Duluth museum hosts Track Speeder Days this weekend

Track Speeder Days at Duluth Museum

Duluth’s Southeastern Railway Museum is offering visitors a rare chance to ride the rails around the museum on refurbished speeders.

DULUTH, Ga. - Once upon a time, they carried railroad inspectors and maintenance crews over the rails. But this weekend, they’ll be carrying families in the mood for a unique adventure right here in metro Atlanta.

Duluth’s Southeastern Railway Museum is hosting Track Speeder Days today through Sunday, offering visitors a rare chance to ride the rails around the museum on refurbished speeders. We learned all about speeders two years ago, when we spent an exciting morning on Good Day Atlanta with speeder owner and operator Ben Harrell.

"They’re maintenance equipment that was used by the railroad way back when in the 20s through the 1980s," explained Harrell, who went on to say that if there was an issue on the track, workers used a speeder to get there and fix it — which means the little motorized cars were vital to keeping railroads open and operational.

Today, people around the world like Harrell own and maintain speeders — and many of them are members of the North American Railcar Operators Association (or, NARCOA), a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and the safe operation of historic railroad equipment used for maintenance of way. 

Harrell and others will offer rides through the weekend for $5 at the Southeastern Railway Museum, which is located at 3595 Buford Highway in Duluth. Current museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays, and admission is $19 for adults, $16 for seniors, and $13 for children ages 2 to 12. Click here for more information on visiting the museum.

We had such a good time on the rails two years ago that we decided we needed a second speeder experience — so, we hopped aboard again this morning for a live ride on Good Day Atlanta. Click the video player in this article to check it out!