On March 19, exactly five years after Bill Gibson and Ben Read approached Pickens County with the idea to donate the Gibson’s professionally built model railroad, the Tate Depot Model Railroaders and Tate Depot Train Society honored them with a special award and recognition.
The Gibson’s donation was the starting point for the current exhibit/museum that now hosts two model railroads, the restored station agent’s office, multiple historical photographs of the depot and exhibits of various equipment used as a part of the operation of Tate Depot in its glory years. The Tate Depot Train Society is a Georgia 501(c)3 nonprofit which is responsible for managing the interior exhibits of the restored depot.
The Gibson’s model railroad was designed and built by Steve Worack of Chicago, the owner of Circutron, an electronics company, and it took over 18 months to build. It was built in sections so when the time came it could be dismantled and reconstructed—which was exactly what happened when the time came to donate…