The Okefenokee Chief Train Museum at Waycross gives visitors a train to read from front to back. At its head stands Old Nine, a Baldwin steam locomotive built in 1912. The engine came to Waycross from South Carolina’s Rockton & Rion Railway in 1973. Its name has a local connection. The heritage center explains that the community that became Waycross was the ninth stop from Savannah on the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad and was known as Old Nine.
Old Nine is a 2-8-2. The wheel arrangement gives a visible clue to the job of supporting and moving a large steam locomotive. The driving wheels form the central group, with smaller wheels ahead and behind. The separate coal tender behind the engine carried fuel and water for steam operation. Looking at both pieces together helps show why a steam railway had to provide supplies and servicing facilities as part of its regular operations.
The other cars explain what a train could carry. The collection includes an Atlantic Coast Line Railway Express Agency car, a mail and baggage car, a passenger car and a caboose. Each served a distinct purpose. A passenger coach made space for people and their journeys, while the express and baggage vehicles supported the movement of things that had to be sorted and handled along the route. The caboose gives a view of the working space once provided for freight crews.
The train stands within the wider Okefenokee Heritage Center, which interprets the art and history of the surrounding region. Its other exhibits connect Waycross with local industries, institutions and communities. The railway collection helps tie those stories to a form of transportation that brought people, mail and business to the town. A railway stop could supply a lasting local name, as the story of Old Nine demonstrates.
Start with the engine and tender, then follow the sequence of cars. The heritage center’s exhibit pages give their histories and the current arrangements for visiting the collection.
Visitor information
Researched November 2026.
Sources
More railroad museums in Georgia
- Georgia State Railroad Museum — Savannah: Railroad museum and historic shop complex
- Heritage Station Museum — Douglas: Depot and local history museum
- Southeastern Railway Museum — Duluth: Railroad and transportation museum
- Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History — Kennesaw: Railroad and Civil War museum
- Thronateeska Heritage Center — Railroad Collection — Albany: Broader heritage museum with railroad collection
- All 6 railroad museums and sites in Georgia
Keep exploring
- All heritage sites — museums, stations and landmarks
- Southeast — the trains you can ride in the region