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In late December 2002, I
had a chance to visit the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth,
Georgia. They have some different sights there than I've seen
at most museums:
In the main museum building, away from
where other construction work is ongoing, Southern Railway E-8
passenger diesel # 6901 rests after 28 years of passenger
service. If this engine looks familiar, you may remember its
appearance in various railroad magazines or at the head of the
Southern Railway's Crescent passenger trains on the Atlanta
- Washington DC route. This locomotive is different than
most "cold engine" as the engine number boards, the cab and some
internal lights in the A and B units are lit rather than the usual
"park it and darken it" display method.
Outside in the museum's display yard,
a different sort of boxcar is displayed...a milk car!
This General American Plaudler Milk
Car has two stainless steel tanks, one at each end of the box car,
which hold thousands of gallons of milk for shipment to a bottling
plant. This car was operated on the Boston and Maine Railroad
through a lease from H.P. Hood & Sons Dairy headquartered in
Boston. (Ed. Note: My mom's mom, Grandma Leamy, served
Hood milk in her home in Worcester, MA when we visited in the
1960s. The museum is working on removing one portion of the
car's old paint layers to determine the original paint colors and
lettering so it can be restored to its original
appearance.
Further down in the museum
yard track area, a very interesting car serves out its retirement--a
US Army Kitchen car. Imagine the tales it could tell if the
walls could talk!
This center door car was
built by ACF in 1944 to feed military members shipped on troop
trains. It has two coal fired ranges, a coal bin, 2
refrigerators, utensil lockers, vegetable bins, a meat cutting table
and a bread locker. As I walked through it, I thought of how
its kitchens probably fed troops heading to WWII and Korean
battle fronts and fed wounded on their way to hospitals for extended
treatment. Rest well, US Army # 200, in your well
deserved retirement!
The Southeastern Railway
museum does something more railroad museums should do--your gate
admission covers unlimited rides on their train. Sure, it's
just a trip from one end of the yard to another on an enclosed
caboose and an open deck work car, but it's still a train
ride!
I know Matthew, Keith, and
Jeffrey (from left to right) enjoyed the ride with me, even if it
was a very brisk and windy day there!
* * * * *
For more info, please visit
the Southeastern Railway
Museum web site
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