DULUTH, Ga. — The Southeastern Railway Museum will celebrate cabooses, the crews that called them home and their role on the railroad during a special April event.
The museum will host the family-friendly two-day Caboose Days event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, and Sunday, April 8, greatly expanding the event from previous years.
Special activities for this year’s event include:
- Mulligan Mix-Off: Museum volunteers will stage a hobo encampment, interpreting life on the rails. Volunteers will host a mulligan stew mix-off, and attendees can taste samples for free and help decide the 2018 Mulligan Mixer winner.
- Exclusive Caboose Interpretations: Docents will interpret the history of cabooses and the roles they played on the railroad, highlighting the tools of the trade and describing what life was like while living and working on a caboose.
- Live Music: Atlanta Americana band Pickxen will provide live music from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 7. Andy & Amanda will be performing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 8.
- Photo Contest Winner Celebration: The museum will announce competition winners of its annual photo contest during a Saturday, April 7, ceremony.
- Free Photo Tutorial: A photographer will lead a session on “How to Photograph a Caboose,” offering tips and tricks for how to safely capture the perfect railroad picture.
- Railroad Safety: Georgia Operation Lifesaver will present information about railroad safety.
- Book Launch Party: Museum Librarian Steve Storey and Assistant Librarian Lloyd Neal will sign copies of their new book, “When Atlanta Took the Train,” which they co-authored with David H. Steinberg. The 144-page book, published in February by Arcadia Publishing, chronicles passenger railroad transportation in Atlanta, starting with the 1830s to its zenith before the middle of the 20th century. Storey and Neal will give a pair of presentations about Atlanta’s railroad history. Presentations are scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 8.
Guests can also enjoy vendors and movies showing cabooses in action. Milligan’s Land of Cotton BBQ will be selling food. For $2, guests can ride on the museum’s restored antique handcar, and for $3, guests can ride in a caboose pulled by a vintage locomotive.
Kids will also have the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt around the museum’s grounds for a chance to win prizes.