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The rail trail is a trail where trains once ran.  Today, the rail trail no longer sees trains, but it sees hikers, walkers, runners, bicyclists, and the occasional horse rider.

As you travel on the trail, you may just see the scenery.  You may feel the spirits of the trains that once were on this trail.  What is blacktop or dirt was where wooden railroad ties and steel rails once where.  If you walk or hike, you feel the old railroad bed with your feet.  You feel the ground where people travel on, but then you feel the trains roll along.

Although the trains no longer run on the tracks that were once on the trail, if you are a railroad person, you will feel the trains that were once on the rail trail that you tread upon today.

The Sautee Nacoochee Center is a community located in a very small town called Sautee Nacoochee in the northern mountainous region of the U.S. state of Georgia.  How famous is this place?  Well, it is not really famous as it is overshadowed by a more famous town known as Helen which is a few miles west of here.  However, you can visit the Sautee Nacoochee Center and see the artwork of local artists as well as the Folk Pottery Museum and the Valley Heritage and History Museum.  If that is not enough, they event have a theater where performing arts take place, and there are also classes you can take.  If you are in the northern region of Georgia, you will enjoy a visit to the Sautee Nacoochee Center.

Some of you are saying, “This is interesting.  When you hear about Georgia, you rarely hear about its mountains and its mountain towns.  This could be a great place to visit.  There is one very big problem.  What is the very big problem?  This place has nothing to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I will not make an art of visiting this place.”

You do have a good point.  Why visit the Sautee Nacoochee Center?

As you arrive, you see the Sautee Nacoochee Center.  What you do not see any sign of the railroad here.  Neither the property nor the structure has any connection to railroad history.  You enter and you notice the numerous galleries.  Unless you see a picture of a train, you will see nothing about the railroad here.  You then enter the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia.  You see how pottery is made, and you see the great works of pottery on display.  What does this have to do with railroad history?  Well, absolutely nothing.  You can also tour an old African American Heritage site which also has no history with the railroad.

So why visit the Sautee Nacoochee Center?

This brings us to the Valley Heritage and History Museum which is also located inside the center.  What is significant about this museum?  Well, as most of you have figured out, it tells the history of the region in northern Georgia to include the nearby town of Helen.  If you were to visit the town of Helen, you would feel as if you were in Germany.  Well, they try to make you feel as if you were in Germany.  What will you not see in the town of Helen?  You will not see a railroad.  You will not see an old train station.  You will not see a rail trail.

So why see the Valley Heritage and History Museum?

The town of Helen, Georgia was founded as a saw mill town in 1914, and it had one of the largest saw mills in the eastern United States of America.  At the Valley Heritage and History Center, you will see how the railroad was used to transport lumber as well as gold from the mills and the mines to the town of Gainesville, a major town south of here where it connected to other railroads.  The town of Helen as a railroad town was short lived as mining for gold ceased.  Through the years, the town would eventually be transformed into what it is today.

The Sautee Nacoochee Center is owned and operated by the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association.  It is located at 283 Highway 255 North in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia.  It is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm and on Sunday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.  Parking is on site.  Admission is free to visit the museums and galleries, but admission may be required to attend the shows.  The facility is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information and directions at https://www.snca.org/snc/home.php.

As you enjoy the mountains of northern Georgia, make a trip to the Sautee Nacoochee Heritage Center.  Visit the Valley Heritage and History Museum.  See how the railroad once transformed this region.

The city of Wilmington in the U.S. state of North Carolina is a city located on the Atlantic Ocean.  It is the home of the U.S.S. Battleship North Carolina.  It is a town with historic houses.  Being a coastal city, nobody would think of this city as a railroad town, but it was the home of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad where, in 1840, it was the longest continuous railroad line in the world.  The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad merged to become a part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and the headquarters was in Wilmington.  (Many of the Atlantic Coast Railroad Lines are owned by CSX today.)  During its heyday, Wilmington was a major railroad hub despite its location.  The railroad declined in the region, but the town freight houses remain.  One of the freight houses was converted into a hotel.  The other is the home of the Wilmington Railroad Museum.

As you enter the Wilmington Railroad Museum, you see the hotel on the left, and you see the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Locomotive Number 250 on the right next to another freight house originally owned by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.  It is here where the museum is housed. 

You enter the museum.  The gift shop has a small model train display. It is the first of many model train displays you will see.  You also see a model train above you.  You begin to see that this is not your average railroad museum.

