Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad

History

The railroad utilizes what was originally an industrial spur built in 1869 by the Stone Mountain Granite Company to serve quarries at the foot of the Stone Mountain, with a connection to the Georgia Railroad's main line in Stone Mountain Village. The railroad later started an excursion service to the mountain. The spur was later abandoned, but the right of way remained in place (though the rails had been removed). In 1962, the present day scenic railroad opened, which had rebuilt much of the old right of way, with additional trackage to create a complete, continuous circuit around the mountain. The mileage of the circuit around the mountain is advertised as being five miles long, however, the actual mileage is 3.88 miles. The Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad, privately owned at the time, operated steam powered excursions on the restored trackage.

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association (the state-operated owners of the mountain itself) assumed operations of the railroad in 1981. The association expressed little interest in maintaining the steam locomotives, and when the engines became in need of major boiler work or other repairs, the railroad withdrew them and simply ran diesels instead. In 1987, the spur connecting the mountain trackage to the CSX main line was restored, and the railroad hosted several visiting trains, including Savannah and Atlanta Railway steam locomotive number 750. With the connection, the railroad became subject to FRA regulations, in which case the road, just as the railroad to which it is connected, was required to maintain its track, infrastructure, and rolling stock to a certain degree of good repair to be permitted to operate.

In January 1998, the railroad was privatized once more when the Memorial Association contracted Herschend Family Entertainment to operate the railroad and the other attractions within the park. Under this arrangement, the state continues to own the railroad, but Herschend now handles the operations and management of the attractions. Herschend also operates the Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson, Missouri and the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, both of which have operating steam locomotives, and thus it was believed that, under their management, more effort would be put forth to operate the steam engines again.

Unfortunately, Herschend, like the state before it, had little interest in operating the steam engines. Many employees had left, and the Herschend's operation of the railroad has been subject to much criticism within the railfan community. In 2004, the trackage connecting the railroad to the main line was dismantled and the spur truncated to just before the bridge spanning Robert E. Lee Boulevard within the park's premises. The trackage and decking were removed, though the bridge's girders remain, and the right of way to the west of the bridge was converted to a pedestrian trail, while the railroad continues to use the remaining track to reverse the train's direction. This move had been perceived by railfans as a means to become exempt from having to maintain equipment to FRA standards. However, while the disconnection does exempt the road from certain specific requirements such as the need to observe hours of service rules, and the need for a dispatcher when running more than one train within the park, it remains subject to the FRA's jurisdiction and continues to maintain the equipment and trackage accordingly. In 2011, major upgrades of the track, passenger cars, and diesel locomotives were performed. The diesel locomotives received new motors and other upgrades, as well as a new paint scheme. The steam locomotives received some cosmetic restoration at this time as well. The railroad had de-accessioned its last remaining steam locomotives in early 2013, and currently owns and operates diesels exclusively.

Locomotives

Stone Mountain originally had three steam locomotives, the "General II," "Texas II," and "Yonah II." The SMRR named the engines after the famous engines of The Great Locomotive Chase, and were given nineteenth century style smokestacks and headlights. Despite these modifications, the engines, having been built between 1919 and 1927, still have noticeably modern appearances, with larger proportions than their ancestors and have more advanced cylinders, valve gear, and other modern applications. While steam engines ceased running in the 1980s, they continued to "pull" trains for some time. In these instances, one of the steam engines was coupled in front of a diesel which, while disguised as a baggage car or auxiliary tender, would push the engine. The diesel's controls were placed in the cab of the engine and air piped from the diesel's main reservoir to allow the steam engine's whistle to sound. Aside from the whistle, the steam locomotive remained inactive, with the diesel being the train's sole motive power.

In the late 1980s and early 90s, the railroad supplemented its GP7 and GP9 diesels with ones inherited from the recently dissolved New Georgia Railway, which have pulled trains regularly since. At that time, the steam engines would only be pushed on special occasions, and no attempt was made to disguise the diesel behind it. The practice of pushing the steam engines ended in 2002, and they remained within the yard until being donated to other tourist railroads or museums, the first leaving the railroad in 2008, followed by the remaining two in 2013.

The Stone Mountain Railroad currently has the following locomotives:

Former Equipment

The following have resided at Stone Mountain at one time, but have since moved elsewhere: