COAA Organ Rally with
Soulé Live Steam Festival & Rail Fest
November 2-3, 2012
Historic Soulé Steam Feed Works will host the 10th annual Steam Festival and Rail Fest on Friday and Saturday of the first weekend in November. Mechanical music will once again be presented by the Carousel Organ Association of America. Band organ and street organ grinders from across the United States will bring their colorful music machines to provide “The Happiest Music on Earth.”
Rail Fest will feature visiting railroad rolling stock with many railroadiana and model railroad vendors who will be displaying and selling their products during the event. The original Railway Express Building is next to the restored Union Station and home of the Meridian Model Railroad Club. You can view detailed model railroad exhibits as well as historic railroad artifacts. For more information on Rail Fest visit www.queenandcrescent.org
Other features of the festival include blacksmith, broom-making, pottery wheel demonstrations, and an operating print shop demonstration. The Alabama Art Casting also holds an annual molten iron pour that they call “Sparks in the Dark.” This is the only steam show in the United States held at an actual steam engine factory. The museum also owns the last steam engine ever built by the company.
Rail Fest will feature visiting railroad rolling stock with many railroadiana and model railroad vendors who will be displaying and selling their products during the event. The original Railway Express Building is next to the restored Union Station and home of the Meridian Model Railroad Club. You can view detailed model railroad exhibits as well as historic railroad artifacts. For more information on Rail Fest visit www.queenandcrescent.org
Other features of the festival include blacksmith, broom-making, pottery wheel demonstrations, and an operating print shop demonstration. The Alabama Art Casting also holds an annual molten iron pour that they call “Sparks in the Dark.” This is the only steam show in the United States held at an actual steam engine factory. The museum also owns the last steam engine ever built by the company.
History of the Soulé Steam Feed Factory
The last "Spee-D-Twin" engine produced.
The Soulé Steam Feed Works was founded by George Soulé in 1891 and was known for many patented innovations in steam engine technology. It reached its height around the turn of the century and produced products sold around the world. Steam feed refers to the flat belt drive shaft that powered the individual machines in the shop. This drive shaft is the longest operating drive shaft in the country. The Soulé "Spee-D-Twin" was produced until 1984. It was a favorite among sawmill operators. It was a small two cylinder reciprocating engine and featured a valve that allowed the engine to operate in both forward and reverse. The factory closed in 2002 leaving everything in its original place. The museum is located in the Union Station Historic District of Meridian and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
