux Arts style. With its arched main entrance and eighty-two foot high ceiling dome with skylight it was undoubtedly the grandest building Claudy had ever seen.

Southern Railway Terminal, Knoxville

I'm sure Claudy would have liked to venture down Market Street towards downtown Chattanooga but there would not be time for that. With mixed feelings of excitement and fear of the unknown she boarded the train in time for its 9:50 AM departure for Knoxville. It would take almost three hours to make the trip as the train passed through Cleveland, Athens, Sweetwater, London, and Lenoir City before finally arriving at the Southern Railway station in Knoxville at 12:40 PM. She had been told to report to a certain address in Knoxville when she arrived. She would then be given transportation to "the site", that is, to Oz itself.

Brief YouTube video homage to "The Tennessean"

Route of "The Tennessean" from Tuscumbia/Sheffield to Knoxville