North Alabama Railroad Museum facts for kids
An ALCO S-2 at the museum.
|
|
| Established | 1966 |
|---|---|
| Location | Huntsville, Alabama |
| Type | Tourist railroad and museum |
The North Alabama Railroad Museum (NARM) is a cool place in Huntsville, Alabama, where you can learn all about trains! It started in 1966 and is run completely by volunteers. The museum has many old trains, a small train station, and its own special train line called the Mercury and Chase Railroad. You can ride this train from April to December.
Their main goal is to save and share the history of trains in North Alabama and South Central Tennessee. Over 100 volunteers make it all happen! You can visit the museum every day. Volunteers are usually there on Wednesdays and Saturdays to help. It's free to visit the museum, but there is a small fee to ride the trains. You can find the train ride schedule on the museum's website.
Contents
About the Museum and Train Rides
The North Alabama Railroad Museum (NARM) runs a fun train ride experience in Chase, Alabama. This community is very close to Huntsville, Alabama. In 1984, the museum bought 5 miles of old train tracks. These tracks used to be part of a line that went between Huntsville and Winchester, Tennessee. Today, the museum uses these tracks for its special Mercury and Chase Railroad trips.
Exciting Train Excursions
The Mercury and Chase Railroad offers public train rides on a regular schedule. You can also book private trips! All the trains and equipment used are owned and cared for by the museum. Every piece of equipment used on these trips was built before 1950. The Mercury and Chase Railroad takes you on a round trip of about 10 miles. The journey goes from Normal east to a place called Mt Carmel.
How to Become a Member
The NARM is run entirely by volunteers. Anyone can become a member! If you are a member, you can volunteer to help at the museum. You can also help with the train rides.
Museum Buildings and Tracks
The NARM has several important buildings and areas. At the Chase location, there are two train stations. There is also an office building that holds the history center and a library. At Mercury, you will find the train maintenance shed. The museum also owns 5 miles of train tracks. These tracks are used to operate the trains.
The Chase Train Station
The train station at Chase was once the smallest Union station in the United States. A Union station is a place where different train companies share tracks. This station originally served the Southern Railway and the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. A big customer for the Chase Depot was the Chase Nursery. This nursery used both train lines to send plants all over the country. The building you see at Chase today was built in 1937. It still serves as the main station for the Mercury and Chase Railroad. You can pick up your train ride tickets at the ticket window here.
The Plevna Train Station
The Plevna Depot was a small "whistle stop" station. It was originally located in Plevna, Alabama. Now, this small wooden building is on display next to the loading platform. Passengers used it as a waiting area. They would wait there to wave down the train when they wanted to ride.
The Chase Office Building
The Chase Office building was originally the office for the Chase Nursery. Today, it holds the museum's library. It also houses the Hugh Dudley Railroad History Center.
The Train Shed
The Mercury train shed is where the museum fixes and restores old train equipment. You can often see this shed when you are riding on the Mercury and Chase Railroad.
Amazing Train Collection
The NARM and Mercury and Chase Railroad have a collection of locomotives and train cars. These show the history of trains in North Alabama and South-Central Tennessee. The locomotives are early diesel-electric trains. The train cars include both passenger cars and freight cars. Most of this equipment is at the Chase location. You can view it during daylight hours.
Powerful Locomotives
The Mercury and Chase Railroad owns and operates several Alco locomotives. They have three ALCO S-2 and S-4 units. They also have an ALCO RSD-1 that pulls their passenger trains. The RSD-1 was built for the US Army. It was used during the last months of World War II. Many similar locomotives were sent to the Soviet Union to help during the war. The S-4 locomotive was built for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Its number with that railroad was 1534.
Cool Rolling Stock (Train Cars)
The Mercury and Chase Railroad has many train cars that can be used. They have two shiny stainless steel coaches. These were built by Budd Company in 1939 and 1940. They are used on all the train rides. There is also a dining car. This car was first built as a hospital car for the US Army in 1943. It was made by American Car and Foundry Company. The museum also has a heavy passenger coach built in 1927 by Pullman Company. There is a baggage car too, built in 1924 by American Car and Foundry Company.
Trains on Display
The NARM also has many train cars that are just for display. Some of these are waiting to be fixed up. Others are permanent displays. The museum has a 1926 ALCO boxcab locomotive. This train was built with parts from GE and an Ingersoll-Rand diesel engine. The museum also has a Railway post office car. This car was built for the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway in 1928. There is a Caboose on display at the museum's entrance. It was built for the Southern Railway in 1947. You can go inside the caboose when volunteers are there. It is set up to show how railroad workers used to live and work inside it.
The NARM owns many other train cars. These include baggage cars, passenger coaches, a dining car, box cars, flat cars, cabooses, and a tank car. Many of these are on display just as they are. Feel free to bring a camera and enjoy walking along the line of cars!
The Hugh Dudley Railroad History Center
The NARM is home to the Hugh Dudley Railroad History Center. This center displays a special part of the museum's collection. Mr. Dudley was a long-time member of the museum. He is often available on Saturdays when there is a train ride. He loves to talk about the items on display. The History Center is located in the building that used to be the office for the Chase Nursery.
Special Programs and Events
The NARM offers special programs throughout the year. You can contact the museum to get more information about these events.
The School Program
Each spring, the NARM offers a field trip program for kindergarten and first-grade classes. This program includes a guided tour of the museum. There is also a video about trains. Students get to ride a train and also ride in a special railroad surrey pulled by an old motor car. Since 1971, over 100,000 teachers and students have enjoyed The School Program! You can call the museum for more details about this program.
Boy Scout Railroading Merit Badge
The NARM offers a Saturday session for young men in Boy Scouts of America. During this session, they can start working on their Railroading Merit Badge. Much of the work for the badge can be completed during this time. The NARM has offered this program for many years. It has helped many young men earn their merit badge.
Eagle Scout Projects
The NARM has also worked with scouts on Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America) projects. Scouts have helped restore equipment, improve the landscaping, and build a special loading platform for people with disabilities.
Images for kids
-
An ALCO S-2 at the museum.
See also
- List of heritage railroads in the United States
- List of museums in Alabama
- List of transport museums
- List of railway museums
- List of Alabama railroads
