Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
| Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| HODRRM | |
| Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera, Alabama | |
| Locale | Calera, Shelby County, Alabama, USA |
| 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 | HODX |
| 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 (initialised HOD, reporting mark HODX) is the official state railroad museum of Alabama. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of historically significant railway equipment, the museum is located at 1919 Ninth Street, Calera, Alabama, on I-65 approximately 30 miles (48 km) south of Birmingham.
The museum features a wide range of locomotives, cars and other railroad equipment that dates from the 19th century to the 1950s and operates regularly scheduled excursions with museum equipment over the museum’s track. It also features two depots that are approximately 100 years old.
The museum operates a heritage railroad that offers two excursion trains every Saturday from March - December. It also operates excursions on special dates such as Halloween and Christmas. The standard gauge train operates with a diesel locomotive on a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) section of the former Alabama Mineral Railroad, a division of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The museum offers visitors the opportunity to ride in the cab of the locomotive and in a caboose in addition to the enclosed and open-air passenger cars.
Additionally, the museum operates a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge live steam engine locomotive and passenger cars on a one-quarter-mile (0.4 km) long loop. This train served the nearby Birmingham Zoo for many years before being placed into operation at the museum.
Interior historical displays at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum excursion train departs past the display of railroad signals.
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.
Norfolk Southern (formerly Southern Railway) rail crane and Whitcomb 25-ton diesel switcher.
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