North Alabama Railroad Museum
An ALCO S-2 at the museum.
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| Location | Chase, Alabama |
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| Coordinates | 34°47′00″N 86°32′46″W / 34.7832°N 86.5461°W |
| Type | tourist railroad and museum |
| Website | http://www.northalabamarailroadmuseum.com/ |
The North Alabama Railroad Museum, Inc. is a railroad museum in Chase, Alabama. The museum, incorporated in 1966, is an all volunteer organization. The museum has a collection of rolling stock, a small train station, and a small heritage railroad called the Mercury and Chase Railroad which operates between April and December. The mission of the NARM is to "preserve railroad history in North Alabama and South Central Tennessee." It is run entirely by its 100-plus volunteers. The museum is open to the public daily, volunteers are usually available on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Admission to the museum is free, however there is a charge for riding the trains. A schedule of rides is available at the museum's website.
The North Alabama Railroad Museum (NARM) operates a tourist railroad in Chase, Alabama, a community near Huntsville, Alabama. In 1984, as CSX Transportation was retiring the former Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway line between Huntsville and Winchester, Tennessee, the North Alabama Railroad Museum acquired 5 miles of the right of way. Today, the museum operates the Mercury and Chase Railroad on this right of way.
The Mercury and Chase Railroad operates regularly scheduled, public excursions and private excursions on track owned by the museum. All equipment used by the Mercury and Chase Railroad is owned and maintained by the museum. Equipment used on the excursions was all built prior to 1950.
The NARM is an all volunteer organization. Membership is opened to anyone. Members are eligible to volunteer to work at the museum and on the excursions.
The NARM maintains several facilities. There are two depots at the Chase location, and office building which includes the history center and the library. At Mercury, there is the train maintenance shed. There is also 5 miles of right of way that is used to operate the trains.
The depot at Chase, was the smallest Union station in the United States. It originally served the Southern Railway and the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway. The primary customer of the Chase Depot was the Chase Nursery which used both railroads to ship plants throughout the country. The building currently at Chase was built in 1937, and serves as the depot for the Mercury and Chase Railroad today. Tickets for your train ride can be picked up at the ticket window of the Chase Depot.
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