You enter the museum and see displays of the offices and the ticket offices.  You see the tools on display.  You see artwork of the Atlantic Coast Line.  The best part of a visit to the Wilmington Railroad Museum is the numerous model train displays.  Yes, you see many model trains here at the museum.  One of the displays feature a certificate by the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest model train ever assembled which happened at a train show in Wilmington by modelers at the museum.

If you think that this is your average railroad museum, think again.  The museum not only tells the history of the railroad in Wilmington, but it tells the story of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad through the region of the southeastern United States of America.

The Wilmington Railroad Museum is located at 550 Nutt Street in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina.  Parking is on site, and it is wheelchair accessible.  You can get information about days when the museum is open and admission at https://www.wrrm.org/#/.

There are many reasons to visit the city of Wilmington, North Carolina.  The Wilmington Railroad Museum is one of many.  You will be glad that you came.

The U.S. state of Georgia is the largest state eastern United States of America.  Its capital city, Atlanta, is known as the ‘Capital of the South’.  It is a major hub with one of the busiest airports in the world.  It is home to many major businesses like Coca Cola.  It is the birthplace and burial site of Martin Luther King Jr.  It hosted the 1996 Olympic Games.  Then you have the city of Augusta which home to the Augusta National Golf Course, home of ‘The Masters’, one of the biggest golf events in the Professional Golf Association Tour (commonly known as the PGA Tour).  The state is known for its major city, Atlanta, and it smaller cities, Savannah, Augusta, and Macon, but you seldom hear about the state’s small towns.  In the northern region of the state in the Appalachian Mountains is the town of Clarksville.  No.  The town is not famous, but it is here where you will find the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.  What is special about the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum?  It is very you can find 100 years of automobile history.  If you love classic cars, this is a must see museum.

Some of you are saying, “It is nice that you have a museum in a small mountain town that displays old automobiles.  The problem is that this is an automobile museum and not a railroad museum.  Therefore, I will not spend my miles to visit this museum.”

So, why visit the museum?

The Miles Through Time Museum in Clarksville, Georgia is a classic car museum with cars that have been donated to the museum.  Some cars are owned by the museum while other cars are on loan to the museum to be displayed by the owners.  As mentioned, the museum features 100 years of automotive history.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice, but most automobile museums feature classic cars.”

That is true, but this museum changes out their exhibits so that every time you visit, you will see something new.  As mentioned, this is an automobile museum.  Why visit this museum?

As you arrive at the museum, you see a Volkswagen Bug on a pedestal, a decorated bus, a truck and car as part of a fountain, and a fire truck.  Be advised that this is just the beginning.  You enter the gift shop to pay the admission, and then… you enter the first of four galleries.  Yes, the museum has four galleries of classic cars.  You see full sized cars from the 1910’s, 1920’s, 1930’s.  Of course, many classic car museums feature these cars.

How many classic car museums feature a replica of ‘The General’?

What is ‘The General’?  The General was a locomotive that was involved in a locomotive chase during the American Civil War.  The classic movie ‘The Locomotive Chase’ tells the story of the General during the chase.  Much of the chase took place in the state of Georgia.  Even though the locomotive never passed through the town of Clarksville, the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum was chosen as the place to display a wooden one-half scale of this locomotive.  Designed by Gary Russeth, you can see this locomotive on display at the museum.

Is that all?  No.  The area behind the ‘General’ is dedicated to the work of Gary Russeth.  Along with the General, he designed a train wooden cars which took him five years to complete.  If that is not enough for you, there is a ‘O’ Scale train display featuring the General and the Texan reenacting ‘The Locomotive Chase’.  If that is not enough, there is a train display diorama and HO Scale train on display.

So you refuse to visit a classic car museum because it is not a railroad museum.  You now have a reason to visit the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.  With exhibits changing constantly, you may need to plan many more visits.

The Miles Through Time Automotive Museum is located at 583 Grant Street (Georgia Route 385) just minutes front the town center of Clarksville, Georgia.  It is 85 miles north of Atlanta.  It is open seven days a week.  The museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can purchase tickets at Vintage Garage Antiques, an antique store located next to the museum.  You can get information about the museum to include admission and to read more into the history and founding of the museum and museum events to include car shows and other events and changing exhibits at https://milesthroughtime.com/, and you can read more into the model of ‘The General’ and the history of the locomotive at https://milesthroughtime.com/project/1855-the-general/.

Can and see the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.  Go back in time.  Make a visit even if it is for a ‘general’ reason.

