June 2008   View Previous Out and About Articles 

All Aboard at the Southeastern Railway Museum

As a parent, I love hearing “Wow! Awesome!” from my children. So, I knew we had come to the right place when my son exclaimed this at the Southeastern Railway Museum. At the time, we were still in the parking lot, but trains were visible and that’s all that mattered.

The facility, in operation since the ‘70s, provides a fascinating look at transportation history. There are three warehouses on the grounds: two for displays and one for maintenance. The main attraction, though, is the train ride. Every half-hour, the train leaves on a 10-minute jaunt. It’s an attraction kids will beg to do more than once.

“Daddy, come see the Harry Potter car!” My kids led me to Warehouse Two. They weren’t talking about a train that looked on the outside like the one from the movie. Instead, they had found cars that resembled the train car the main characters ride in to Hogwart’s each year – this car and many others allowed their imaginations to run wild.

Warehouse One features a car called Superb. When I climbed aboard, some kids on the coach told me there was a ghost. The Superb is notable in that took President Warren G. Harding out west “for his health.” The President suffered a heart attack on the way, and the Superb carried his body back to Washington, becoming the only rail car to carry a Presidential coffin. This train is on the National Register of Historic Places.

There are many things to see at the museum, and it’s impossible to cover them all in one visit – and there are sights for everyone. The Southeastern Railway Museum is definitely a great place for kids of all ages.

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