Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
HODRRM
The Heart of Dixie Railroad Calera depot in Calera, Alabama
Locale	Calera, Shelby County, Alabama, United States
Coordinates	33°05′56″N 86°45′03″W / 33.09898°N 86.750777°W / 33.09898; -86.750777
Commercial operations
Built by	Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Original gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned by	Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
Operated by	Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
Reporting mark	CSMX
Length	5.5 mi (8.9 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm); 2 ft (610 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1962
Preservation history
Present	In operation
Headquarters	Calera, AL
Website
http://www.hodrrm.org

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum (also known as HOD or CSMX) is a special museum in Alabama. It's all about saving, fixing, and running old trains and railway equipment. You can find it in Calera, about 30 miles south of Birmingham.

This museum has many different types of trains. These include locomotives (the engines that pull the train), passenger cars, and other railway gear. Some of these items are from the 1800s, while others are from the 1950s. The museum also offers train rides using its historic equipment. Plus, it has two old train stations that are about 100 years old.

Explore the Museum's Train Rides

The museum runs a special "heritage railroad" where you can take a trip back in time. They offer two train rides every Saturday from March to December. They also have fun trips on special holidays like Halloween and Christmas.

Standard Gauge Train Adventures

The main train uses a diesel engine and runs on a 5.5-mile section of an old railway line. This line used to be part of the Alabama Mineral Railroad. You can ride in enclosed cars or open-air cars. For an extra special experience, you can even ride in the engine's cab or in a caboose!

Narrow Gauge Train Fun

There's also a smaller, "narrow gauge" train at the museum. This train has a steam engine and passenger cars. It runs on a quarter-mile loop. This little train used to be at the Birmingham Zoo for many years before coming to the museum.

The museum is part of the National Railway Historical Society. This group helps preserve railway history.

When Can You Visit?

The museum's operating season runs from March 1 to December 20. Trains usually leave on Saturdays at 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM. For some special events, there might be an extra trip at 3:00 PM. Sometimes, they even have trains running on Sundays or Fridays!

Discover the Museum's Train Collection

The museum has a large collection of trains and railway equipment. They work hard to keep these historic pieces in good condition.

Diesel and Electric Locomotives

The museum has three diesel-electric locomotives that are still running. These are used to pull the excursion trains. They also have six other diesel-electric locomotives on display. These are not currently running but are interesting to see. You can see engines built by famous companies like Electro-Motive Division, Whitcomb, Baldwin, Alco, and Fairbanks-Morse.

Steam Locomotives on Display

While no steam locomotives are currently running, the museum has four on display. You can even go inside the cab of a 1924 Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotive. It has wooden stairs for visitors to climb up. Two other steam engines have been cleaned up to look nice for display. One unique engine is a 1953 "fireless" steam locomotive. It didn't have a firebox. Instead, it got steam from a power plant and could run for about four hours on that stored steam!

Passenger and Freight Cars

The museum displays over forty different railway cars. These include passenger cars, mail cars, and freight cars. Many of the passenger cars have been fixed up and are used for the museum's train rides. You can even have birthday parties in a restored dining car next to the visitor center. The oldest working passenger car at the museum is the Frisco Coach No. 1062.

Special Railway Equipment

The museum also has some very interesting special equipment. This includes two large cranes that were used for building railways or clearing up train accidents. They also have several railcars that belonged to the United States Air Force. These cars were part of a plan to move large missiles by train.

Explore the Museum's Stations and Signals

The museum has more than just trains. It also features old train stations and railway signals.

Historic Train Stations

The museum has two old community railway stations. The former Wilton, Alabama, depot is now called the Calera depot. It holds many railway displays and is where the excursion trains start. The former Woodlawn, Alabama, depot is home to the Boone Library. This library has many books, photos, and other materials about railroads.

Working Railway Signals

Between the Calera depot and the main visitor center, there's a "signal garden." Here, you can see different types of working railway signals. These include crossing signals and old-fashioned semaphore signals.

Inside the Museum Buildings

The Calera depot has many displays about the history of railroads in Alabama. You can see old railway lanterns, locomotive headlights, and even china and silverware used on passenger trains. The Boone Library in the Woodlawn depot is a great place for research. It has old maps, train schedules, and technical manuals.

A Look at the Museum's History

Calera, Alabama (formerly Wilton, Alabama) depot and excursion train at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum started as a club.

