The Georgia State Railroad Museum (formerly the Roundhouse Railroad Museum) is a museum in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

located at a historic

Central of Georgia Railway The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

site. It includes parts of the Central of Georgia Railway: Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. The complex is considered the most complete

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...

railroad complex in the United States. The museum, located at 655 Louisville Road, is part of a historic district included in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The museum is across the street from the

Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed is a former passenger depot and trainshed constructed in 1860 by the Central of Georgia Railway (CofG) before the outbreak of the American Civil War. This pair of buildings was declared a National Historic Lan ...

, also part of the historic district. The complex was constructed in 1853 by the

(CofG) before the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Savannah Shops and terminal buildings were declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1976, a listing which was expanded in 1978 to include additional buildings in the complex. (includes 7 pages of drawings) and The historic railroad structures at the Georgia State Railroad Museum site include a partial roundhouse with operating turntable, partial machine shop, Tender Frame Shop,

Blacksmith Shop A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

Boiler House A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

, Storehouse & Print Shop, Lumber and Planing Sheds, Coach and Paint Shops, and a partial Carpentry Shop which now houses Savannah Children's Museum. Many of these structures are open for visitors to explore.

Description

The Historic Railroad Shops complex is among the finest remaining examples of Victorian railroad architecture and design and is the most intact antebellum railroad repair complex in the country. It was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. On-site displays include antique shaft driven machinery, locomotives and railroad stock, model train layouts, an operating turntable, and the oldest portable steam engine in the United States. The Historic Railroad Shops offers a valuable educational experience for students and has also become a popular local tourist attraction. The complex has been maintained as the Georgia State Railroad Museum and a general industry museum by the Coastal Heritage Society with the assistance of the City of Savannah.

Site history

The Central of Georgia Railroad started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833, and built a

passenger station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

, freight terminal and some shops in the Louisville Road area of Savannah around 1836. However, none of those structures remain today. By the mid-1840s the railway had expanded to of

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, and the CG began construction of new shops in 1851.Coastal Heritage Society, Savannah, GA (2009)
"Central of Georgia Savannah Repair Shops and Passenger Station: Historic Building Inventory and Phases of Construction."
The first completed building was the carpenters' shop in 1853, followed by the original roundhouse,

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...

, tender frame shop,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop and several other buildings in 1855. Additional buildings were constructed at the complex into the 1920s.Georgia State Railroad Museum, Savannah, Georgia (2008). "Central of Georgia Railway Repair Shops." Brochure. The roundhouse, turntable and other structures were rebuilt in the late 1920s after a major fire in 1923, as well as to accommodate larger

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

. Passenger trains operated to the Central of Georgia Depot until 1971.

Transition to museum

The Southern Railway purchased the CG in 1963 and closed the Savannah shops. Subsequently, the railway transferred the complex to the City of Savannah. The Coastal Heritage Society, a non-profit organization, opened the museum on the site in 1989.Coastal Heritage Society
"Georgia State Railroad Museum."
Accessed 2011-06-11.

Museum facilities

Museum attractions include: * Massive roundhouse with an operating

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

(length ) * Numerous historic railroad buildings * Historic machinery and

stationary steam engine Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam cars ...

s *

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

and

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

* Office cars and

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

s. * Daily tours and activities, sometimes including a short site tour by rail. *

Model railroad Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

Gallery

File:CG223 Georgia RR Museum.jpg, CG locomotive no. 223 in front of the roundhouse. The locomotive is a Baldwin C-3 class

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

, built 1907, ended service 1952. File:SavAtl2715.JPG,

EMD GP35 The EMD GP35 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between July 1963 and December 1965 and by General Motors Diesel between May 1964 and January 1966. 1251 examples were built for American railroa ...

diesel locomotive #2715, a former S&A locomotive on display at the Historic Railroad Shops, November 26, 2003 File:Central of Georgia Railroad, Savannah, GA, US.jpg, Central of Georgia Railway Museum File:Central of Georgia Railroad roundhouse, Savannah, GA, US.JPG, The roundhouse in 2015

References

External links

MLK Blvd. Visitor Information CenterGeorgia State Railroad Museum
- Coastal Heritage Society

- Rail Georgia.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{authority control 1853 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Central of Georgia Railway Historic American Engineering Record in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Museums established in 1989 Museums in Savannah, Georgia National Historic Landmarks in Savannah, Georgia National Register of Historic Places in Savannah, Georgia Railroad museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Railroad roundhouses in Georgia (U.S. state) Railroad-related National Historic Landmarks Railway workshops in the United States Railway roundhouses on the National Register of Historic Places Railway workshops on the National Register of Historic Places Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Blacksmith shops Savannah Historic District