Carolinian

he Greensboro passenger station, now referred to as the J. Douglas Galyon Depot, reopened on October 1, 2005. The grand building was originally erected by the Southern Railway in 1927 to serve it and the Atlantic & Yadkin Railroad. At its peak in the 1940s, more than 40 passenger trains came through the station daily. Designed by the New York architectural firm of Fellheimer and Wagner, the station has a main waiting room with an impressive mural of the Southern Railway network during the 1920s. A pedestrian tunnel extends from the waiting room, under the tracks and up to the train platforms.

Following the decline of passenger railroading after World War II, the station was closed in May 1979; Southern subsequently donated it to the city. From then until 2005, rail passengers waited for the train in a small freight railroad office several miles west of downtown. The North Carolina Department of Transportation and city of Greensboro began working together in 1993 on plans to return passenger rail service to the original station and improve connections with other modes of transportation.

Restoration included reconfiguring a portion of the tracks near the station, extending the former passenger tunnel, and building a new baggage tunnel, boarding platforms and canopies for train passengers. Modernizations included track side escalators and digital arrival/departure monitors; significant effort was made to retain the original 1920s appearance of this beautiful station.

Great American Stations

he Amtrak station in Burlington, opened in July 2003, is sited in the former engine house of the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR), the only remnant of a railroad maintenance facility built in the 1850s. The renovated building, which also houses the NCRR Whistlestop Museum in its lobby, as well as city offices, is called the Company Shops Station.

Moser, Mayer, and Phoenix, Architects, created a design to incorporate many of the architectural features of the former engine house and yet make it fit for modern tenants. The barrel roof was removed to recreate the silhouette from the 1800s. A baking soda solution was applied to the soft brick of the building to remove the white paint and revealed detail not previously visible. Overall, this adaptive reuse of the historic property has had a positive impact on the look of the downtown section, according to its residents. It also won an award for excellence from the Main Street, North Carolina division of the state Department of Commerce.

Great American Stations

n July 8, 2009, Amtrak began serving the current station in Durham located in the restored Walker Warehouse, a historic brick structure erected in 1897 by the American Tobacco Company trust. Included in the Bright Leaf National Register Historic District, the former warehouse is marked by impressive decorative brickwork such as corbeled pendants and mousetoothing at the cornice and parapet. The Walker Warehouse is part of the West Village redevelopment project, which encompasses seven former tobacco warehouses, constructed between 1884 and 1949, that are being converted into loft apartments and office, laboratory, retail and entertainment space.

The new station was a joint venture of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the city of Durham. The former entered into an agreement with developer Blue Devil Partners to lease and up-fit one third of the Walker Warehouse, while the city was responsible for 25 percent of the lease costs. The NCDOT also constructed a 600-foot long boarding platform with a 300-foot canopy and a covered walkway extending from the station building; this work was funded with $1.25 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funds. Across the tracks from the Amtrak depot is “Durham Station,” a transit terminal served by city, regional and intercity bus providers.

Prior to the renovation of the Walker Warehouse, the NCDOT and Durham jointly opened an interim modular station in 1996 to provide accessible ticketing, a waiting room, baggage handling and restrooms. Staffed by a full-time Amtrak station agent, it in turn had replaced a small shelter used by passengers since 1990.

Great American Stations

aleigh Union Station is the third facility Amtrak has served in the “City of Oaks” since 1971. Until moving to Union Station, Amtrak used a small Colonial Revival brick depot on Cabarrus Street a few blocks to the southeast. It was opened by the Southern Railway in 1950 after moving from the city’s old Union Station on the west side of Nash Square. Amtrak relocated to the Cabarrus Street facility in 1986 from the former Seaboard Air Line depot north of downtown. The move was necessitated by freight railroad CSX’s abandonment of track between Petersburg, Va., and Raleigh, which forced Amtrak to reroute the Silver Star (New York-Miami) via Rocky Mount, N.C. The Cabarrus Street station no longer stands, having been demolished soon after Union Station opened.

