Duncan Carel

I ultimately plan to own and operate my own tourist and freight railroad in southern Georgia. I have been interested in railroading since I was two. By the time I was in first grade, I already knew that I wanted to own a railroad someday. By middle school I began thinking about where I might want to locate my tourist and freight railroad and have since found suitable property near Columbus, Georgia that connects two main rail lines together. In 7th grade I also became one of the youngest volunteers at Southeastern Railway Museum (SRM) and started training for the museum’s train crew which runs the historic train rides at the museum. I am currently certified through the level of conductor and am being trained to be a locomotive engineer. Through my years of volunteering at SRM, I have developed an understanding about what is involved in running a railroad, everything from how to repair a section of track to doing basic repairs on diesel locomotives and passenger and freight cars. This is important because I intend to use vintage diesel and steam locomotives on my proposed railroad and will require extensive knowledge to keep them running smoothly. In addition, I joined the National Railroad Historical Society, which is affiliated with SRM, to increase my connections into the railroading community. Their summer program for high school students, which I attended two years ago, also furthered my understanding of many aspects of the railroad industry. At the camp, we visited many Amtrak facilities along the Northeast Corridor as well as the Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

My hobbies include model railroading, scale model building, photography, reading, and playing the bagpipes. I also build anything that I can think of like motorizing a bicycle and building a small steam engine (currently in the design phase) for fun.