• It first began in downtown Birmingham. The club received many train cars as donations. However, these cars were not safe from damage.
• In the early 1980s, the club moved to Calera. They found a large area of land there.
• The museum's main train, the Calera & Shelby Railroad, runs on an old section of track. This track was built in 1891 to carry minerals for making iron. The line was later abandoned.
• The museum bought 11 miles of this old railway path. Since then, they have been working to replace the tracks. The track currently ends near Springs Junction, Alabama.
• The smaller, narrow gauge train, called the Shelby & Southern Railroad, used to be the park train at the Birmingham Zoo. The museum bought some track, built a station, and fixed up the cars. This train opened in 2002 during a special event called "Day Out with Thomas."

Museum Equipment Details

The museum has a wide variety of locomotives and rolling stock.

Locomotives

Locomotive details

Number	Image	Type	Builder	Built	Status
3		Steam	American Locomotive Company	1910	Being restored
38		Steam	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1924	On display
40		Fireless	Davenport Locomotive Works	1924	On display
4046		Steam	Lima Locomotive Works	1944	On display
82		Diesel	American Locomotive Company	1937	On display, can run
37		Diesel	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1937	On display
904		Diesel	Electro-Motive Diesel	1942	On display
2019		Diesel	Electric-Motive Diesel	1951	Running
2022		Diesel	Electric-Motive Diesel	1951	Running
2430		Diesel	Euclid Company	1953	On display
1850		Diesel	Fairbanks-Morse	1953	On display, might be restored
520-020		Diesel	Plymouth Locomotive Works	1940s	On display
2		Diesel	Whitcomb Company	1951	Running

Rolling Stock (Train Cars)

Rolling stock details

Number	Image	Type	Builder	Built	Status
329		Baggage car	Unknown	Unknown	On display
467		Baggage car	Bethlehem Steel Corporation	1928	On display
1550, 1551		Baggage cars	Pullman Company	1949	On display
4527		Baggage car/Commissary car	Pullman Company	1915	Running
805		Baggage car	St. Louis Car Company	1929	On display
59, 7715		Gallery car	Pullman Company	1960	Running
4741		Coach	Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad	1947	Running
198		Dining car	Budd Company	1951	Running
1062		Coach	American Car and Foundry Company	1910	Running
3050		Lounge car	Pullman Company	1926	Being restored
2972		Coach	Unknown	1956	Running
892		Dome car	Budd Company	1948	Running
1121, 1122		Open-air cars	Unknown	1940, 1942	Running
30, 76		Post office cars	American Car and Foundry Company	1928	On display
2823		Chair car	Budd Company	1953	Running
2931		Chair car	Budd Company	1950	Running
4141		Dining car	Pullman Company	1917	On display
None		Sleeper car	Pullman Company	1924	On display
40240		Boxcar	Unknown	1938	On display
9003, 9004, 9007		Boxcars	Unknown	1962	On display
6907		Caboose	International Car Company	1952	Running
1400		Material handling car	Unknown	1986	On display
10522		Caboose	International Car Company	1970	Running
X201		Caboose	Unknown	1971	Running
X458, X461		Cabooses	Gantt Manufacturing Company	1970	On display
PS46		Boxcar	Pullman Company	Unknown	Stored, not in use
100x		Caboose	Unknown	Unknown	Stored, not in use
99x		Caboose	Unknown	1951	Stored, not in use
C-53		Air Command rail car	Unknown	Unknown	On display
41326		Flatcar	Unknown	1890s	Stored, not in use
403		Flatcar	Unknown	1920s	Stored, not in use
21417		Flatcar	American Car and Foundry Company	1956	Stored, not in use
38101		Flatcar	Magor Car Corporation	1951	Stored, not in use
38485		Flatcar	Magor Car Corporation	1951	Stored, not in use
38558		Flatcar	Magor Car Corporation	1951	Stored, not in use
38623		Flatcar	Magor Car Corporation	1951	Stored, not in use
51043		Flatcar	Unknown	Unknown	Stored, not in use
51043		Tanker car	Unknown	1920s	Stored, not in use
42476		Wooden camp car	Unknown	1921	On display

See also

• Birmingham District
• List of United States railroads
  • List of Alabama railroads
• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• List of railway museums