North Carolina Transportation Museum

White’s Nursery Spring Show, the East Coast Large Scale Train Show, Denbigh Train Days, Poquoson Trinity Show, Ashland Train Days, White’s Nursery Fall Show, TBTO Holiday Show. A lot of (garden train related) things that did not happen in 2020.

There is still not much happening yet in 2021, though things are starting to look up. We recently took a trip to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC. The museum is at the location of Southern Railway’s largest steam locomotive maintenance facility and now displays things transportation related from bicycles to airplanes.

And trains. A LOT of trains – locomotives (both steam and diesel), rail cars and equipment. The largest remaining roundhouse in North America is located at the museum as well as a working turntable. The museum is still a working maintenance facility and the last restoration of the Norfolk & Western 611 J-Class 4-8-4 steam locomotive was performed there.

In 2020 the 611 was scheduled to be at the museum for routine maintenance. When the pandemic shutdown happened she stayed there and was occasionally on display. In May of 2021 she was scheduled to be at Strasburg, PA by May 21st for excursions, however the auger for its mechanical coal stoker broke, meaning when we took our trip there the 611 was still there. All repaired and almost ready to go we were able to watch it being loaded with coal and to see it steaming the next day.

And while being able to see the 611 up close was a surprise, and definitely the highlight of our visit, even if it had not been there a trip to the museum was well worth it. We went on a Friday to tour the museum and then back again Saturday for the Spencer Shops Model Train Show plus an excursion train ride pulled by a N&W EMD GP9 diesel engine. The schedule worked out really well as the museum was near empty Friday and Saturday it was packed as it was the weekend for the first train show in quite a while, it was museum member’s day plus the 611 was there and fired up.

And here is little of what all else makes the museum worth a (repeat) visit.

The North Carolina Transportation Museum is fully accessible to persons with disabilities. Handicap parking is available, but we didn’t find it to be well marked and it is NOT within the main parking area.