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$150K in recent grants help fund Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum improvements, restoration

Staff Photo / People leave the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's Grund Junction Depot in Chattanooga in March 2013. The museum recently received a total of $150,000 in combined grants to fund replacement of additional windows in the museum's depot building to improve energy efficiency, electrical system improvements in the Grand Junction yard, additional outside lighting to facilitate nighttime events and restoration of Pullman car, "Maitland," to service.
Staff Photo / People leave the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's Grund Junction Depot in Chattanooga in March 2013. The museum recently received a total of $150,000 in combined grants to fund replacement of additional windows in the museum's depot building to improve energy efficiency, electrical system improvements in the Grand Junction yard, additional outside lighting to facilitate nighttime events and restoration of Pullman car, "Maitland," to service.

By Ben Benton 4 min read


People will have the chance to experience an old Pullman sleeper car based at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in the coming years, with new funding to restore the coach to its original glory.

The 1925-era Pullman car “Maitland” formerly carried passengers in peacetime and during wartime service on the World War II home front. A $50,000 grant from Norfolk Southern railroad will help continue the ongoing restoration and renovation of the car so it can return to service as an exhibit in Chattanooga.

The grant is part of Norfolk Southern’s Thriving Communities Grant Program, which is designed to strengthen the communities in the company’s 22-state network, according to a press release from the company. It’s among $150,000 in private and state grants the museum has received recently.

“The Maitland was donated to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum by Norfolk Southern predecessor Southern Railway,” Penelope Soule Gault, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, said in a statement.