History of Original Railroad

In 1972, a group of four like-minded men got together with the idea of starting a 7-1/2" gauge live steam club. The four set about looking for a suitable location for the club track. In 1976 the NRHS/Atlanta chapter was approached with the idea of including 7-1/2" gauge railroading at the Southeastern Railway Museum. By 1977, the group had already expanded to six individuals that were meeting in Lilburn, Georgia where they picked a name for the club, North Georgia Live Steamers (NGLS). The stated club goals were to promote the live steam hobby and assist others interested in the construction of scale steam engines, diesel locomotives, and railroad equipment.

The group continued to grow and in 1978 a deal was struck. A long term, minimal fee lease was granted to NGLS to build a 7-1/2" gauge (Duluth & Mount Tabor Railway), 1-1/2" scale railroad at the Southeastern Rail and Transportation Museum in Duluth, Georgia. The club incorporated in 1981 and in 2003 was granted 501(c)3 status by the IRS.

Through the years at the Southeastern Rail and Transportation Museum, the club constructed a railroad that encompassed over one mile of track with spurs and sidings, a passenger station, a club activity building, an engine and car unloading facility, steaming bays, public restrooms, and several trestles, bridges, and tunnels. The club instituted monthly open run weekends for the public which would draw 2,000+ riders. Two weekends in the year were scheduled as meets open to out-of-the-area live steamers from the southeast and beyond. Attendance for those weekends would be double as people came from many neighboring states to run their trains, share experiences, and offer rides to the public.

The railroad was dismantled around 1998 after the museum sold the property and moved to a new location. This began the search for a new home for a new railroad for the club. Today North Georgia Live Steamers operates at a new home in Conyers at the Georgia International Horse Park. Construction began on the new railroad, the Conyers & Hightower Trail Railroad, in 2010 and today has around 2 miles of track on the track with more than 30 acres of land to grow into.