As we got off the train, we were met by Lindsey, the ticket agent, who offered us a tour of the depot museum so we naturally took her up on her offer.
The timetable boards from the original Birmingham station which no longer exists.
Benches, also from Birmingham, that the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum was very fortunate to acquire.
This station agent never talks, no matter how much people try to engage him in conversation.
History of Alabama Mineral Railroad.
Dispatching board and ATCS monitor.
Pullman Travel display.
Map of the Alabama Mineral Railroad.
Pullman Service artifacts.
Track maintenance equipment.
The velocipede.
More railroad displays.
The railroad flagman.
Lanterns and other items.
Pullman porter and passenger.
Southern Railway steam engine model.
Different types of rail.
The Minooka, Alabama station.
Dining car china.
Lanterns and steam whistles.
Conductor and porter hats and timetables.
More dining car china.
Museum view.
The Pullman Porter display.
Pictures of Birmingham's Louisville and Nashville station.
The Calera and Shelby ticket office.
Louisville and Nashville history and a steam locomotive model.
Headlights.
Marker lights.
An original Louisville and Nashville timetable board. This was the end of our station tour. We went outside to the signal garden where my lovely wife Elizabeth pressed the button to activate them all which was quite something to see and hear.
All of this because Elizabeth pressed a button.
The Shelby Southern station. We then visited the gift shop and made purchases as we always do when visiting a tourist railroad. The last part of our tour was the narrow gauge steam engines and cars.
This engine came from the Birmingham Zoo but now has a life here on the Shelby Southern narrow gauge railroad.
The passenger cars of the Shelby Southern.
Museum scene.
The engine house.
The observation car from the Birmingham Zoo Railroad. This concluded a most wonderful visit to the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. This volunteer-run organization went above and beyond for us, organizing for available volunteers to run the train for us today and they all did an outstanding job. Elizabeth and I are very appreciative for this opportunity to visit and ride this fantastic railroad. We will return at some point to ride the narrow gauge and highly recommend this museum to everyone. A special thank you to David Brewer for being so accommodating and willing to work with us to give us such an excellent experience on a day that they do not normally operate.
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