In the United States of America, you have universities and you have colleges.  You have colleges and universities that have students from across the nation and around the world, and you have  community colleges that mainly have students from their particular region.  Montgomery County Community College in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania has campuses throughout the county.  One of their campuses in located in Pottstown.  It is a place where students go to learn and get an education.

Some of you are saying, “This is very nice.  You have a college that has education.  The problem is that every college and university has education.  Therefore, I see nothing special about this place, and I will not be going to school here.”

So, what is special about the Pottstown Campus of Montgomery County Community College?  It gives students an education just like all of the other colleges and universities.  What is special about this college?  It is next to the main rail line now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway, and it is next to the old passenger train station, but many colleges and universities are next to old train stations and active rail lines.  So, what is special about this college?

The Pottstown Campus of the Montgomery County Community College is housed in four structures.  You have the South Hall which is the main building housing most of the classrooms.  You have the North Hall that is housed in a landmark structure that was a shoe polish factory, a mattress factory, a knitting mill, and a brewery before it housed classrooms.  You have an electricity generation station that houses lecture halls, labs, and the print shop.  Then you have the Hanover Street Hall.  What is special about Hanover Street Hall?  You see something special about this building.  Before it housed classrooms and offices, it was a baggage a baggage claim facility for the railroad.  As you walk around, you can see where the trains pulled up and where the baggage was loaded onto the train.  (Be advised that the building is not open to the public.)  Today, the old trains that come here are the trains of the Norfolk Southern Railway.

So, now you have a reason to visit the Pottstown Campus of the Montgomery County Community College in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  See a school where students get an education at a place where trains once stopped.

What is the National Railroad Museum and Hall of Fame?  It is located in a small structure in the small town of Hamlet in the U.S. state of North Carolina.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice, but what is so special about the town of Hamlet, North Carolina?”

You may not have heard of the town of Hamlet, North Carolina, but it was the hub of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.  Today, those lines are owned by Chessie Seaboard Line (simply known as CSX), and they still pass through Hamlet today.  The old train station, which is still an active train station with Amtrak serving the town is also a museum.

This is a good spot for the National Railroad Museum and Hall of Fame.  The building is small on the outside, but there is so much on the inside.  When you enter the museum, you will see different railroads on display.  You see model trains.  You see the tools they used, and you see replicas on the offices they sat in.  You see everything about the railroad here.

The National Railroad Museum and Hall of Fame in located at 120 E. Spring Street (U.S. Business Route 74) in Hamlet, North Carolina.  It is open Saturday and Sunday from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.  Parking is on site, and with everything on one floor, it is completely wheelchair accessible.  Admission is free, but they will gladly accept any donation you can give.

Now you have heard of the town of Hamlet, North Carolina.  It is a small town built on the railroad, and the railroad is still alive here today.  No, you will not see William Shakespeare, but you may see a passing train in a small town that was once a railroad hub.

The U.S. state of South Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the nation that is sandwiched between North Carolina to the north, Georgia to the southwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast.  The state is famous for its beaches and its beach towns of Charleston and Myrtle Beach.  It was in this state where at Fort Sumter that the first shot of the American Civil War was fired.  Along with its beaches, the state has many great small towns.  Among these towns is the town of Aiken.  I know.  Aiken is not one of those famous towns that millions flock to every year, but it is a town that is worth visiting.  Why?  There is much history here to include the Battle of Aiken, an American Civil War battle where the Confederate army won the battle led by General Sherman while on his march south.  What is another reason to visit?  Let us say that the railroad played a role.

The town of Aiken, South Carolina was named after William Aiken.  Who is William Aiken?  He was the first president of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company.  The town was erected at the western terminus of the railroad.  During the railroad’s heyday, the town had a freight depot and a passenger depot.

Some of you are saying that it is all gone now.  It is not.

Welcome to the Aiken Visitor Center and Train Museum.  What is special about the Aiken Visitor Center and Train Museum?  It is housed in a rebuilt train station after the original 1899 train station after the original train station was demolished.  Although trains no longer stop here, you may be fortunate enough to see a passing train.

What is special about the Aiken Visitor Center and Train Museum?  Well, of course, it is the town visitor center with information on the local activities in the town.  Yes, many towns have their visitor center in an old train station, but it is a train museum.  Yes, there are many train museums in old train stations.  If you think it is just model trains, be advised that it is much more.

You will see model trains here, but you will also see much more.

