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Back On Track: Rowan County’s Transportation Museum Keeps History Moving Full Steam Ahead
The NC Transportation Museum in Rowan County first began its life in 1896 as Spencer Shops, the largest rail transportation repair station for Southern Railway between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, GA. Samuel Spencer, Southern Railway’s first president, was looking for a place to build the Railway’s repair shop, so he purchased 141 acres of farmland from John Henderson, and built the repair shops there.
Spencer Shops, which first opened in1896, included a 15-stall roundhouse with a 60-foot-long turntable, a storehouse, coal dock, machine shop, yard tracks and basic maintenance facilities. In the next few decades, the backshop, blacksmith shop, boiler shop, and an improved powerhouse were added.
In 1924, the15-stall roundhouse was replaced with a 37-stall Bob Julian Roundhouse, complete with a 100-foot turntable, which is now the largest restored roundhouse in the nation.
By 1953, all steam locomotives were removed from service and replaced by diesel locomotives. However, despite Spencer Shops’ best efforts, they couldn’t accommodate the changes necessary to update the shops and repair the diesels. The Southern Railway moved all of its yard operations away after the Linwood Yards were completed in 1979.
Realizing the importance of Spencer Shops in railroading history, two donations from Southern Railway gave the state of North Carolina the shops and 57 acres of land that now make up the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The former Barber, NC railroad depot now serves as the Transportation Museum’s Barber Junction Visitor Center. Anyone can visit the museum and learn about the history of inland transportation in North Carolina.
In 1983 the first exhibit, “People, Places, and Times” opened. Today, the museum has three exhibit buildings: “Wagons, Wheels, and Wings,” “Bumper to Bumper,” and the Bob Julian Roundhouse, featuring railroading-oriented exhibits. The Master Mechanics office is where the “Wagons, Wheels, and Wings” exhibit can be found along with the gift shop. Parents of teenage children will love this exhibit because they will be able to help their teenage drivers appreciate the things they enjoy now, such as paved roads. The museum has a corduroy road on display as an example of the driving conditions in the pre-automobile era. Also on display is an amphibious airplane built by a Newport, NC native in his backyard! If you told a teenager they had to build a car in order to get around, you can bet they either wouldn’t know how to or wouldn’t want to! A Conestoga wagon, a fire engine from 1922, is also on exhibit.
“Bumper to Bumper” traces the evolution of the automobile in North Carolina and can be found in the Flue shop, which was painstakingly built with hundreds of beautiful glass panes and served as the repair area for the boiler flues of steam locomotives. Here you can see the evolution of the automobile from it’s beginning to the present. It features everything from buggy-type vehicles to 1940’s roadsters to 1980s automobiles To help you visualize the time in which these cars were built, they are set against backgrounds that demonstrate timelines from the 1920’s to the 1980’s.
Last but not least, the Roundhouse, one of the largest ever constructed and one of the few remaining in the country, has 40 restored locomotives and rail cars. This exhibit includes video presentations, interactive exhibits, and a huge scale model of Spencer Shops to bring the story of the rails to life. Observation areas have been created to allow you and curious children to witness locomotives and rail cars being restored firsthand.
The Transportation Museum is a great place that the every member of the family can enjoy and appreciate. Admission is free but parking is limited, although fees may be charged for special events and train rides. Train rides are offered for $5 for adults and $4 for children and seniors, and turntable rides for just $1.00 each. For more information you can contact the museum toll free at 1-877-628-6836 or online at www.ci.salisbury.nc.us/nctrans/
