The Mercury and Chase Railroad is operated by the North Alabama Railroad Museum in Huntsville, AL. The railroad is operated over 5 miles of former Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad main line (then L&N and finally Seaboard Systems before being sold to the museum by the then-new CSX corp in 1985). The North Alabama Railroad Museum (NARM) is a chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society.
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Excursion day at the museum! I really like this photo... takes you back to the old days...
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This photo is one of my favorites... taken on minutes before the museum opened on one of our excursion days.... This photo could almost pass for being from the 50's, 60's, or 70's.
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This is our main locomotive, an Alco RS-2. It pulls the excursion train. The building on the right is an old depot we salvaged. It has since been repaired.
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The locomotive runs arround the train. The locomotive is on the main line. The green and yellow structure is the depot. It was the smallest Union Depot in the United States. NARM's line is a former NC&St.L line, while NS has a line only a few feet away.
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The locomotive has pulled into a siding.
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Our Boxcab locomotive. It is being restored.
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Fred Anderson checks out the locomotive.
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An NS freight is coming and museum members gather to watch on a workday. In this photo you can see the Chase Depot, the smallest Union Depot in the country. Between the depot and the caboose is the main line. The semiphore controls the main.
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Here comes the train... Museum members take a break to watch a UP/NS coal train headed for a power plant in Georgia with coal from Wyoming.
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Engineer Fred Anderson runs through the pre-operation check list to verify the locomotive is ready to operate safely before an excursion.
Click for a full view The museum's hi-rail truck on a siding.
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Here is another shot of the locomotive in action.
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All aboard! An excursion prepares to leave.
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The train is returning from an excursion.
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Proudly parked after a hard days work.
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Early morning shot of the museum before an excursion.
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General Manager and Engineer Ralph Jordan prepares to take the locomotive out for a spin.
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The museums refer car, used for A/V presentations.
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One of our former Southern boxcars.
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One of our former Southern cabooses. This one is on permanent display.
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A former Southern Railway crane that was donated to the museum.
