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The town of Selma in the U.S. state of North Carolina is home to a train station that sits at the crossing of two major railroad lines. The town has a history with the railroad that goes back to before Selma became an official town. Mitchener Station, the town’s original train station, was built in 1855. Today, it is currently abandoned as it rests just a short ways from the current Union Station where Amtrak stops today.
Some of you are saying, “If it is abandoned, why do they not just demolish it?”
It is an old train station. Many do get demolished. However, Mitchener Station in Selma, North Carolina is not just a rotting train station.
What is special about Mitchener Station? As mentioned, it was built in 1855 long before the town was chartered. It is also the oldest surviving train station in North Carolina. Is that it? The answer is no. The train station was also controlled by the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The North Carolina Governor met with the soldiers. They occupied the station until the Union Army attacked the station causing the Confederate Army to flee.
Today, there are attempts to restore the train station. As for now, it is not open to the public. It is in its original location at Railroad Street and Railford Street one block east of U.S. Route 301 and minutes from Interstate 95.
The small town of Alberta is located in the southern region of the U.S. state of Virginia. Yes, the name of the town is Alberta. (Whether it is named after the Canadian province is unknown.) In this small town in the center of the town is a caboose. How is the caboose here? This town has no railroad. Well, the town was once served by two railroads, and there was heavy rail traffic in its heyday. Like many small towns, service declined, and the railroads were forced to abandon the town.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice, but many small towns in the United States of America have declined from the lack of the railroad.”
Even though Alberta, Virginia looks like a ghost town today, the Alberta Caboose reminds everyone about the railroad heritage. The caboose is from the Virginian Railway and sits near the old railroad bed of the Virginian Railway which is now the Tobacco Heritage Trail which runs across the southern region of Virginia as a reminder of how the Virginian Railway and, later, the Norfolk and Western Railway was a big part of the tobacco industry.
What about the caboose itself? As mentioned, it was used by the Virginia Railway. It was donated to the town in memory of Earl Walter Wilkinson. Who is Earl Walter Wilkinson? He was a devoted employee of the Norfolk and Western Railway. Like many cabooses that you once saw on the end of freight trains, it was preserved and put on display.
The Alberta Caboose is located in the Town Square in Alberta, Virginia at 123 First Avenue. It is one block from Virginia Route 136 and minutes from U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 85. There is a small parking lot for parking.
If you ever visit the town of Alberta, Virginia, it may appear to be a ghost town, but it comes alive with the memory of the railroad.
When you think about Savannah in the U.S. state of Georgia, you think about a city rich with history. You see its many historic structures to include the birthplace of Juliette Gordon-Low, the founder of the Girls Scouts of America. You see the many city squares. You walk by the moss trees. You cannot overlook the great waterfront. Considering that this is the oldest city in the state of Georgia, it has many historic sites to see here. It will take you more than a week to see everything.
Now some of you are saying, “Wow! That is so cool to see how there is so much to do in Savannah. The only problem is that the city of Savannah has no railroad history whatsoever. Therefore, there is no reason for rail fans to visit Savannah.”
To those who just said that quote, you are so sadly mistaken. Savannah does have many historic sites, and some of those sites… are railroad sites.
Welcome to the Georgia State Railroad Museum. As you make your way to downtown from Interstate 16, it will be the very first site you see. Yes, it is that easy to find. The museum is housed in one of the oldest still standing roundhouses in the United States, and it has a working turntable.
Now some of you want to mention that there are many working turntables in the country. That is true, but this turntable is very interesting. There will be more on that later. To answer your question, there is rolling stock on display to include many box cars, cabooses, locomotives, and a Pullman Car. You can also tour the old shops where the workers worked to maintain the rolling stock. Oh, if you have a little time, you can even operate a hand car.
Now some of you are saying, “That is so nice. We get to go to a railroad museum and see rolling stock and run a hand car. What would make this place worth visiting is if they had train rides.”
Ladies and gentlemen, they do have train rides. They are short rides, but these rides are special. How often do you get to take a train ride through an operating turntable? You have read correctly. You ride through the actual turntable. It is a great experience for any rail fan.
The Georgia Railroad Museum is located at 303 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard just blocks from all of the historic area, and it is across the street from the Visitor Center which was once a passenger train station. You can learn more at www.chsgeorgia.org.
The next time you think about Savannah, Georgia and its history, you will now have a new historic place to think of: the Georgia Railroad Museum.
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 