Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad - Stone Mountain, Georgia

jayo · **Posted:** Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:10 pm

I hear the diesels have been rebuilt and the Texas was cosmetically restored recently!

Cannonball7 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:46 pm

It doesn't surprise me that they had to rebuild the diesels. According to several on here, they were poorly maintained...kept failing...and they were down to like one engine that worked. I am glad to hear that they've restored them.

Do you know if the "Texas" is cosmetically restored just for show when the train passes by...or are they looking to have one of the diesels push like in prior years?

jayo · **Posted:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 6:11 pm

Cannonball7 wrote:

It doesn't surprise me that they had to rebuild the diesels. According to several on here, they were poorly maintained...kept failing...and they were down to like one engine that worked. I am glad to hear that they've restored them.

Do you know if the "Texas" is cosmetically restored just for show when the train passes by...or are they looking to have one of the diesels push like in prior years?

No, I don't, but by the looks of it, I'd say restored for show. At least they took care of the overgrowth! I doubt they'll be pushing it again, the engine's in bad enough mechanical shape as it stands. I believe they do want to make at least one of the engines operable, but that won't happen before the diesels are restored and a few other projects completed.

Cannonball7 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:04 pm

I would be amazed if steam ever ran there again... Not as long as Silver Dollar is in charge.

jayo · **Posted:** Sat Sep 10, 2011 7:46 pm

kq4le wrote:

In 1991 the Federal Railroad Administration took notice and forced the otherwise do nothing SMMA management to upgrade the railroad to FRA standards. This came about because of the before mentioned connecting track connecting the SMRR to the general railway system.

Things improved and rocked on albeit with diesels (ocassionally pushing the steam locomotives).
In 1994 we recieved 2 ex SouRy FP7 diesels from the defunct state run New Georgia RR which died just as it was born.... of politics.

In addition, the connecting track that allowed connection to CSX was severed a few years ago to try and get out of federal jurisdiction.

(Formerly with the Stone Mountain RR in most capacities)

The FRA still regulates the road even with it disconnected. Without the connection, it is "insular" which means they don't need a dispatcher among a few other things...

Steve DeGaetano · **Posted:** Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:37 am

Just wanted to let you know that the Stone Mountain Memorial Association has graciously donated Vulcan 2-6-2 No. 110 to the New Hope Valley Railway here in North Carolina. We should be getting the engine sometime in early 2013. This will be a great asset in helping us tell the story of North Carolina shortline railroading. The engine spent her formative years on the Cliffside Railroad in Cliffside, NC, and has a very colorful past:

http://remembercliffside.com/galleries/ ... ins_1.html

Cannonball7 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:41 pm

Steve: While I am sorry to see her go, I think you guys will take better care of the once called "Yonah". For the past few decades, 110 has done nothing but sit out in the weather and rust.

Are you guys just going to put her on display? ...or are there long term plans to fully restore?

Here she is back when she was on the mainline at Stone Mountain Park:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/olddognewtrick/283226602/

It looks like Silver Dollar City has NO plans to bring steam back to Stone Mountain.

Cannonball7 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:47 pm

Interesting article on the history of the Stone Mountain Railroad:
http://www.atlantarails.com/stone-mountain-scenic-railroad.html

TMWatson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:59 am **Posts:** 17

Steve,

Any insights on the funding for this locomotive? Also, I've read that the NHV is doing pretty well. Any idea what the annual passenger numbers look like?

Steve DeGaetano · **Posted:** Thu Nov 15, 2012 8:53 am

Cannonball7 wrote:

Are you guys just going to put her on display? ...or are there long term plans to fully restore?

We do indeed plan to restore her to operating condition. We have a fairly robust steam program, with a lot of knowledge and talent. As for funding, we know it's going to cost a lot of money, so we hope to line up corporate sponsors eventually, along with individual donors. It's definitely not something that is going to happen overnight, so she will be "on display" for a while, untill we can fully gear up for the restore.

I can't get my Excel chart for 2011 to open, but last year we averaged about 1,150 riders per ride day, with, say, 13 ride days including our Halloween and Santa trains. We also run charters and group rides, and these figures don't include those.

Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad - Stone Mountain, Georgia

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