By Randy Pirkle | Spring is coming… here is your sneak peek ahead for activities at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth.
The Southeastern Railway Museum’s annual Caboose Days event on April 2-3 will offer all sorts of activities for kids, and adults alike. Among the activities will be a caboose hunt, food, a kids’ craft corner, caboose slide show, temporary caboose tattoos, and rides on a restored antique handcar, which are often featured on special days.
Photo by Thom Logan.
This year, Caboose Days will also feature the return to public access of two caboose restorations, Georgia Railroad 2866 and Norfolk and Western #500837. N&W 500837 was built in 1940 for Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway as class C19 #837. Acquired by Norfolk and Western 1964, it was donated in 1989, it will be placed in service on the museum’s demonstration train ride, replacing Clinchfield RR #1064 which is slated for restoration work. Georgia RR 2866 was converted from a 1945 steel boxcar in 1970. Its bay window caboose was used to carry passengers in mixed train service on the Georgia Railroad. It was donated 1982 and will be placed on exhibit.
The museum will operate April 6-9 (Wednesday through Saturday) the week of local school’s Spring Break (April 4-8).
The museum will host the Duluth Historical Society’s annual plant sale on April 16 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. adjacent to the depot. It will also host a Boy Scout Merit Badge Clinic with the Piedmont Division NMRA in the main building. The museum will also host the Duluth Community garden boxes this year with the Duluth Historical Society.
In May, the museum will host Duluth Historical Society’s special military exhibit in the depot; and participate in the annual Duluth Art Week mid-month including hosting Plein Air artists for Paint Duluth leading into art week. Wrapping up Art Week (April 13 for the museum) will be National Train Day with extra activities. The museum’s second annual Fast Track 5K fundraiser on May 28 will kickoff Memorial Day weekend with a patriotic themed race followed by Duluth events on the town green.
The museum will give each student visiting the museum between May 25 and June 4 a free train ride when the student presents their report card with at least one grade of “A” (or equivalent representing the highest possible standard) for this school year.
June 11-12 the museum will host its annual Locomotive Celebration. This event focuses on the museum’s collection of locomotives (both steam and diesel), and this year will include dedication of the museum’s newest acquisition, a 50 ton GE center cab that’s being used on the demonstration train ride.
The first session of the museum’s annual summer day camp will be June 20 -24, while the second session will be July 18-22. The theme this year is Railroads around the World and is designed for ages 4 -12 where we’ll explore railroads and trains from 5 continents in our ½ day sessions. Throughout the quarter the museum’s education department will host tours, field trips, and our 2nd Thursday pre-school programs.
The 1871 Duluth Depot has been restored onsite and now features a variety of exhibits both permanent & travelling. Permanent exhibits include artifacts from the museum’s collection. Traveling exhibits include artifacts from and/or organized by the Duluth Historical Society including an exhibit related to neighboring cities titled “Cities of the Rail.”
Located at 3595 Buford Hwy. in Duluth, the Museum follows a seasonal schedule; days and hours of operation are available on the website.
- For more information, visit www.SoutheasternRailwayMuseum.org or phone 770-476-2013.
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