As mentioned, the town of Aiken was erected around the railroad.  The railroad ran from North Augusta, South Carolina just west of Aiken on the border with the state of Georgia, through Aiken and ran east making its way to the port city of Charleston.  The train museum displays each town along the railroad as they were in 1916.  At one time, the railroad was the longest railroad in the world.

The original train station was built in 1899 by the Southern Railway.  The town was a sporting town and a vacation town for wealthy families like the Vanderbilt’s, the Astor’s, and the Mellon’s.  Be advised that you do not need wealth to visit the Aiken Visitor Center and Train Museum, but you will get a wealth of information during your visit here.

The Aiken Visitor Center and Train Museum is located at 406 Park Avenue SE in Aiken, South Carolina.  It is open from 10:00am to 3:00pm from Thursday to Saturday.  Parking is street parking, and there is plenty of it.  Admission is free, and the museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can learn more about the visitor center and museum and about the town itself at https://www.visitaikensc.com/whattodo/detail/aiken_railroad_depot.

There are many reasons to visit Aiken, South Carolina.  The Aiken Visitor Center and Train Museum is one of them.  You do not need lots of wealth to visit.

The city of Lancaster in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is famous for being Amish country with the horse and buggy running on the main highways and streets.  The town of Intercourse is a suburb of Lancaster, and it is here where you will find Barry’s Car Barn.  What is Barry’s Car Barn?  As you arrive, you may find yourself in a different time.  You see the old gas pumps from years past.  When you go inside, you see rows and rows of the muscle car from the 1950’s to the 1970’s.  From the Chevrolet Corvette to the Camaro to the Ford Mustang, you see them all under one roof.  Barry’s Car Barn will take you back, and if you were not born in the 1950’s, 1960’s or 1970’s, you will find yourself in a time when you saw muscle cars on the streets of the United States of America.

Some of you are saying, “Oh, I enjoy those old classic cars.  It was very cool to see them cars on the streets.  However, there is one big problem.  This is a car museum, not a railroad museum.  Therefore, I will not be roaring into this place.”

Yes, it is not a railroad museum.  It is a car museum that is about cars, and their focus is on cars.  So what is special about Barry’s Car Barn?

As you arrive at the museum, you see the building that housing museum.  You see old gas pumps.  You enter into the gift shop, and then you enter into the main hall where you see rows and rows of old classic cars.  On the walls, you see advertising from the old gas stations and repair shops.  You see classic motorcycles.

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh!  That is what you are supposed to see at this museum.”

That is true, but would you expect to see a display of Lionel Trains?

Some of you just fell out of your seat.

There is a display of the old Lionel Trains encased in glass.  You see the old classic locomotives from the steam locomotives to the diesel locomotives to the electric locomotives used on the Pennsylvania Railroad.  You  have the classic passenger cars to box cars.  They are all on a wall for you to see.

Barry’s Car Barn is located at 3504 Old Philadelphia Pike (Pennsylvania Route 340) in Intercourse, Pennsylvania.  It is open Tuesday to Thursday from 9:00am to 4:00pm and Friday and Saturday from 9:00am to 4:30pm.  Parking is on site, and the entire museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information about admission at https://www.barryscarbarn.com/.

Next time you are in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, make your way to Intercourse and to Barry’s Car Barn.  It is more than just cars.

Labor Day was a day established by Congress to give a day off for the American worker, and it was established to be on the first Monday in September.  Many Americans will have this day off, but many will be working on this day.  Among those will be those who work on the railroad.  For those who are traveling by train, think of those who make your trip possible.  Without them, nobody would be going anywhere.  You have those who drive the trains to those who work on the tracks to those who man the communications to those who are in your car making sure you are well taken care of.

There is not one worker on the railroad who does their labor in vain.  If one component is missing, the trains cannot run.  If the trains cannot run, passengers and freight does not move.  It takes the labors of many workers to move just one train.

The next time you ride a train or just see a train go by take the time to remember the many workers who made the movement of the train possible.  May this Labor Day honor all those who keep the trains moving on the rails.

The Cover Photo is from the Wilmington and Western Railroad in Hockessin, Delaware, U.S.A.

The First Photo is of Union Station in Washington D.C.

The Second Photo is a trolley at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Rockhill, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

The Third Photo is the Train Station in Manassas, Virginia, U.S.A.

The Fourth photo is a Statue of a Conductor at the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum in Chesapeake Beach Maryland, U.S.A.

The Last Photo is from the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad in Petersburg, West Virginia, U.S.A.