Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum facts for kids

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum (also called HOD) is Alabama's official state railroad museum. It works to save, fix, and run old train equipment. The museum is located in Calera, Alabama. It is about 30 miles (48 km) south of Birmingham.

The museum has many different trains and railroad cars. These pieces of equipment date from the 1800s to the 1950s. The museum also runs train rides using its old equipment. You can also see two train stations that are about 100 years old.

What You Can See and Do

The museum runs a special train line called a heritage railway. It offers two train rides every Saturday from March to December. They also have special rides for holidays like Halloween and Christmas.

The main train uses a diesel engine and runs on a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) track. This track was once part of the Alabama Mineral Railroad. You can ride in regular passenger cars or open-air cars. You can even ride in the engine's cab or in a caboose!

The museum also has a smaller, 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge train. This train uses a real steam engine and runs on a one-quarter-mile (0.4 km) loop. This train used to be at the nearby Birmingham Zoo for many years.

Cool Trains to See

The museum has three diesel-electric engines that are still working. They use these for the train rides and for moving cars around the shop. Six other diesel engines are on display, along with two electric shop engines. These engines were made by companies like GM, Whitcomb, Baldwin, Alco, and Fairbanks-Morse.

The museum also has four steam locomotives on display, but they are not running. You can go inside the cab of a 1924 Baldwin steam engine. It has wooden stairs for visitors. Two other steam engines have been cleaned up to look nice for display. One is a special 1953 "fireless" steam engine. It didn't have a firebox. Instead, it got steam from a power plant's boilers. This stored steam could power it for about four hours.

Passenger and Freight Cars

The museum has over forty pieces of "rolling stock." This is a fancy name for train cars. They are from the early to late 1900s. This includes passenger cars, mail cars, and freight cars. Many passenger cars have been fixed up. They are now used for the museum's train rides. You can even have birthday parties in a restored dining car!

Unique Rail Vehicles

The museum has some very interesting and special equipment. It has two large cranes that run on rails. These were used for building things and cleaning up train wrecks.

It also has several railcars that belonged to the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. These cars were part of a plan to move special missiles by train.

Old Train Stations

The museum has two old train stations. The first is the former Wilton, Alabama depot. It is now called the Calera station. It holds many railroad displays and is where the train rides start.

The second station is the former Woodlawn, Alabama depot. This building holds the Boone Library. This library has many railroad books, photos, and research materials.

Train Signals

There is a "signal garden" between the Calera station and the main museum building. This garden shows different types of working train signals. You can see crossing signals, a semaphore, and other railroad signals.

Inside the Museum

The Calera depot has many displays about Alabama's railroad history. You can see old railway lanterns and locomotive headlights. There are also pieces of rail and old china and silverware from passenger trains.

The Boone Library in the Woodlawn depot has many books and other items. It also has old maps, track diagrams, and timetables. These are available for people to use for research.

How the Museum Started

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum started as the Heart of Dixie Railroad Club. Its first home was in downtown Birmingham. The club received many train cars as gifts. But the cars were not safe from vandals. Some cars were even burned.

In the early 1980s, the Club moved to Calera. They got a lot of land there. The museum has been building up its tracks and displays ever since.

The main train line, the Calera & Shelby Railroad, runs on an old track. This track was built in 1891 to carry minerals for making iron. The line was later closed because a new dam would have flooded a bridge. The museum bought Eleven miles (18 km) of this old track area. They have been replacing the track along this path.

The smaller, Shelby & Southern Railroad (the 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge train) used to be at the Birmingham Zoo. The museum bought some track and built a station and repair shed. The train cars were cleaned and painted. The steam engine was sent away to be fixed. The small train opened in 2002. It opened during "Day Out with Thomas" when Thomas the Tank Engine visits the museum.

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

Images for kids

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  Interior historical displays at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.

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  The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum excursion train departs past the display of railroad signals.

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  Woodward Iron Company No. 38 steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924 and Alabama Power Company fireless steamer locomotive No.40 built by Davenport in 1953.

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  Norfolk Southern (formerly Southern Railway) rail crane and Whitcomb 25-ton diesel switcher.

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  Electro-motive Division SW-1 switcher locomotive.

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  Strategic Air Command rail car

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