2024 brought a lot of fun, progress, and smiles around the railroad. Check out our year in review.
It is hard to believe 2024 is about to come to an end. The year started off with New Years Day club fun day with workdays and other activities around the railroad to follow. Our members and volunteers worked more than 40 days and more than 2,000 volunteer hours throughout the year. We could not have done it without the help of “Bob Jr” and other special equipment to get so much done throughout the year. They helped trench, move dirt, gravel, and more on a variety of projects including the Clubhouse and Grandma line. Let’s take a look back at some of the photos highlighting what all happened around the railroad.
January
The year started off with our annual New Years Day club fun day and then transitioned right into bringing power to the Clubhouse and Workshop containers with the help of a lot of people including a special trencher and operator. We couldn’t have gotten this done without everyone’s help.
Towards the end of January, we traveled over to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw and setup a display showing off our club steamer and more. The two-day event brought more than 3,000 people by with many of them stopping and learning more about our scale, railroad, and public run day schedule.
February
As the year continued to pick up steam we shift work to some track repair and re-configuration near the Nicol bridge on the west end of the railroad. The crew shifted a switch down towards the Nicol bridge and reconnected the siding track. This helped repair some zig zag in the track that had developed over the years. We also installed a curved switch that would eventually connect to the water line and become our mainline for a while. Meanwhile a lot of fill dirt was being brought in manually to help backfill against the retaining wall that had been moved in for the “Grandma Line” project.
March
This was probably one of the busiest months we’ve had this early in the year in a long time starting off with a club fun day and then transitioning to several workdays throughout the month. Work was done on the Grandma Line, retaining wall and safety fence installed near the Nicol bridge, water line extension, rebuilt passenger car, and more.
April
The month brought a great deal of work in the Clubhouse & Workshop containers as the crew installed insulation and built out wall and ceiling panels to make the container more comfortable to work in once things become operational. We also made a lot of progress on the Grandma Line as dirt was brought in and track panels set. Can’t forget about the container mural project also saw some great progress as the first two painted container stacks were completed. The steaming bays and other items got a fresh coat of paint as well.
May
Our members and volunteers spent the month working on the clubhouse and workshop, Grandma Line, tree removal, and more. By the end of the month a lot of progress had been made on so many projects really setting us to complete a number of projects throughout the year.
June
The year wasn’t all work and no play. We spent several Saturdays throughout the year just playing trains with family and friends. June brought two such days with our club fun day at the beginning of the month plus our annual Father’s Day club fun day. Really great to see so many enjoying the railroad.
July
The summer heat was in full swing which slowed progress on a number of projects but didn’t slow progress on the “Grandma Line” since much of the work was in the shade. With the help of “Bob Jr.” and a crew of people a lot of fill dirt and track panels where set allowing everyone to really see what the “Grandma Line” will look like once completed. A few more containers were completed on the container mural which is also taking shape to add some nice scenery for the railroad.
August
The summer heat really kicked in throughout the month of August which put a damper on projects and getting trains out to play. That however didn’t stop us from making plans as we prepared for work on a number of projects in September as the weather began to cool.
September
As the weather began to cool things picked up again on the clubhouse and workshop project, “Grandma Line”, moving a container to a different location on the property, and some tree limb removal as we have had a few intense summer storms blow through the area.
October
With all of the rain we’ve had this summer and early fall we had a sink whole develop on the east end of the railroad. The crew came in with help from “Bob Jr.” to perform the necessary repair. Additional work will be needed to finalize the repair which will be done during the off season.
With the sink hole repaired trains began to run throughout the month with our October public run day, fall meet, and more. Certainly, was a busy month of running trains around the railroad.
Fall Meet 2024
With each year our Fall meet grows a with more visitors, trains, and fun times had by all. This fairly new tradition of closing out the month of October is becoming a club favorite. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our 2025 Fall Meet.
November
We opened the month by closing out our final public run day of the year. The railroad operated more steam engines at one time than ever before along with a couple of diesel locomotives hauling passengers throughout the afternoon. This November ended up being our best November on record which really helped us close out the run day season strong. Our 2025 run day season schedule will be announced soon. Stay up to date with activities around the railroad by signing up for our email announcements.
As we transitioned to offseason a great deal of work on the “Grandma Line” took place along with more containers painted on the container mural. Hopefully by the end of March 2025 the “Grandma Line” may be finished. We will see what next year brings.
December
The last official workday of 2024 is now in the books ending with more progress on the “Grandma Line” and repair of a leak with the gray container extension. The crew working on the “Grandma Line” consisted of John T., Wes, Norm, and Robby. Together they finished nearly 70 feet of track leaving a switch and nearly 100 feet of track until the long awaited “Grandma Line” is finished. The next step for the project includes installing a retaining wall and a curved switch on the mainline with the hope of finishing the project by the end of March.
Our members and volunteers are preparing for 2025 projects and more. If you would like to get involved check out some of the projects going on around railroad by, click on the Railroad Projects button below. As you might expect while we are a 100% volunteer organization that doesn’t mean we still don’t have financial needs. If you would like to make a donation to our non-profit organization, you can make your contribution by clicking on the “Support the Railroad” button below. We look forward to seeing you around the railroad in 2025.
