Southeastern Railway Museum and the Eastern Continental Divide

Today we made the trip to the Southeastern Railway Museum, a place we haven't been to since October 6, 2009.  That's the great thing about this blog, that we can trace things back like that!  We were there to see a train that was promoting the upcoming Disney movie, "A Christmas Carol."  Madison was tiny back then.  Now... she's not so tiny anymore...

Here she and Mommy are in a dining car, enjoying a quiet moment.  This time around, we got to see a lot of the trains that were there, and climb aboard many of them.  Last time we were more interested in the Disney train that was there.  But these trains were amazing, one after the other that you could walk through to see how passengers traveled sometimes as much as a hundred years ago.

Of course there were a few train engines along the way, and some of them were simply ginormous.  Stairways were built up to the top, and we had a chance to pose inside.  It was a fun trip, and rather than write the usual paragraphs, I'll share below how I did when posting these on a social media site, with captions:

Balancing on the tracks.

Madison explores the caboose some more.

Mommy is going "The Right Way." 

Madison relaxes before going for a small train ride.

There are many railway cars and engines there along the tracks at the museum, all from different time periods, and most of which you can walk through. 

A larger shot of that fun railway dining car.

Madison is pursuing her engineering degree.

Madison and Mommy get on the right track 

Madison and Mommy in the upper seating level of a multi-level railway car.

Madison looks out the cupola, which was a new word to us. That's the upper windowed portion of the caboose.

This rust-covered back entrance to a railway car made for an interesting picture.

Madison inside the red caboose.

Looks like a perfect spot for train jumpers or freight hoppers!

LOOK WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING THE BUS!!!!

Mommy and Madison go for a ride on a train. 

Old colorful rusty cars lined up along the tracks

This railway car must have been magnificent, so spacious and opulent!

A pulley inside the mail car

Mommy riding along on the train

We're in the upper "bubble" portion of a railway car looking downward at this amazing dining area. Imagine riding along there, back in the day.

This was pretty awful, actually. It was a good teachable moment for Madison though.

This light was on the whole time, so I guess none of us were supposed to ever go anywhere.

Madison, just before going on a very short train ride.

A Ford Falcon taxi

Madison uses Morse Code to spell her name.

Playing cards on board the train. 

Jury duty! Jury duty! Pink slip! Pink slip! 

The mail car, when the Postal Service delivered items by rail.

Daddy wants to know if this will go 88 mph.

This is the train that President Warren G. Harding campaigned and traveled in - and also the one he passed away in.

Many of the passenger cars you could climb aboard, and get a glimpse of what traveling by train was like many years ago.

They had a nice model train set there as well

Madison is working on her CDL a little early.

We wound up spending  a lot more time here than we expected, just because there was so much to do and see.  The train ride was very short, and didn't go anywhere.  For some reason we were expecting it to go a half a mile or something like that, but it didn't cover that kind of distance at all.  It was more about being on a moving train, I think.  But it was still nice, and we finished up afterwards, ready to get out of the heat.

One more stop before heading home though!  We read on a website about the Eastern Continental Divide.  And yes, everyone knows about the actual Continental Divide that follows the Rocky Mountains out west.  But did you know there was an Eastern Continental Divide?

There is!  It actually goes through Hall County, and then down through Gwinnett as well, which is where this marker above is found, in Duluth.

We were explaining the concept to Madison, how every rain drop on one side would go over to the Gulf of Mexico, and how the other raindrops would go to the Atlantic Ocean, depending on which side they fell.  It's a neat little thing to talk about, at least, and actually on the way home.  So yes, of course we had to stop by and take a photo.

Another place we had to stop:  Chick-Fil-A.  We got there afterwards, and were pretty starved by that point.  The three of us had a nice meal there for dinner, and afterwards, we were homeward bound for the rest of the day.  Madison was doing piano and a bit of her autobiography assignment, but soon after that, it was time for bed.  We all got to bed a little earlier tonight, mainly because we were a bit worn out from the walking and the heat.  It was a good day though - we read tonight, and we prayed.  We went to sleep rather quickly and easily after such a full day!