The Spirit of Camilla

The Spirit of Camilla engine was built by Baldwin of Eddystone, PA, for Brooks-Scalon Corp., a lumber company in Foley, FL, and delivered in April 1925., Designated Engine #9, the oil-fired engine was later purchased by Foley Lumber Co., which sold it to the Georgia Northern Railway, owned by the Pidcock family of Moultrie., In 1966 Southern Railway System acquired the assets of the Northern Railway. Southern gave Engine #9 to the city of Camilla in 1971. For a year, the train sat at the end of the spur line until members of the garden clubs, the Lions Club and the Pilot Club went to work on it, raising money and improving its appearance. Leaders were a committee from the garden clubs, Mrs. P. C. Cullens, Mrs. T. B. Twitty Jr. and Mrs. Vernon Twitty Sr., and Guy Cochran representing the Lions Club., After years of neglect, however, the train fell into disrepair again and the project of fixing up the old engine began again in 1992. Through the efforts of the City of Camilla, the C. M. Stripling family, the Jay Gardner Bible Class and the citizens of Camilla, it was refurbished, regular maintenance was begun, and a park was created around the engine in 1993. Members of the committee leading this effort were Mayor Pro Tem Morris Kolbie, C. M. Stripling and Kenneth Barkhouse.