The U.S. state of North Carolina is one of the original states in the United States of America. The state is famous for its coastline to include Kitty Hawk where two brothers from Ohio who worked on bicycles successfully made the first successful airplane flight. It is also the home of the eastern half of the Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the most visited national parks in the nation. The state has some of the most successful college basketball teams in the nation from Duke University, the University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University. In Ashville, you have Biltmore, one of the finest mansions in the nation. When it comes to railroad history, the state has some great railroad sites. You have the Great Smoky Mountains Railway in Bryson City, and you have the North Carolina Museum of Transportation in Salisbury that was erected in an old railroad roundhouse, and it is here where the Norfolk and Western Railway’s Number 611, the most photographed steam locomotive in the world, is often serviced. It is also home to the National Railroad Hall of Fame in Hamlet. There is a small town that has a little treasure of its own.
Welcome to the town of Selma, North Carolina. What is in Selma, North Carolina? It was in this town where Vicks Vaporub was invented in a local drug store. When you enter the town, you will see that it is a definitely a railroad town. Mitchner Station, built in 1855, is the oldest surviving train station in North Carolina. As you arrive at the station, you will see that it is currently not in use. It was spared from demolition by locals. You then look down the tracks and see another treasure of the town.
Welcome to Union Station in Selma, North Carolina.
Some of you are saying, “Wait a minute. Union Station? This is a small town.”
Selma is a small town, but it is a railroad town, and Union Station, built in 1924, is located at a cross track with a single track line crossing a double track line with a connecting track. Did any famous people visit here? If the name “Lady Bird Johnson”, the wife of Lyndon Johnson sounds familiar, she came here to campaign for her husband in 1964 after the Democratic National Convention to campaign for her husband. During its heyday, this station saw much passenger traffic, but as railroad passenger service declined, service at this station ceased.
Some of you are saying, “And now this train station rots into ruin.”
It did, but a restoration of the station gave it new life. It houses a museum that tells the story of the town of Selma and the rich history of the town as a major railroad town.
Some of you are saying, “Sadly, it is a museum, and it is no longer an active train station.”
You are wrong. When the train station was restored, Amtrak restored passenger service to Selma with the Carolinian Route and the Palmetto Route serving the station. An actual station attendant is in the ticket office on hour before the trains arrive.
No more excuses. You now have a reason to visit the town of Selma, North Carolina.
The Historic Union Station of Selma, North Carolina is located at 500 Railroad Street, just minutes from Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 301. The passenger waiting room that houses the museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00pm. Parking is available on Railroad Street. The museum and the old passenger platforms is completely wheelchair accessible. Most important, admission is free. Plus, you many be rewarded with a passing train.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 