EXPERIENCES Train Ride Through Time

With a selection of old locomotives, restored railcars, and antique cabooses, the Southeastern Railway Museum offers visitors an immersive dive into transportation history

BY KATJA RIDDERBUSCH

Ride the rails—and learn all about them—at Duluth’s Southeastern Railway Museum. Built on 35 acres at a former railcar factory, it’s Georgia’s official transportation history museum, highlighting trains and other vehicles from around the state as well as the country.

Founded in 1970 by the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the museum features nearly 100 pieces of rolling stock. Items include steam and diesel locomotives, restored cabooses, historic Pullman passenger cars, and a 1960s steel observation car with a glass ceiling. Other exhibits include historic MARTA buses, antique taxis, and steam tractors.

Visitors can walk alongside the Southern Railway diesel-electric locomotive that routinely pulled the 1951 Crescent passenger train from Atlanta to D.C. before Amtrak took over. They can also stand next to the majestic wheels of the steam locomotive that hauled passenger trains to Key West until a 1935 hurricane destroyed the tracks, ending rail service to the Florida islands.

The museum features two presidential railcars. One is the Superb, a 1911 Pullman and the second-oldest steel private car still in existence. It was used by

President Woodrow Wilson and later by President Warren G. Harding. Harding died during a cross-country tour in 1923, and the Superb returned his body from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. Also on display is President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s railcar, the 1927 Marco Polo. FDR used the railcar during his time as governor of New York and as president for his frequent trips to Warm Springs, Georgia.

A recent addition to the museum’s collection is an old MARTA railcar, which was placed into service in 1981, two years after the first MARTA trains rolled out in Atlanta.

Visitors can expect an immersive experience, says Jim Polihronakis, the museum’s education and tour coordinator and a retired Gwinnett County school teacher. They can explore the inside of most historic railcars and take two train rides: a trip in restored cabooses pulled by a diesel engine and a ride in an amusement park train that formerly operated in the Birmingham Zoo. They can also marvel at the intricate details of an HO-scale model railroad, the most popular model train scale in the U.S.

Several tours are offered to people of all ages and interest levels. “We’re trying to keep the history alive and educate the public about how important the railroad has been for the economy and the growth of our country,” says Polihronakis. “In the past, present, and future.”

Plan a Visit

General admission to the Southeastern Railway Museum includes train rides and is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $12 for children. The museum offers several tours, including a Georgia on the Move Tour with a focus on the state’s role as a transportation hub. There are also specialized tours for toddlers, day care groups, and school groups, as well as summer camps. For more information, visit train-museum.org