Jump to content

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum

Edit links
Coordinates: 33°05′56″N 86°45′03″W / 33.09898°N 86.750777°W / 33.09898; -86.750777
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
HODRRM
The Heart of Dixie Railroad Calera depot in Calera, Alabama
LocaleCalera, Shelby County, Alabama, United States
Coordinates33°05′56″N 86°45′03″W / 33.09898°N 86.750777°W / 33.09898; -86.750777
Commercial operations
Built byLouisville and Nashville Railroad
Original gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned byHeart of Dixie Railroad Museum
Operated byHeart of Dixie Railroad Museum
Reporting markCSMX
Length5.5 mi (8.9 km)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm);
2 ft (610 mm)
Commercial history
Opened1962
Preservation history
PresentIn operation
HeadquartersCalera, AL
Website
http://www.hodrrm.org

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum (initialised HOD, reporting mark CSMX) is a heritage railroad museum of Alabama. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of historically significant railway equipment, the museum is located at 1919 Ninth Street, Calera, Alabama, on I-65 approximately 30 miles (48 km) south of Birmingham.[1]

The museum features a wide range of locomotives, cars and other railroad equipment that dates from the 19th century to the 1950s and operates regularly scheduled excursions with museum equipment over the museum's track. It also features two depots that are approximately 100 years old.

Overview

[edit]

The museum operates a heritage railroad that offers two excursion trains every Saturday from March to December. It also operates excursions on special dates such as Halloween and Christmas. The standard gauge train operates with a diesel locomotive on a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) section of the former Alabama Mineral Railroad, a division of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The museum offers visitors the opportunity to ride in the cab of the locomotive and in a caboose in addition to the enclosed and open-air passenger cars.[1]

Additionally, the museum operates a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge live steam engine locomotive and passenger cars on a one-quarter-mile (0.4 km) long loop. This train served the nearby Birmingham Zoo for many years before being placed into operation at the museum.

The museum is an active chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.[2]

The museum’s 2025 operating season spans from March 1 – December 20.[3] Departures are on Saturdays at 10:00am and 1:00pm Central Standard Time.[4] However, some of the special events may include a third departure at 3:00pm Central Standard Time, and/or include additional departures on Sundays and/or Fridays.[5]

Collection

[edit]

The museum maintains three operating first generation diesel-electric locomotives for powering excursion trains and shop switching. Six additional diesel-electric locomotives are presented as static displays as well as two electric shop locomotives. Builders represented include GM Electro-Motive Division, Whitcomb, Baldwin, Alco, and Fairbanks-Morse.

Though none are in service, the museum also has four steam locomotives on display. While lacking much of its original operating equipment and gauges, the cab of the 1924 Woodward Iron Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotive is open to the public and is equipped with wooden stairs for visitors. Two other steam locomotives have also been cosmetically restored for display, including a unique 1953 fireless steam powered switching locomotive operated by Alabama Power Company which did not have a firebox, but instead received steam from the plant's boilers and used that stored steam to operate for about four hours a charge. Builders displayed include Baldwin, Alco, Lima, and Davenport.[1][6]

The museum displays over forty pieces of rolling stock, spanning the early-to-late 20th century including passenger, railway post office, and freight cars. Numerous passenger cars have been restored and are now used on the museum's excursions. Birthday parties are hosted in a restored dining car adjacent to the visitors center.[1] Many of the freight and passenger cars are awaiting restoration from damage previously incurred while stored in an unsecured location. The museum’s oldest operational passenger car is the Frisco Coach No. 1062.[7]

Specialty equipment

[edit]

Among the museum's collection are two heavy-duty rail mounted cranes used in construction and wreck-clearing duty. Additionally, the museum has several railcars that once belonged to the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command which were to be used as part of the Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program which planned the rail-based deployment of such missiles.

Stations

[edit]

The museum includes two former community railway stations in its collection. The former Wilton, Alabama depot, now signed for Calera, houses many railroad artifact displays and serves as the station for excursion trains. The former Woodlawn, Alabama depot houses the Boone Library of railroad books, slides, photographs and other research materials.[1]

Signals

[edit]

A signal garden continues to be developed between the Calera depot and the main museum visitor center which features working crossing signals, a semaphore, and other railroad signals.

Interior displays

[edit]

The Calera depot houses a collection of railroad artifact displays focusing on the history of railroads in Alabama. Exhibits include railway lanterns, locomotive headlights, rail cross sections, and passenger train china and silver ware. The Boone Library in the Woodlawn depot and adjacent railcar contains print and other media as well as an extensive collection of old maps, track diagrams, timetables, technical manuals, etc. for public research use.[1]

