Railroad Section Gang House (circa 1880)

5518 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, GA

Construction of a railroad track through Dunwoody began before the Civil War, was suspended with the track unfinished during the war and resumed in the 1870s. Between 1880 and 1921, the Roswell Railroad ran between Roswell and Chamblee with a stop in Dunwoody along what is now Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The train, referred to as The Dinkey or Old Buck, made two daily trips from Roswell to Chamblee. The train carried lumber, cotton, woolen goods and produce to Chamblee. Supplies, manufactured goods and catalog orders were carried back to Roswell. Mr. Ike Roberts served as the only engineer for The Dinkey for its entire forty-one years of operation.

Along with five or six flat or freight cars, there were also a baggage car and a passenger car. The crew consisted of Ike Roberts the engineer, a fireman, a conductor, a brakeman/baggage-man and a flagman. The Dunwoody Train Depot was the train's third of four scheduled stops along the 9.8 mile route between Roswell and Chamblee, although, if flagged, the train would stop anywhere along the track to pick up or drop off passengers. The railroad established the region between Mt. Vernon Road to the Chamblee Dunwoody Road/Roberts Road split as the business center of Dunwoody.

Just north of the depot, the railroad built three section houses, small white clapboard structures, to lodge work crews in charge of maintaining the train's roadbed. There is only one section house left today. The other two were demolished in 1994 for commercial development and prompted the formation of the Dunwoody Preservation Trust (DPT) to preserve the history and heritage of Dunwoody. The remaining Section House has housed the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce and today is a Music Store.

Fun Facts:

Major Charles Dunwody (just one o) completed the track in 1880. Though he was born in Roswell, he spent most of his life in the area that came to be named for him, now spelled with two o’s.

The train only faced one direction as there was no turn-around at either end. The train traveled forwad to Chamblee and travelled backwards back to Roswell.

Roberts Road in Dunwoody is named after Ike Roberts, who served as the engineer for forty-one years.