DULUTH, Ga. — One of the original railcars from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority fleet will be preserved at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth following the car’s donation by MARTA.
The car was moved from MARTA’s Avondale yard to the museum on Nov. 16. Built by Société Franco-Belge, the car entered service in 1981 and retired in 2011. The 75-foot, aluminum-bodied car weighs 81,000 pounds and has seats for 46 passengers.
“As Georgia’s official transportation history museum, we’re honored to be able to acquire such a significant piece of our region’s transportation history,” Randy Pirkle, the museum’s executive director emeritus, said in an article on the museum website. “MARTA is a significant economic engine for our region, and we’re pleased to continue expanding the collection related to its history and development.”
MARTA’s existing fleet of 340 cars will be replaced by 224 cars to be built by Stadler in a $646 million order placed in 2019 [see “Stadler, MARTA sign $600 million deal …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 2019]
“With our future rail car fleet now in final design, it’s time we start clearing track space to make room for our new trains,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood. “We’re beginning to retire our oldest rail cars and we want to ensure that one of them is around for future generations to see. At the Southeastern Railway Museum, it will join our historic fleet of MARTA buses as we begin a complete rail car fleet replacement.”
