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Tifton Terminal Railway Museum

"Giving a Green Light to Rail Transportation"

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The Tifton Terminal Railway Museum is located in the former Atlantic Coast Line station. The station was last used by CSX Transportation in 1986 when the line of rail from Waycross to Albany was abandoned through Tifton. The station had several temporary occupants until the museum occupied the structure and began restoration. The full restoration was complete in 2008 and the museum officially opened in January of that year. Open twenty plus hours a week, and with special downtown events, the admission-free museum is available for all to enjoy.

Historic Downtown Tifton

ttrm_state egyptian he Tifton Terminal Railway Museum was established in 2000 as a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and research of Tifton’s railroad heritage. The museum is located in the former Atlantic Coast Line station, erected in 1910 and one of four remaining railroad depots in this once-busy railroad town. The preservation of the depot from abandonment and the establishment of the museum collection was the work of Tifton locals Christopher Parrott and Jamie Cater — cofounders and operators of the CaterParrott Railnet shortline system. The railroad museum shares the building with the Atlantic Coastline Artists Station, a gallery featuring professional and amateur artists from south Georgia. The yard trackage (former Atlantic Coast Line) adjacent to the depot is now a division of CaterParrott Railnet, sometimes hosting rolling stock and is accessible to interchange with nearby Norfolk Southern.

In its railroad heyday, Tifton served as the crossroads for three busy regional railroads: the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic; the Atlantic Coast Line; and the Georgia Southern & Florida. The ABA line between Fitzgerald and Moultrie was the first to be abandoned. Later the Seaboard System would give up its east-west- secondary through Tifton as far west as Sylvester. The former GSF line remains in service, passing through Southern Railway into today's Norfolk Southern active Macon-Brunswick mainline. The name of the museum — Tifton Terminal Railway Museum — pays homage to a small terminal switching railroad that once moved carloads among the three railroads serving Tifton.

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Tifton regional rail map / RWH

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1910 Official Guide map / collection

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1910 Official Guide ad / collection

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1910 Official Guide ad / collection

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1910 Official Guide ad / collection

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1910 Official Guide map / collection

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1910 Official Guide ad / collection

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1910 Official Guide ad / collection

Museum

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Click to see the Tifton Terminal museum area plotted on a Google Maps page

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Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH

Motive Power

CaterParrott Railnet #5001

  • builder:Electro Motive Division
  • model:E9A
  • type:A1A-A1A passenger unit
  • built:Aug 1954, EMD #19634
  • series:100 produced 1954-64
  • engine:(2) EMD 567C (12 cyls, 2400 hp)
  • notes:
  • blt Chicago Burlington & Quincy #9995
    to Burlington Northern #9995 > #9925
    to Nashville & Eastern #9925
    to Larry's Truck & Electric
    to San Luis & Rio Grande #9925
    to CaterParrott Railnet #5001
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    See also our complete Azalea Sprinter Motive Power scrapbook in Preservation

    Rolling Stock

    In 2020, the T19 wooden caboose was refurbished and repainted to resemble better its origins as Central of Georgia wooden caboose #X17. See also our growing scrapbook of surviving Central of Georgia locomotives and rolling stock.

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    Apr 2021 / RWH

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    from The Southern Railway Handbook
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    Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH

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    See also our complete Southern Railway Passenger Equipment scrapbook in Mainlines

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    See also our complete Azalea Sprinter tourist train scrapbook in Preservation

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    Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH

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    Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH

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    See also our complete CatorParrott Railnet scrapbook in Shortlines

    tag_pinTifton Depots

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    Tifton is fortunate to have four depots in existence, which is appropriate for a city that once had rail lines running in six different directions.

    At 100 South Central Avenue is the former union passenger depot for Southern Railway and Atlantic Coast Line. The red brick building, constructed in 1916-17, now houses the Tifton/Tift County Chamber of Commerce.

    At 121 North Central Avenue is another depot, built in 1916. The 1917 Sanborn map for Tifton indicates the Central Grocery Company was located on this site. The building served as a union depot for agricultural freight.

    Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage

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    Click to see this union depot plotted on a Google Maps page

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    Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH

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    Click to see the agricultural depot building plotted on a Google Maps page

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    Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH

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    Links / Sources

    This page was updated on 2022-11-08