History

[edit]
Calera, Alabama (formerly Wilton, Alabama) depot and excursion train at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
  • The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, Inc. began as the Heart of Dixie Railroad Club. Its first location was at 18th Street South and 1st Avenue South in downtown Birmingham, across from the Alabama Power Steam Generation Plant. The cars were largely donated to the club by their respective railroads. However, the cars were vulnerable to vandals. Several cars were burned in different disputes over territory by homeless people. In the early 1980s, the Club moved to Calera and secured several hundred acres of land between 17th Avenue and 20th Avenue along 9th Street.
  • The Calera & Shelby Railroad (the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge trains) runs along a 5+1⁄2-mile (8.9 km) section of the former L&N Mineral loop, constructed in 1891 to collect the minerals necessary for making iron, then looping back to Birmingham to drop off the minerals at the local ironworks. The line was abandoned when Alabama Power dammed up the Coosa River for a new hydroelectric plant. This would have flooded the bridge over the Coosa River, which was subsequently removed. CSX later pulled up the rails along the line. Eleven miles (18 km) of right-of-way were purchased by the Heart of Dixie Railroad Club (now Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, Inc.) when they moved to Calera in the 1980s. Since then, the museum has been replacing the track along the right-of-way. The track currently ends at Springs Junction, Alabama, just east of its crossing of Shelby County Highway 86.
  • The Shelby & Southern Railroad (the 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge[8] train) rolling stock is the former park train of the Birmingham Zoo. Some 2 ft (610 mm) gauge track was purchased, a station and maintenance shed were built, the cars were sandblasted, re-lettered, and re-painted, and the propane-fired, Crown Metal Products 4-4-0 steam engine was sent to the Tweetsie Railroad for refurbishment. The S&S opened in 2002 during "Day Out with Thomas", a two-weekend period where Thomas the Tank Engine comes to visit the museum between March and April.

Equipment

[edit]

Locomotives

[edit]
Locomotive details[9][10]
Number Image Type Class Builder Built Status
3 Steam 0-4-0 American Locomotive Company 1910 Under restoration
38 Steam 2-8-0 Baldwin Locomotive Works 1924 Display
40 Fireless 0-4-0 Davenport Locomotive Works 1924 Display
4046 Steam 0-6-0 Lima Locomotive Works 1944 Display
82 Diesel HH900 American Locomotive Company 1937 Display, operable
37 Diesel S-8 Baldwin Locomotive Works 1937 Display
904 Diesel SW1 Electro-Motive Diesel 1942 Display
2019 Diesel SW8 Electric-Motive Diesel 1951 Operational
2022 Diesel SW8 Electric-Motive Diesel 1951 Operational
2430 Diesel 35-ton center cab Euclid Company 1953 Display
1850 Diesel H-12-44 Fairbanks-Morse 1953 Display, awaiting possible restoration
520-020 Diesel 52-ton center cab Plymouth Locomotive Works 1940s Display
2 Diesel 25-ton switcher Whitcomb Company 1951 Operational

Rolling stock

[edit]
Rolling stock details[11][12][13]
Number Image Type Builder Built Status
329 Baggage car Unknown Unknown Display
467 Baggage car Bethlehem Steel Corporation 1928 Display
1550, 1551 Baggage cars Pullman Company 1949 Display
4527 Baggage car/Commissary car Pullman Company 1915 Operational
805 Baggage car St. Louis Car Company 1929 Display
59, 7715 Gallery car Pullman Company 1960 Operational
4741 Coach Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 1947 Operational
198 Dining car Budd Company 1951 Operational
1062 Coach American Car and Foundry Company 1910 Operational
3050 Lounge car Pullman Company 1926 Under restoration
2972 Coach Unknown 1956 Operational
892 Dome car Budd Company 1948 Operational
1121, 1122 Open-air cars Unknown 1940, 1942 Operational
30, 76 Post office cars American Car and Foundry Company 1928 Display
2823 Chair car Budd Company 1953 Operational
2931 Chair car Budd Company 1950 Operational
4141 Dining car Pullman Company 1917 Display
None Sleeper car Pullman Company 1924 Display
40240 Boxcar Unknown 1938 Display
9003, 9004, 9007 Boxcars Unknown 1962 Display
6907 Caboose International Car Company 1952 Operational
1400 Material handling car Unknown 1986 Display
10522 Caboose International Car Company 1970 Operational
X201 Caboose Unknown 1971 Operational
X458, X461 Cabooses Gantt Manufacturing Company 1970 Display
PS46 Boxcar Pullman Company Unknown Stored, out of service
100x Caboose Unknown Unknown Stored, out of service
99x Caboose Unknown 1951 Stored, out of service
C-53 Air Command rail car Unknown Unknown Display
41326 Flatcar Unknown 1890s Stored, out of service
403 Flatcar Unknown 1920s Stored, out of service
21417 Flatcar American Car and Foundry Company 1956 Stored, out of service
38101 Flatcar Magor Car Corporation 1951 Stored, out of service
38485 Flatcar Magor Car Corporation 1951 Stored, out of service
38558 Flatcar Magor Car Corporation 1951 Stored, out of service
38623 Flatcar Magor Car Corporation 1951 Stored, out of service
51043 Flatcar Unknown Unknown Stored, out of service
51043 Tanker car Unknown 1920s Stored, out of service
42476 Wooden camp car Unknown 1921 Display

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f http://www.hodrrm.org/ Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
  2. ^ "Heart of Dixie | National Railway Historical Society, Inc". nrhs.com. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  3. ^ Jones, Alan. "Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum". www.hodrrm.org. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  4. ^ Jones, Alan. "Calera & Shelby Train Ride - Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum". www.hodrrm.org. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  5. ^ Jones, Alan. "Events - Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum". www.hodrrm.org. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  6. ^ Steam Engine No. 40 Interpretative Sign; Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
  7. ^ Jones, Alan. "Frisco Coach No. 1062 - Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum". www.hodrrm.org. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  8. ^ Steamlocomotive.info - Shelby & Southern RR No. 3
  9. ^ "Steam Locomotives". Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
  10. ^ "Diesel Locomotives". Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
  11. ^ "Passenger Equipment". Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
  12. ^ "Freight Equipment". Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
  13. ^ "Miscellaneous Freight". Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heart_of_Dixie_Railroad_Museum&oldid=1302688135"