CGRHS Spring 2014 Meeting Held in Durham, Ga.

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The spring membership meeting of the Central of Georgia Railway Historical Society, Inc., was held Friday–Saturday, March 21–22, 2014, in the Durham, Ga., area. Around 6:00 p.m. on Friday night, we had an informal gathering in the meeting room at the Hampton Inn West in Chattanooga, Tenn.

On Saturday morning, we met in the meeting room at the Hampton Inn for a presentation by CGRHS Director Arnold Eaves on the Fort Oglethorpe Branch and mining operations at Durham.

We departed the Hampton Inn in vans and drove to Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., to see the former CofGa depot/yard area. (See the article “The CofGa’s Fort Oglethorpe Branch” in the October–December 2011 issue of The Right Way.) We then traveled south to Chickamauga to see the wye location and the remains of the Chickamauga coke ovens.

We followed the route of the Durham District across Missionary Ridge to McCallie Lake, and then up Powder Springs Road (built on the former CofGa roadbed). We stopped along the road to see one of the old CofGa concrete/brick culverts which still carry water under the roadbed.

Events - Culvert under roadbed 2014

Brick and concrete culvert under CofGa roadbed near McCallie Lake.

Following lunch, we visited the Lula Lake Land Trust at the top of the mountain. There, we walked a portion of the abandoned right of way alongside Rock Creek and beside Lula Lake and Lula Falls.

Events - Trestle remnants 2014

Eroded remains of Trestle No. 11 (note slag fill and remaining bents)

Events - Lula Lake bridge abutments 2014

Original stone bridge abutments at Lula Lake.

 

We then went through the Hinkle Community to the site of Trestle No. 14 (filled in 1914).

Events - Trestle 14 2014

Embankment at site of No. 14 Trestle (filled 1914)

After hiking out to the site of the trestle, we drove to the site of Durham, where the mines were located and where the CofGa line ended. There, we saw the old coke ovens, found the site of the wye, hiked some remaining roadbed, and the saw the remaining foundation of the tipple.

Events - Coke ovens at Durham 2014

Ruins of the coke ovens at Durham (built 1890s)

Events - Durham tipple foundation

Remains of tipple foundation at Durham, Ga.

About 25 people attended our meeting.

Accurail Releases CofGa Two-Bay Hopper

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Accurail has released their HO scale USRA 50-ton two-bay open hoppers in the Central of Georgia’s The Right Way scheme. The kits represent the CofGa’s 21001–21300 series of hoppers built in 1923 by Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. at Fairfield, Alabama. The cars are oxide red with white stenciling, including monogram, modified box reporting marks, and “The Right Way” slogan, representative of shop repainted cars from the late 1950s. One road number is available: 21274 (stock 25531). “Renumber decals” are also available (stock 25531D), which feature assorted white road numbers on an oxide red background. This is the second road number that Accurail has produced in this paint scheme.

The paint scheme represents cars shop painted in the late 1950s, with a reweigh date of “SAVH 3-55” and a repack date of “MA 4-16-57” (Savannah and Macon, respectively. The cars include a “The Right Way” slogan, which was used on freight cars beginning in late 1954. Open hoppers on the CofGa were black until a system wide change to oxide red in October 1948.

Post - Accurail HO hopper

The Society will have a limited number of these kits available at train shows. They should also be available through your favorite hobby shop. They can be ordered direct from Accurail at www.accurail.com.

HO Vent Car Kit Out of Stock

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The recent re-release of the Central of Georgia Railway Historical Society’s HO scale ventilated boxcar kit is sold out as of March 2, 2014!!

The kits can no longer be ordered from our online store and we have filled all orders from the online store received as of March 1.

If there is sufficient interest, we may consider another run of these kits in the future. If you missed this kit but are still interested in acquiring one when (and if) we run them again, please contact Society president Allen Tuten at allen@cofga.org

Thank you for supporting the CGRHS with the purchase of our kits.

Walthers Passenger Train Survey

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Wm. K. Walthers currently has an online survey regarding interest in various passenger train models. The CofGa’s Nancy Hanks II is included in part 13 of the survey, which asks respondents to indicate how likely they would be to purchase an HO scale “name train” model from Walthers.

Members are encouraged to complete the survey located here.