A town with a past ...

City of Summerville

...a city with a future.

A Valuable Gift: The Summerville Railroad Turntable

By Nell W. Farrar

Manager, Summerville Better Hometown Program

            Since the creation of Chattooga County in 1838, several gifts have been bestowed upon the citizens residing in the county seat.  First, the free use of the water flowing from Big Spring offered by Brigadier General John Fluker Beavers for the use of the people and their livestock established the location of the county seat at present day Summerville, then named Selma.  In addition, General Beavers gave land to the young city  for a cemetery located on the east of the town where some of the  residents of  pioneer days now rest in peace.  Many years later in 1998, the Georgia Department of Transportation relocated the Couey House, one of the earliest pioneer homes with its 1840’s single pen style architecture, in J.R. “Dick” Dowdy Park as a gift to Summerville. To provide matching funds and restore the historic train depot, the Chattooga County Historical Society gave the depot building to Summerville in 2004. But certainly, one of the most valuable gifts at the time of its being given and regarding its value for future tourism and growth was the gift of the historic railroad turntable from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum to the city of Summerville in 1999.

Restored to its current site in 2003, the historic Summerville Railroad Turntable was made during an era when railroads served as the primary means of long distance commerce and travel. From the days of railroad yards and roundhouses, the turntable was used to rotate locomotives and place them in the desired direction while using a lesser amount of land than otherwise needed to maneuver such a turn.  This massive 90 ton steel structure was built in 1916 in Ambridge, Pennsylvania by the American Bridge and Iron Company, which is now part of  U.S. Steel. Measuring 100 feet in length, the turntable was constructed of two steel  I-beams and connected by support beams which were riveted together to form its fish-belly design. For many years, this turntable served in the Boyles Yard in Birmingham as part of the CSX Railroad before being retired in the late 1900’s.

As a donation from the CSX Railroad, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum acquired the historic turntable and saved it from being turned into scrap metal.  The massive load was moved from Birmingham to Lafayette, Georgia by large truck and then placed on a railroad car and transported over the rails to J. R. “Dick” Dowdy Park in downtown Summerville. Appraised as a railroad artifact at $1,250,000, the turntable was used by Summerville as the matching funds for two grants from the Georgia Department of Transportation.  The installation of this railroad antique restored one of very few operational turntables in the United States.

            Extensive engineering and support were required for the foundation of the completed structure which holds the turntable and includes a large circular concrete pit, drainage system, peripheral track and electric motors.  Steel piles were  driven many feet into the earth to uphold  the weight of this massive structure as well as the weight of the diesel or steam locomotives it must turn which weigh approximately 150 tons.

            Since its dedication in May 2003, the Summerville Railroad Turntable has provided growth in local civic pride and growth in tourism. Several times each year, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has transported excursion trains of tourists to the Summerville area using steam as well as diesel locomotives. Travelers from across the United States and from all over the world have arrived on these trains and viewed the turning of the locomotive which brought them to Summerville, most often the museum’s historic Baldwin steam locomotive #610. .  Some have driven from other cities in the southeast to view the steam engine on the turntable.  Local residents have also enjoyed coming to the downtown park to view the arrival of the train and observe the turning of the puffing engine. Twice each year, the turntable has been used to turn diesel engines used on local Summerville to Lafayette excursions guided by the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway and sponsored by the city of Summerville. The turntable has even been used to turn much smaller railcars when the North American Railcar Operators Association meets in Summerville for their annual autumn trip.

 Further information on the steam locomotive excursions from Chattanooga to Summerville is located on the website www.tvrail.com .  Information on local diesel excursions may be found at www.summervillega.org  and information on railcar excursions at www.narcoa.org

  Just as past gifts have benefited this small town, the Summerville Railroad Turntable has provided both pleasure and income to the present generation and shows great promise for a source of tourism and civic pride for future generations.  Its placement and restoration in Dowdy Park have helped in the establishment of Summerville as a historic railroad town and given residents a very important gift - the “sense of place”.  

120 Georgia Avenue - P.O. Box 180 - Summerville, Georgia  30747

City Hall Phone: 706-859-0900

ctysvillega@windstream.net