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GEORGIA TOURS NEWS UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR ADMISSION DINING GROUP RATES MAPS & DIRECTIONS > OLD FORT JACKSON DIRECTIONS TOURS EDUCATOR'S GUIDE FIELD TRIPS HOME SCHOOL SCOUTS CHILDREN'S CAMPS FAMILY EVENTS OVERVIEW BIRTHDAYS > BIRTHDAY BATTALION COLONIAL TIMES PARTY FANCY TEA PARTY LITTLE ENGINEER CLIENT LIST CORPORATE EVENTS WEDDINGS VOLUNTEER SPONSORSHIP & DONATIONS > WISHLIST WAYS TO GIVE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS OUR TEAM PRESERVATION REPORT ARCHAEOLOGY > FAQ GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS COLLECTIONS > EXHIBITS ARTYFACTS SAVE OUR TREASURES OUR TEAM ROLLING STOCK > ENGINES CARS CABOOSES CARS Central Railroad & Banking Company No. 2 Inspection Car The Central Railroad & Banking Company used this wood-bodied car as an inspection car. Officials from the railroad would travel over the line, inspecting track, structures, and other facilities. The large windows at the rear of the car allowed the officials to watch the track as they were going from place to place. Number 2 was originally built in 1878 as a passenger coach, but was converted, in 1904, by workers here at the Savannah Shops into an inspection car for the Divisions' District Superintendents. As an inspection car it was equipped with two bedrooms, a toilet and shower, kitchen dining room, observation room and platform. This configuration remains today. The frames holding the wheels have "Central of Georgia" cast into them. It is one of the oldest surviving Central Railroad cars. Donated by Rick Perry Georgia Railroad No. 67 Coach Stenciling on the door indicates that this Georgia Railroad #67 coach was built in Augusta Georgia in 1911. But due to the early methods of construction employed on this coach, it is possible that the car was refit in 1911 and that its original construction could have been as early as 1880. Besides the ornamentation, the partitions inside the car imply that it may have been in service during the Jim Crow Laws a period of racial segregation. The Jim Crow Laws provide that accommodations for blacks may be separate from whites but must be equal for both, thus the same finish and fittings throughout the car but there is a partition to separate the races. The interior of this car has three separate partitions. The small spaces in the corners of the car were used as bathrooms. One of the things that is unique about this car is that following its service life on the railroad it became a residence. Following the United States entry into World War II military camps and bases had to be created to handle the influx of new soldiers. In towns where these camps were built there was often a housing shortage. Such was the case with Augusta in 1942, when construction began on Camp Gordon. This car was purchased from the railroad and moved a few miles up the road from a crossing, where it was put on a cinder block foundation and used as WWII housing. Later it was used as offices for a business. Donated by Cindy Bryson, Martinez, GA Central of Georgia Columbus Office Car The Columbus was built in 1913 by the Pullman Car Company and configured as an all-steel sun parlor observation car. It was originally purchased by the Illinois Central Railroad and given the number 3855. The original plan for the car shows two large lounge sections, ample seating, a buffet section, a large bar, a card room, and separate mens and womens lavatories. The car was fully electric with sixteen electrical outlets, two fresh air grills, and several air distribution ducts In 1920, the Central of Georgia Railroad purchased the car from the Illinois Central Railroad and renamed it Office Car #100. It was brought to the Savannah Shops, where it was completely rebuilt as an officer car. The president of the railroad and the other officers of the company used the car to travel for railroad business, to inspect the various facilities of the railroad, and to meet with local political and business leaders having business dealings with the Central of Georgia. The car was redesigned to include an observation room, office, two private sleeping quarters, three complete restrooms, one half-bath, dining room, full kitchen, and small sleeping quarters for the staff. The interior was finished in mahogany and carpeted floors. The car was fully electric, complete with nine electric fans, four ceiling and five bracketed fans and equipped with an ice activated air conditioning system. The Central of Georgia employed a full time cook and porter to care for the officials using the car. In 1953 the name of the Office Car #100 was changed to the "Columbus." Ten different Presidents of the Central of Georgia used the car. Finally on June 19, 1967, after 47 years of use, the Columbus was taken out of service. Donated by PFL Industries, Houston, TX Outside Braced Wooden Boxcar This 40 ft. wooden boxcar was manufactured by the Keith Car Company c.1918. Wooden boxcars were the most numerous of the freight cars owned by a railroad. With large sliding doors, located on each side of the boxcar, and a door at each end it was easy to load and unload the goods being transported by the railroad. This boxcar was painted red with white lettering when new. Originally this box car was used by the Maine Central Railroad. The Coastal Heritage Society purchased the boxcar from the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Scenic Railroad in Unity, Maine and brought it the Roundhouse Railroad Museum in 2008. This car represents one of the last wooden box cars of the 20th century. Soon they would be made of all steel construction. Central of Georgia No. 430 Baggage Car The Pullman Company built this car in 1924 as a parlor car and named it the "Charles Carroll." The Central of Georgia converted it in 1949 to Baggage Car No. 430 and used it in its passenger service. It was common for railroads to convert cars like this to accommodate changing needs. This car is unique in that the vestibules remained intact following the conversion. Usually railroad companies wanted to use as much available space as possible. Baggage cars typically have two large sliding doors on each side of the car. Shelves called "Fish Racks" would have been on each side toward the ends of the car for storing passenger bags, parcels and supplies. Cars of this type were referred to as Head End cars because in the passenger train consist they were directly behind the locomotives, ahead of the passenger coaches and sleeping cars. Today this car is being used for children's programs. Donated by the Augusta (GA) History Museum Central of Georgia Atlanta Office Car The Atlanta was originally built by the Pullman Company in 