Great American Stations

elma Union Depot was constructed in 1924 to serve the Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) Railroad and the Southern Railway (SR). Designed by architect A.M. Griffin, the masonry structure has a “V” shape due to its location at the crossing of the north-south ACL and east-west SR. The layout included a platform to serve each railroad, with a two-story tower for railroad signal operators located at the center where the two wings of the building meet.

To the people of Selma, the depot has long been more than just a transportation hub: Selma was born as a railroad town, and the depot is a significant piece of its history. The community’s love for its station shone through when the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved a railroad petition to tear the building down in 1975; it was saved when the city objected to the demolition. The city then acquired the deed to the property and relieved the railroad of liability concerns.

Union Depot reopened temporarily in 1976 as a museum and as the center for Selma’s first celebration of “Railroad Days.” Currently, the “Railroad Days” celebration is observed on the first weekend in October, commemorating the city’s railroad heritage. Numerous railroad displays and activities take place in the historic downtown and at the station. In 1982, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

That same year, it reopened as an active train station when Amtrak added a scheduled stop for the Palmetto. Around this time, the ACL built a new curved connecting track on the north side of the station to allow trains to move between the north-south and east-west tracks. Subsequently, the station is now surrounded by tracks. More Amtrak service at Selma was established in 1984, when the state-supported Carolinian was initiated on a Charlotte-Selma-New York City route, before being suspended in 1985. The current iteration of the Carolinian began operating in 1990 and has called at Selma since then. Due to the configuration of the station at the crossing of the two rail lines, Palmetto customers use a platform on the southeast side of the depot, while Carolinian passengers use a platform to the north.

Officially, Selma was chartered in 1873, yet to those who live there, the city was truly born on May 1, 1867, when the first lots were sold around the Mitchner station on the North Carolina Railroad. Mitchner station was built in 1855 and is now believed to be the oldest surviving train station in North Carolina. During the Civil War, Confederate troops occupied the Mitchner station to make a stand. By the evening, Union troops had managed to surround the Confederate soldiers, causing them to abandon the depot.

Great American Stations

he Wilson Amtrak station was constructed in 1924 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Designed by A.M. Griffin in the Flemish style, this one-story brick building sports Spanish terra cotta roof tiles and an umbrella canopy that stretches the length of the station.

Though the station underwent major renovations by the turn of the 20th century, workers took care not to destroy the architecture of the building. The restoration took place in three phases. In phase one, the station was completely rebuilt and modernized while preserving and restoring the original architecture. A new platform in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and canopy connecting the station with the platform were constructed, as well as a waiting room, baggage room, ticket office and vending area. The construction began in 1996 and was completed two years later. In phase two of the restoration process, the city and state added long-term parking facilities and enhanced the look of the station with the addition of some landscaping. Phase two construction was completed in 2003. Phase three involved canopy restoration. The entire renovation project cost about $3 million.

Like many small towns in the 19th century, the railroad was the center of growth and prosperity for Wilson. In late 1839, the Wilmington-Weldon and Raleigh Railroad completed tracks that stopped through two stations: Toisnot Junction Station and Hickory Grove. The town of Wilson was born by joining together the town of Toisnot Junction and Hickory Grove. It was named for General Louis Dicken Wilson, a state senator and an early advocate of the public school movement.

Wilson, known as the City of Beautiful Trees, was incorporated in 1849 as a farm market. At the time, tar and turpentine were the primary cash products, with cotton growing in importance in the 1860s. After the Civil War, farmers found a better market in tobacco, and by the turn of the 20th century, Wilson became the world’s largest bright leaf tobacco market. Wilson is also home to Imagination Station, an imaginative science learning center for children.

Great American Stations

he Rocky Mount rail station was constructed in 1893 by the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad as a two-story brick Romanesque station with one-story wings. Since then, the station’s structure has undergone major changes. In 1911-12, the new owner, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, turned the one-story wings into three-story wings. A few years later, a third story was added to the entire building. In the 1960s, an addition was constructed between the wings to store railroad switches and signal equipment, but was later removed.

