#12: [03-Nov-12]

#11: [06-Jul-08]

#10: [25-Mar-07]

#9: [27-Jun-06]

#8: [20-Feb-06]

#7: [27-Jan-05]

#6: [07-Aug-04]

#5: [25-Apr-04]

#4: [22-Mar-03]

#3: [11-Jun-01]

#2: [25-Mar-01]

19-Feb-2000 -- ALL ABOARD! My second confluence survey took place on the Norfolk Southern Railway as I used the tracks to access the woods where the actual intersection lies.

I was back in the Paulding County area for the weekend. This is where I grew up many years ago. I knew that there was a confluence in the next county to the north, so while my wife and mother-in-law went shopping, I headed off in search of 33N/85W. Leaving the town of Dallas, Georgia, I took highway 278 west and then north as it passed though the communities of Husleytown, Yorkville, and Van Wert. Actually, since the Highway Department made 278 a four-lane median divided road all the way from the Atlanta Airport to Rome, it no longer passes though Van Wert, the old county seat for Paulding. As the highway passed into Polk County and neared the city of Rockmart, I noticed that they also sealed the turnoff to Braswell Road so I had to find my way around until I located the road running under a large overpass. Braswell Road (pronounced Braz-el by the locals) runs next to the railroad track as it winds it way around Signal Mountain. The road and rails traded sides twice as I got closer to the site. I got to within 500 feet while on the road, but it was very narrow and I didn’t have a good place to pull to the side, so I went back to the last crossing and parked on the drive leading to a switch box (picture #3). I walked down the tracks for about a quarter mile and then headed up the side of the mountain. The confluence was only 300 feet into the woods and was relatively easy to locate. This is a heavily wooded area with a lot of underbrush, so I ended up with scratches on both arms as I poked around. Had I attempted this one in the spring or summer, I doubt that I could have gotten through all the brambles. On the plus side, it was so thick that I was able to hear a wild turkey calling without scaring him off. I took a picture of the spot (picture #1) and headed back to the tracks before I met anything bigger than a turkey. Just as I got to the rails, I heard the whistle of a southbound train coming (picture #2). I sat down on the bank and waited for it to pass. And waited, and waited, and waited (picture #5). Finally, I got back to the car and headed home. I decided to take Braswell Road all the way back, which leads through the Paulding wildlife management area. I stopped once and got a shot of the area from a high bluff looking back at toward the confluence (picture #4).