Southern Railway Museums

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum – Chattanooga

In Chattanooga, as steam made its last appearances on the country’s major railroads, a few railroad fans began buying steam engines and passenger cars that the railroads would otherwise have scrapped. This small collection was the beginning of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, which was founded in 1961 by a small group of local residents who were intent on trying to save some American history by preserving, restoring, and operating authentic railway equipment from the “Golden Age of Railroading.”

Today, TVRM preserves railroad equipment not only to preserve machines but to preserve an experience as well. In providing this historical experience, TVRM hopes to educate our visitors about the importance of this industry and how it helped create the modern world in which we live. (excerpted from the TVRail.com website)

www.tvrail.com

https://www.facebook.com/tvrail/

Southern Railway SD-40-2 #3170 Chattanooga

Chuckey Depot Museum – Jonesborough TN

(Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society & Museum)

The mission of the Chuckey Depot focuses on regional railroads in its exhibits, like the Southern, Clinchfield, and East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad. The museum maintains themed exhibits which change every six months. The Chuckey Depot Museum is located at 110 South 2nd Avenue. For more information, please call 423.753.1010. The Depot’s regular hours are Thursday-Sunday, 1pm-4pm.

https://www.wataugavalleynrhs.org/museum.php
https://www.facebook.com/groups/107377722614612
Equipment Roster: https://www.wataugavalleynrhs.org/equipmentroster.php
Passenger Cars: https://www.wataugavalleynrhs.org/passengercars.php

North Carolina Transportation Museum – Spencer NC

The North Carolina Transportation Museum is set on the former site of Southern Railway Company’s 1896-era Spencer Shops, the railroad’s main locomotive servicing facility. The museum has the largest collection of rail relics in the Carolinas, but don’t let that mislead you! This is more than a stuffy museum full of only railroad artifacts; it is an immersive experience that provides interactive activities and a full calendar of events great for not only rail fans but families too!

https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/

Southern Railway #6900 E8A

Virginia Museum of Transportation – Roanoke VA

Climb aboard decades-old steam locomotives while watching modern trains zoom by on active mainline tracks. Located in downtown Roanoke’s century-old freight station, the museum includes an extensive collection of steam, diesel, and electric locomotives and other types of rail cars. Other visitor favorites include model trains, automotive and aviation exhibits, buggies, a trolley bus, and a Jupiter Rocket.

http://www.vmt.org/

Norfolk & Western Railway #1218 2-6-6-4

George L. Carter Railroad Museum – Johnson City TN

On the campus of East Tennessee State University, the museum is open Saturdays from 10AM to 3PM. Annually thousands of visitors enjoy the museum’s displays, which include historic prototype railroad memorabilia, toy trains and model railroading locomotives, rolling stock, and structures. Four large operating layouts in three different scales provide viewing enjoyment in the museum’s 5,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space. One of the highlights is the ET&WNC model railroad layout, expansive, and beautifully modeled.

More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.

Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.

Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
Book – Reisweber: ‘Southern Railway Power’
Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
Website – Hawkinsrails.net
Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
Website – Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
Website – SteamLocomotive.com
Website – TheDieselShop.us
Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia

Contact Us

Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Southern or Model Railroads.

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org