Because the building is part of Rocky Mount’s historic district, it was included in the downtown rehabilitation master plan with renovation starting in 1997. A new entryway was added to the building to allow passengers to enter the station from the street. Canopies were reconstructed, and a new ADA-compliant platform was built. A “commons” park was built in the front yard of the station, as well as improved driveways, parking and streetscaping. The construction finished in December 2000 at a cost of about $9 million with financing coming from a mix of federal, state and local funds.

Rocky Mount’s early days revolved around the first post office, established in 1816, which brought its name into documented history. The Wilmington & Weldon Railroad became Rocky Mount’s main connection to the outside world, yet did not cause immediate growth for the town. Only in the late 1800s did the railroad exert a powerful influence on Rocky Mount, helping spread the fame of Nash County apple brandy. By the turn of the 20th century, Rocky Mount’s population grew to 3,000. The growth and prosperity was influenced by the main railroad line, the well-established cotton mill and productive farmland.

Great American Stations

he Petersburg rail station, a one-story brick building, was constructed in 1955 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and is located near the Appomattox River. CSX leases the southern portion of the station to Amtrak and the northern area is unoccupied. In the late 1980s, the depot saw a few minor renovations, including an expanded waiting room, new floors and furniture and the removal of an interior wall. The city of Petersburg’s roots are embedded in its routes. Originally a Powhattan settlement, people came over from England and settled at Fort Henry. Petersburg grew out of the expansion of Fort Henry. The Port of Petersburg drew many merchants, as it was a major hub for commercial transportation and processing of goods.

Great American Stations

ichmond has been served by multiple railroads since the 1830's. The five lines fanning out from the city in 1861 were a major reason for choosing Richmond as the capital of the Confederacy. With rail consolidation after the war, the names changed but for much of the 20th. century the city still hosted six major lines. The corporate headquarters of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P) Railroad, and CSX were located in the city.

Richmond Railroad Museum

he Amtrak station in Fredericksburg consists of a platform and shelter adjacent to the 1910 brick depot, which is located one block from the Rappahannock River waterfront. Today, the building is occupied by a restaurant. The platforms and shelters run over Sophia, Caroline, Princess Anne and Charles streets in the historic downtown, and an elaborate system of stairs and ramps is used to reach the platforms from street level. The station is also served by Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter trains that link the area with the nation’s capital, as well as by local buses.

Great American Stations

ail has been important in Fredericksburg since the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad was chartered in 1834 to run a line through from Richmond up to the Potomac River at Aquia Creek. Controlling the railroad through Fredericksburg was at issue during the American Civil War. After the war, by 1872, connections went through to Washington, D.C., giving this portion of Virginia an all-rail route from Richmond and across the Potomac to Washington.

Great American Stations

he Amtrak station in Alexandria opened on September 15, 1905. The train station is directly adjacent to the King Street Metro station and faces the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

Though not as grandiose as its nearby Washington, D.C. counterpart, this “other Union Station” has a unique style of its own. The station is a one-story brick building consisting of the original main passenger depot and baggage building separated by a 20-foot wide open gateway passage and covered by a covered terrace. The designer used the Federal Revival Style: a 20th century mixture of Neoclassical architecture borrowed from buildings constructed just after the American Revolution, fitting for its location. Both original buildings are still in use. Though many minor renovations have taken place, including the slightly more extensive renovations that occurred in 1982 and the mid-1990s, the original buildings remain essentially unchanged. The limestone and granite Veterans of Foreign Wars memorial was constructed at the station in 1942.

In the late 1840s, the city of Alexandria invested in five major railroad projects to better compete with Baltimore as a regional industrial and trade center, but ended up in a confusion of mergers and failures. In 1901, the railroads serving the region built Potomac Yard, a consolidated rail yard. In 1905, the city of Alexandria commissioned the Washington Southern Railway Company (later part of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac, now CSX) to build the Alexandria Union Station at a cost of $62,020.55. The station also served the Chesapeake & Ohio and Southern Railway trains.

Great American Stations