North Florida Railway Museum

roduction of the GE 44 ton locomotive began in July, 1940 and continued until October, 1956 when the Dansville & Mt. Morris Number One was constructed. Over ninety percent of these 44-ton locomotives were powered by two Caterpillar D17000 V8 engines; most were equipped with GE GT555 generators and GE733 traction motors with double reduction gears. The Museum’s 44 tonner was among the first to be constructed, built in December 1940 by General Electric, construction #12945, for the Mississippi Export Railway as their number 45. It was used by the short line along its sister locomotives, the 44 and 47 for fifteen years. In 1955, it was sold to the Pullman-Standard Car Co. for use at their Bessemer, AL plant and renumbered 44. The North Florida Railway Museum purchased the locomotive in mid 2002 and is currently restoring it both cosmetically and mechanically.

North Florida Railway Museum

he "Bahamian" was built for the Florida East Coast Railway by the Pullman Standard Company at their Chicago shops in November 1949. It is a lightweight 10-6 sleeping car which means it has 10 roomettes and 6 bedrooms. It was built from plan 4140-B, lot 6809. This car would have been used on all FEC passenger trains including the famous Havana Special. When passenger service on the Florida East Coast ended in January 1962, the Bahamian and other passenger cars were sent the FEC's yard and shops in New Smyrna Beach, FL. In 1966, after sitting there for several years, the Bahamian and others were purchased by the Canadian National Railway for use on CN and eventually VIA passenger trains in Canada. About 1967 the CN removed the stainless steel fluting from the sides of the car and applied sheets of Cor-ten steel. This gave the car its smooth sides. Under the CN, the Bahamian was renamed "Deep River". It was retired by VIA sometime in the early 1990s. The Bahamian was a generous gift from Mr. J. H. Heard of First Coast Rail, Inc. in May 2008. The car had two other owners before it was purchased by First Coast Rail. The car is currently at our Green Cove Springs, FL museum site awaiting further restoration. The interior is nearly complete and the outside is slated for painting and relettering.

North Florida Railway Museum

he ACL #7 was delivered to the Atlantic Coast Line in 1912 as one of six cars in an order from Pressed Steel Company for Class D-5 Railway Post Office. It was later modernized by the Atlantic Coast Line at its Rocky Mountain, NC shops and out shopped on April 18, 1955. Even after mail service ended on railroads, the car would serve the ACL and its merged lines in maintenance service until its retirement.

North Florida Railway Museum

he Northern Pacific Railway purchased this baggage car for service on its North Coast Limited train. It was part of lot #1839 ordered in January 1965 from the St. Louis Car Company and delivered to the NP in December of that year. The car was built as an AAR Class BE baggage express car, numbered NP 252 and was painted two tone green. It was equipped with tanks to transport fish from the Pacific Northwest to the Chicago Market area. The car remained in service on the NP until it merged with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and the Great Northern Railway to form Burlington Northern. The car was renumbered BN 676 and retained by the BN in work train service after the formation of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK) in 1971. In 1987 the BN 676 was purchased by the North Florida Chapter, National Railway Historical Society and converted to a commissary car for excursion train service use. The car was leased by the Norfolk Southern Railroad and used in their excursion service until it ended in the early 1990s. In 1994 the car was transferred to the Museum and rebuilt as its exhibit car by Museum volunteers. It was relettered North Florida Railway Museum 676 and named the St. Johns River. The car has been to many numerous civic events. The 1997 Jacksonville Portfest, the Palatka River festival, and the 20th anniversary of the opening of CSXT’s Rice Yard in Waycross, GA.

North Florida Railway Museum