People walk on the sidewalks on the square in LaFayette, Ga.LaFAYETTE, Ga. — The Summerville Special is a vintage Tennessee Valley Railroad train that makes fall excursions from Chattanooga to Summerville, Ga. — and rolls right through LaFayette.
“They go on through, because there’s nowhere to stop,” LaFayette City Councilman Chris Davis said.
Davis wants to give the steam locomotive a reason to stop.
He’d like to see the rebirth of a strip of vacant commercial buildings alongside the railroad track. The strip is anchored by the Mars Theater, which was gutted last year by a fire.
“We’d love to see boutique shops, antique shops — a destination,” Davis said. “We’re exploring the purchase of the property.”