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The vast North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer isn't one of the state's better-known attractions, unfortunately, but that is changing. Last year more than 100,000 people, including numerous school groups from around the state, visited the site. As you might imagine, the museum is especially popular with railroad buffs and old-timers who remember the key role railroads played in state history moving passengers and freight. For the school children, it's an accurate picture of the past, a story that unfolds in graphic exhibits. And it is a fascinating story. Spencer Shops was created in 1896 as Southern Railway's main repair and restoration facility, selected because it was about mid-way between Washington and Atlanta, the line's major hubs. In peak times more than 3,000 skilled Rowan County workers earned their livelihood in this busy environment. All major overhauls and repairs on Southern Railway's steam engines and railroad cars were performed at Spencer. At one time the Machine Shop, built in 1905, was the state's largest building and turned out an overhauled locomotive each day. For more than 50 years the 300-acre repair facility prospered and was a main source of employment for the area. But the steady employment that sustained the town and county began to dry up after World War II when diesel and electric locomotives began to replace the time-honored steam engine. Heavy work slowed to a standstill in the 1950s and stopped in 1960. Lighter repair jobs continued, however, until the mid-70s when the shops were closed. Southern Railway gave four acres and three buildings to the state in 1977, and the idea for a transportation museum began to take shape. Another donation two years later included more land and historic structures. The site now is administered by the Historic Sites Section of the Department of Cultural Resources. The first exhibit opened in 1983 and, today, the attraction is regarded as the South's largest transportation museum. Four of the on-site buildings, including the massive roundhouse, contain exhibits that are open for the public, featuring 55 pieces of rolling stock—trains, cares, engines and 19 locomotives of all types. The highlights: Barber Junction Depot, built in 1898, is named for the town from which it was moved; Barber is between Salisbury and Statesville. Now the museum's information center, the depot, which was closed in 1975, still sells tickets for the 30-minute train ride around the complex. Master Mechanic's Office now houses administrative offices, a large gift shop and the Wagons, Wheels and Wings display. Featured are transportation methods from the late 1700s, including a Conestoga wagon, an ancient fire truck, a horse-drawn mail wagon (which was driven by NCCBI President Phil Kirk's grandfather, Russell Bostian), an amphibious airplane, a corduroy road, a 1934 Harley Davidson police motorcycle, and a 1935 Ford convertible coupe which was a State Highway Patrol car. The Flue Shop houses the Bumper-to-Bumper automobile exhibits and a display of North Carolina license tags dating from 1913. The vehicles include a 1901 horseless carriage, a Ford model-T truck, a 1939 Packard touring car, a 1959 Edsel and a 1960 DeSoto among others. The Robert Julian Roundhouse, a 37-stall C-shaped building and one of the largest ever constructed, was built in 1924 and was named for its longtime foreman. Exhibits focus on the lives of the men and women who worked at the shops as well as the history of railroads in North Carolina. There are numerous locomotives — steam, diesel and electric — luxury private cars, mail and hospital cars, cabooses and sleepers. Outside the roundhouse is the turntable that moves into position the locomotives and cars to the stalls for repairs or restoration. And it is available for rides, much to the delight of the younger visitor. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1-5 on Sunday from April 1 through October. Admission is free but there is a $5 charge for adults ($4 for children and seniors) for the train rides. After visiting the museum, don't miss seeing Salisbury, where walking tours take you past attractive homes and churches from the 1800s, a 1760s town well, the Old English Cemetery and the Rowan Museum. For more information, contact the N.C. Transportation Museum at 704-636-2889 and the Rowan County Visitor Information Center in Salisbury, 1-800-332-2343. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. This article first appeared in
the July 1999 issue of the North Carolina magazine. |
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By Bill F. Hensley