1925 as a parlor car, given number 647 and named "Edith." The Central of Georgia Railroad purchased Edith in 1942 and converted her into a passenger coach for standard commuter service. In March of 1950 coach #647 was brought to the Savannah Shops and rebuilt as an office car. This work was undertaken and completed in the Coach Shop building on the Western side of the complex. Working along with the office cars "Columbus" and "Savannah" the "Atlanta" was used to transport the presidents and other officers of the Central of Georgia Railroad to meetings across the country as well as to conduct business and to entertain their guests. Specifications for the car called for an observation room, four staterooms, dining room, kitchen, and a room for the porter and cook. The car had an electric lighting system, Ruud hot water heater, vapor fin type heating system and an ice activated air conditioning system. Butane gas was used for cooking and heating the water. In January of 1970 the railroad considered the Atlanta to be surplus equipment and sold it to The Atlantic Creosote Company. In 2003 the Atlanta was moved to the Roundhouse Railroad Museum and is on extended loan from Atlantic Wood Industries. The Atlanta has been restored by the Coastal Heritage Society to its 1956 appearance with many of its 1950s furnishing still in place. On loan from Atlantic Wood Industries Fruit Growers Express No. 57826 Refrigerator Car This wooden refrigerator car was built in 1924 and used to transport perishable food items from the field, mill, or meat packing plant to market. The food was kept cold by blocks of ice that were loaded into bunkers on the ends of the car. The refrigerator car was revolutionary in how it altered the food consumption patterns of everyday Americans. Fruit and vegetables normally consumed in the South and West could now be shipped across the country. Donated by the Altoona (PA) Railroaders Memorial Museum Seaboard Airline Railroad No. 17361 Boxcar Boxcars were, and still are, some of the most common cars found on freight trains. Aside from hauling various products from the field or factory to the marketplace, boxcars were used as advertisements for the railroad companies. Slogans and logos highlighting "fast freight service" or "Giving the Green Light to Innovation" would adorn the sides of boxcars that traveled all over the country. This particular car advertised the Seaboard Airlines Railroads most famous passenger train with the slogan "The Route of the Orange Blossom Special" painted on the side. As people waited at railroad crossings they would see this and many other cars promoting services and trains offered by the railroads. With the merger and consolidation of so many railroad lines, advertisements like this have all but vanished from American railroads. Donated by Charles (Chuck) and Matilda Swann, Garden City, GA. Norfolk and Western Railway Boxcar American Car and Foundry built this boxcar in 1965 for the Norfolk & Western Railway. This 40 boxcar is a B22 class with a steel-sided exterior and a wooden interior. Boxcars like this one were employed for the transportation of goods and supplies. Large sliding doors, located on each side of a boxcar, could potentially close during travel, and trap unauthorized travelers for days. During the Great Depression the boxcar was the primary mode of travel for "hobos." Men looking for work, seeing an open boxcar door would "hop the train" and ride to a distant town in hopes of finding a job. Hobos developed their own culture and codes during this time, a culture that has been romanticized in movies. The lifestyle was not as carefree as portrayed on film, but was difficult and dangerous. Jobs were scarce and hard to come by and the railroad police would threaten, harass hobos and force them off the trains. Today, tractor-trailers and shipping containers, which are loaded on specially built flat cars, are the most popular method of moving freight. In 2007 the Coastal Heritage Society staff converted this boxcar into a theater space for the museum. Donated by the Norfolk Southern Foundation Southern Railway No. 992528 Covered Hopper Covered hoppers were specialized freight cars used to haul products such as gain, gravel or coal. Open hoppers can transport freight that is not weather sensitive. The interior is open to maximize load capacity. They are loaded from the top and unloaded through drop chutes over a receiving pit. Covered hoppers are loaded by towers or chutes into circular openings that are then sealed for transport. Each of the four chambers can be unloaded independently through drop chutes over a receiving pit. Covered hoppers were used as early as the 1830s for hauling grain. At the end of its life this particular hopper was filled to reach a certain weight and then sealed. It was then used as a scale car to test the accuracy of scales in freight classification yards. Donated by the Norfolk Southern Foundation Georgia Northern Railway No. 38 Combination Car The American Car and Foundry built this combination passenger/baggage car in 1914 for the Charleston & Western Carolina Railroad. Sometime between 1932 and 1949, the coach was sold to the Georgia Northern Railroad where it remained in passenger service until 1948, at which time it was sold to the Alton & Southern Railroad where it was used in work train service until 1968. This car represents a transition in railcar construction technology. The use of structural steel in the deck and frame of the car required less engineering in the body of the car. Soon after the period that this car was constructed most coaches were built entirely of steel. This car combines passenger seating with a baggage storage area in the same car. Cars like this were used primarily in branch line service because the passenger train did not carry as many passengers as main line trains. The Georgia Northern Railway was started in the early 1890s as a logging railroad, the Boston and Albany (not to be confused with the New York Central subsidiary of the same name). After entering receivership in 1894, the line was renamed the Georgia Northern. In 1966, it was acquired by the Southern Railway and, in 1972, was merged with the Albany and Northern. The new subsidiary retained the Georgia Northern name. This car is owned by the Thronateeska Heritage Foundation of Albany, Georgia. It is slated for restoration. Burro Crane # 8 This is an all-purpose track crane for moving lightweight cars, rails, ties and equipment. Cranes such as these were commonly used as maintenance of way vehicles for constructing and disassembling track. The Cullen-Freistedt Company of Chicago built this Model 15 crane.

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