Had a chance to visit the NC Rail Museum. My son and I rode the cab of this well restored GP30 (they even let him blow the horn) pulling three Pullman's and two caboose. Great place to visit and well worth the money spent for the 30 minute ride on a smooth moving diesel.
Southern RR GP30
- Thread starter Herc Driver
- Start date
I happend on their web site a few years ago when I ws looking for a pic of an F unit cab interior. They were very cool people to correspond with and it looks like they have some neat equipment to show.
Ralph
Ralph
Nice stuff. I have a friend in my railroad club that is totally immersed in SOU and NS and I am sure he will appreciate this photo and museum.
kf4jqd
Active Member
That is a bueatiful shot of the locomotive! :thumb: Where is this place at in NC? Do they have a wbsite I can check out? I plan on going and visit the Smoky Mountain Railroad sometime this year!
Thanks for the great picture
,
Andy
Thanks for the great picture
,Andy
NC Transportation Museum
Here's their website...www.nctrans.org and in case anyone is or might model this one day, I included three more pic's of this GP30.
They just got back their F3 - one of only three left running in the country from what I was told. Most of their diesels are very well restored, and they're in winter restoration of the steam loco's. The rolling stock is always a "work in progress" as are their passenger car line. The museum is located in Spencer, NC just about a 45 minute drive east of Charlotte on I-85. Getting a family of 7 on the train - including two in the cab at $10 each - cost us only $37. Not bad considering how much fun was had. They have a working roundtable and functional 37 bay roundhouse. You can ride the turntable and walk the roundhouse with good viewing of almost all their rolling stock and loco's. They also have a small airplane and historic car museum. Plans are in the works to expand a large building and build up the amount of planes and cars as well as trains. They already have a DC-3 of Piedmont in early stages of restoration.
The GP30 was extremely clean and well painted. Clearly, the people who volunteer their time take great pride in their work. Ironically, the GP30 is their least dependable engine since the Southern shop re-wired it many years ago and changed some of the inner workings of the electrical so much, that they are unable to get it wired back to General Motors standard. The E8 they have runs well, and their Fairbanks Morse is the strongest puller of the lot. Overall, if you live in or near North Carolina, you can easily spend a day enjoying the sights of the museum and the 30 or so minute train ride is worth every penny. Go for the cab ride...you just can't beat it.
Here's their website...www.nctrans.org and in case anyone is or might model this one day, I included three more pic's of this GP30.
They just got back their F3 - one of only three left running in the country from what I was told. Most of their diesels are very well restored, and they're in winter restoration of the steam loco's. The rolling stock is always a "work in progress" as are their passenger car line. The museum is located in Spencer, NC just about a 45 minute drive east of Charlotte on I-85. Getting a family of 7 on the train - including two in the cab at $10 each - cost us only $37. Not bad considering how much fun was had. They have a working roundtable and functional 37 bay roundhouse. You can ride the turntable and walk the roundhouse with good viewing of almost all their rolling stock and loco's. They also have a small airplane and historic car museum. Plans are in the works to expand a large building and build up the amount of planes and cars as well as trains. They already have a DC-3 of Piedmont in early stages of restoration.
The GP30 was extremely clean and well painted. Clearly, the people who volunteer their time take great pride in their work. Ironically, the GP30 is their least dependable engine since the Southern shop re-wired it many years ago and changed some of the inner workings of the electrical so much, that they are unable to get it wired back to General Motors standard. The E8 they have runs well, and their Fairbanks Morse is the strongest puller of the lot. Overall, if you live in or near North Carolina, you can easily spend a day enjoying the sights of the museum and the 30 or so minute train ride is worth every penny. Go for the cab ride...you just can't beat it.
