Tag: Railroads

Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum, Cornelia, Georgia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The United States of America began with thirteen states.  Among those states is Georgia, the largest state east of the Mississippi River.  The state is famous for some of its cities like Atlanta and Savannah, both of which are big railroad cities, but the state has small towns that were shaped by the railroad.  Among these towns is a town in the northern region of the state known as Cornelia.

Some of you are saying, “Here we go again.  It is another one of those small towns that has this old train station that just sits there and it not used anymore, or it has a tiny little museum to let everyone know that trains came to the station.  This is just what these small train stations are.  They are nothing special.  I will not waste my time visiting here.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the town of Cornelia, Georgia, the home of the Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum.  Be advised.  If you enjoy boring typical railroad station museums that do not have much to see or have any history to them, then this museum is not for you.

So what is special about the Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum?  When the town was established as a settlement in 1860 and became a town in 1865, there was no railroad here.  The railroad came to the town in 1872 bringing passenger and freight service to the town.  In 1882, another railroad line was built that took passengers to the Tallulah Falls, and it became known as the Tallulah Railway as it passed through the Tallulah Gorge in the northern region of the state.  The town grew around the two railroads.  Sadly, the Tallulah Railway ceased service after World War II, but the original line that brought service to the town remained, and it remains in service today under ownership of the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Today, the train station is no longer active but now houses the museum.  As you arrive, the first thing you will see is a big red apple on an eight foot high pedestal.

Some of you are saying, “Well, it is an apple on a pedestal.  There is nothing special about it.”

Oh, there is something special about this apple.  The town of Cornelia is known as ‘The Home of the Big Red Apple’.  Where does this name come from?  The town is the center of a region where apples are grown, but that is only part of the story.  The apple itself was designed in Winchester, Virginia.  It was brought to the town by way of the Southern Railway who donated the Big Red Apple to the town.

The next thing you will see is a red caboose.  Well, there are two red cabooses, but this one is resting on a track under an overhang.  What is special about this caboose?  It has Tallulah Falls one the side of it.  The caboose is on the old railroad bed of the Tallulah Railway.  A small monument was erected by the caboose showing the route of the Tallulah Railway all the way to Franklin, North Carolina.  The second caboose sits next to the main railroad line.

Enough about seeing the outside.  It is time to go into the train depot itself.  You enter the museum and look ahead at the ticket window where the ticket master sat and looked for trains and sold tickets to passengers.  As you look around, you notice that on October 20, 1992, a famous visitor visited the town.  He said to the people, “You made my day.”  Who was this visitor?  His name was George Herbert Walker Bush, the President of the United States of America who came to Cornelia by train.

The passenger waiting room and the freight room are full of artifacts from the Southern Railway and the Tallulah Railway.  Among the artifacts is the original switchboard used to switch tracks in the region.

So you think that the Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum is just another small town museum?  You will be surprised when you visit here.

The Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum is located in downtown Cornelia at 102 Grant Street just minutes from U.S. Routes 23 and 441.  Parking is located at the museum, and the museum is wheelchair accessible.  Most important is that admission is free, but they gladly accept donations.  You can get more information about the museum, the museum hours, the history of the town, the other attractions in the region at https://www.corneliageorgia.org/living-visiting/places-of-interest/cornelia-depot-railroad-museum/.

If you are ever in the northern region of the state of Georgia, you will sure want to have Cornelia, Georgia on your mind.  You will be glad you visited.  Maybe get some apple pie or apple juice at ‘The Home of the Big Red Apple’.

The Old Train Station

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

In the glory days of the passenger railroad, you had the grand train stations in the big cities, and you had the train station in the small town.  As fewer people took the train, the train made fewer stops.  Many of the small towns were served by the passenger train.  In those small towns, the train stations were abandoned.  Some were demolished, but some were spared.  In some towns, the train no longer goes there.

You visit the small town, and you see the old train station.  It is a visitor center or museum or a business.  Some that are within major metropolitan areas are used as commuter train stations.  Some were kept in their place while some were relocated to be preserved.  Some that are next to an active rail line have had a fence between the depot and the tracks.  You have stations that have remained next to rail trails.  Regardless, you feel the need to see the train station.

As you walk around, it appears lonely.  As you look through the windows, you see the waiting room.  You can imagine the people sitting on the benches waiting for their train to come.  You look into what was the ticket office.  You imagine the ticket master selling tickets.  You see him collecting the mail to send to citizens of the town.  You see him sending a telegraph.  He is at the window watching for the trains.  You look into the freight room and imagine the freight being prepared to be put on the next train and the freight that had arrived to be sent somewhere in the region.  You walk out to the empty platform.  The tracks are currently empty but wait.  You imagine the passengers standing awaiting for their train to come.  The train comes, and the passengers board and deboard the train.  Their loved ones hug them and take their luggage to the car, or horse pending on the time period.  Then, you are back to the present as a train, an actual train comes and rolls by the station.  You stand, and you watch.

But you are at a station where the tracks are no longer there.  You see a rail trail, or you just see the old railroad bed.  You set your mind back in time, and you see the trains coming.  You watch each hiker and biker, and you think of them as a passenger on a train.

The old train station may still be used as a train station or not.  As you see the station, it will remind of how the railroad was a part of the town and how it made many towns what they are today.

The Cover Photo is Point of Rocks, Maryland.

The First Photo is Apex, North Carolina.

The Second Photo is Barnesville, Ohio.

The Third Photo is Amherst, Virginia.

The Fourth Photo is Marlinton, West Virginia.

The Fifth Photo is Quakerstown, Pennsylvania.

The Final Photo is Brunswick, Maryland.