I had to make a “not for pleasure” run to Florida. In order to salvage a little fun from the trip, I stopped in Savannah, Georgia, on my way back. The Roundhouse Museum here was the 35 acre shop complex for the Central of Georgia RR.
They run a very short train ride on the property. They have a 2 1/2 mile ROW, but can’t access it due to a long ago demolished bridge. Unfortunately, this also makes it very expensive for them to bring in new rolling stock. They’ve had to turn down many equipment donations due to the expense of moving equipment onto the property.
The train ride is included with the museum admission price. Of course, I forked over an extra $10 to ride in the locomotive cab. Well worth the expense, as talking with the engineer is very informative.
Most of the structures date back to the 1850’s. There used to be a “full circle” roundhouse. In 1925, most of it was demolished in order to put in a larger turntable. The existing roundhouse was built in 1925. Unfortunately, when the RR shuttered the complex in 1963, salvage operations commenced, damaging many of the structures. This continued until 1980, when someone finally noticed that, according to the original land grant, the property was to revert to the city of Savannah, if RR operations ceased.
This is the first diesel purchased by the Central of Georgia in 1940.
This locomotive was converted to a saddle tank by the Central of Georgia.
The Central of Georgia had their own “Tender Shop” where they built their own wood frame tenders. However, this operation ceased when tenders were built using metal frames.
They have 3 daily tours of the various coaches and office cars. I was a little pressed for time, so I didn’t get to take the tour and get a look inside.
An old street car.
They have a lot of nice rolling stock here. But what really makes the museum a “must see” is the structures and machinery.
Probably the most unique structure I’ve ever seen in my life. The smokestack has “privies” ringing the bottom. as well as a water tank.
Time for a break. More to come. Ralph
