Hamlet Depot & Museums

hamlet_logo Located in the only Victorian Queen Anne Train station in North Carolina, the Hamlet Depot serves as an active passenger depot as well as home to the Hamlet Depot & Museums. The hands on exhibits, visual displays, and interactive consoles encourage both you and old alike to explore the history of the Seaboard Railroad and Hamlet. The Hamlet Depot & Museums features many unique attractions. From exhibits describing the city’s rich and vibrant history to model railroads and interactive exhibits, this museum has something for everyone.

hamlet_state egyptian he Hamlet depot is the only Victorian Queen Anne style railroad station in the state of North Carolina. It was built in 1900 for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad as both a passenger station and division headquarters. The two-story structure was originally constructed at the crossing of the Raleigh & Augusta Air Line and Central Carolina Railways. By the 1930s, Hamlet was dubbed the "Hub of the Seaboard," with five Seaboard Air Line Railroad lines leading out from the city and 30 passenger train departures each day. In the Amtrak era, however, the station is a stop only twice daily for the Silver Star, trains 91 and 92 between New York City and Miami. A major renovation of the station area was completed in 2004, including a relocation of the structure to a better location in another corner of the rail diamond. In addition to an unattended Amtrak waiting area, the Hamlet depot is also home to a small museum tracing the rail history of the area. It includes exhibits, visual displays, and interactive consoles. Outside, a display area includes a retired Seaboard Air Line road switcher and caboose.

overview of Hamlet trackage before station move / 1999 / JCH

Apr 2019 / RWH

postcard / collection

Click to see the Hamlet depot plotted on a Google Maps page

Station

Hamlet, NC / Apr 1999 / RWH

collection

Hamlet, NC / Apr 1999 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 1999 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 1999 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 1999 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 1999 / RWH

hamlet_graphic The restoration of this station was many years in the making with the drawings and preparations beginning in 1997. By 1999, CSX, the successor to the Seaboard Air Line, notified the city and NCDOT of a concern about restoring a building surrounded by active railroad tracks, so it was decided that the station should be moved to a less active area, southward across the east-west rail line, and rotated 90 degrees, to sit along Main Street, which was also realigned to accommodate the station. In 2001, CSX sold the station to the city of Hamlet for $1. In 2002, the 1942 brick addition was demolished and the original structure stabilized. In March of 2003, the moving company began preparing the building for the move and the station was jacked up and rotated. By April 4, 2003, the station had been moved 210 feet across the tracks to its new foundation and stabilized. Renovations began that summer and were completed by the fall of 2004.

The Great American Stations

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

overhead of current Hamlet depot / Google Maps

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Action

scrapbook photos / 1999 / JCH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Display

postcard / collection

Hamlet, NC / Apr 2019 / RWH

Seaboard Air Line #1114

Hamlet, NC / Apr 1999 / RWH

Seaboard Air Line #1114

builder:Electro Motive Division

model:SDP35

type:C-C road unit

built:Nov 1964, EMD #29353

series:35 produced 1964-65

engine:EMD 567D3A (16 cyl, 2500 hp)

notes:

1 of 20 blt for Seaboard Air Line with passenger steam generator in long hood

blt Seaboard Air Line #1114
to Seaboard Coast Line #615
to Seaboard Coast Line #1965
to Seaboard System #4595
to CSX Transportation #4595
retired to static display