The Post Searchlight - Georgia / March 12, 2007
Rail car enthusiasts visit Decatur County
Bells were ringing, horns were sounding and lights flashing as a group of railroad enthusiasts embarked from Decatur County in rail cars they operated themselves this past weekend.
Almost 60 people from around the United States brought their rail cars, small vehicles originally used by railroad companies to perform maintenance, to Eldorendo, a small community in northern Decatur County off U.S. 27 North.
The motorized rail cars, which evolved from the railway handcars pictured in some silent films, were commonly used until the 1950s, when larger vehicles such as pickup trucks with retractable rail wheels were adopted for maintainance purposes.
Today’s rail car operators are hobbyists who bought their vehicles in used condition, restored them and use them for fun excursions along smaller, less active rail lines, such as the Georgia Southwestern Railroad, which connects Eldorendo to Cuthbert, located about 73 miles north of Bainbridge.
This weekend’s itenary included daily round-trips starting at Eldorendo, traveling through Colquitt, Damascus, Arlington, Edison to Cuthbert and back. Participants belonged to the North American Rail Car Operators Association and hailed from a variety of states, trip coordinator Bobby Moreman of Chamblee, Ga., said. The group paid fees to obtain permission from the rail line’s owners and were all trained on railway safety, Moreman said.
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