Museum Opportunities

Western North Carolina has several railroad related museums, all within reasonable drives from Hickory. Following are a few of the museums that have narrow gauge, railroad, or logging connections.

Southeastern Narrow Gauge & Short Line Museum

This facility has grown by leaps and bounds since the first National Narrow Gauge Convention in Hickory in 2011. At that point it was one steam engine on display with three newly laid dual gauge sets of track, only hinting at what would come. Now those three dual gauge tracks are full of exhibits under roof and more tracks being laid. This museum now has the largest collection of narrow gauge equipment in the southeast. The collection includes:

A Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge boxcar from the 1870s that was sold to the Lawndale Railway in 1901 and later preserved as a shed in a backyard. Rescued in 2007, the Alexander Chapter of the NRHS painstakingly restored the car, keeping as much of the original as possible. It was lettered for the Carolina & North-Western, the successor to the C&L NG so that accurate lettering could be created.

An ET&WNC boxcar, one of only two remaining in existence. It is numbered 434 due to markings found inside the car confirming the number. After the ET&WNC closed in 1950 this boxcar and another were given to ET&WNC engineer Sherman Pippin, who put them on his farm next to the old ET right-of-way. In the 1960s the car migrated to Allaire State Park in New Jersey, where the car was used as storage until it was acquired by the Alexander Chapter NRHS in 2010. The car was carefully restored and joined the museum collection. Only one other ET&WNC boxcar is known to exist. Unfortunately also numbered 434, it is on display in Elizabethton TN after a partial restoration.

A West Virginia Midland Baggage Car. This car was saved from a family camping site in West Virginia. Loaded by a crane onsite, the car arrived in North Carolina mostly intact. Built in 1900 by American Car & Foundry for the Holly River & Addison Railroad, which was completed from Palmer Junction to Webster Springs by 1902, this railroad later became the West Virginia Midland. One of the few narrow gauge baggage cars still in existence, the car was carefully restored to its former glory and is available for close examination. The WVM also owned a private office car, the “Holly”. An attempt was made to load the car onto a trailer to also take it to NC but unfortunately, the car collapsed while suspended in mid air. Fortunately the baggage car was in much better condition.

A West Side Lumber Company log car. This car was purchased in California and moved to North Carolina. The wooden elements of the car had deteriorated so much that the car fell into several pieces when it was unloaded. During the restoration, large timbers were acquired to replace the center beams. Once the beams were put together, the metal was reattached to the sills and the car was ready to display. The decision was made to make the car a little shorter than original to represent log cars used by North Carolina loggers in the mountains north of Hickory.

Russell County Narrow Gauge Collection.

Hurtsboro, AL resident Rick Perry has been collecting narrow gauge industrial pieces for many years. He chose to donate his collection to the Southeastern Narrow Gauge & Short Line Museum so it could be preserved intact and displayed for future generations. Most of the collection has been moved to the museum and is on display. Items include a 0-4-0 “fireless” locomotive, five side dump industrial cars, several four wheel flats, several tons of light rails that will appropriately represent the tracks this equipment ran on, and many other small items. This gives this museum the largest display of industrial equipment in the United States. While most convention goers follow and model the large common carrier narrow gauge lines, narrow gauge industrial equipment served well into the Twentieth Century at plant complexes and mill sites around the region. The museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting this unknown history of industrial narrow gauge to future generations.

Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company No. 50. This standard gauge 2-6-0 was saved from a Lakeland FL city park where it had been displayed for many years. It was the first piece of railroad equipment purchased for the museum, and had just been delivered when the 2011 NNGC came to Hickory. Originally built in 1923 for a company in Cuba, the engine instead went to Florida and the V-C CC. Work has been done to restore the engine cosmetically, and volunteers hope to eventually have the boiler tested to see if it could be made operational. An excellent example of a steam locomotive that served an industrial complex instead of running on a mainline.

An ALCO S-3 diesel switcher. This engine served on the Alexander Railroad for many years before being donated to the museum. It is fully operational and is run regularly by volunteer crews. It should be running on the Saturday of convention week. Here is a rare opportunity to see and hear a first generation ALCO locomotive operate.

ET&WNC Motor Car No. 2. This unique standard gauge car was originally built in 1940 for the ET&WNC but was modernized in the 1950s by that railroad. Powered by a Ford V-8 engine, the car could haul ten men and pull a hopper car loaded with ballast. Employing an ingenious mechanism known as the “Hobbs gearbox”, a simple pull of a lever gave three speeds forward and three speeds in reverse. The car is operational and should be running during the convention.

A Burlington Railroad Dining Car.

This dining car was part of the California Zephyr set of equipment that was owned by the Burlington, the D&RGW, and the Western Pacific railroads. It was purchased for the museum because of its D&RGW connection.

Indoor Museum exhibits. The Newton Depot has a spacious museum inside with displays covering many subjects. Do not miss the chance to tour this part of the museum complex.

Model Railroad Center.

An adjacent building holds several layouts of various scales. See their listing in the Home Layouts section.

The museum is very convenient to the Hickory Metro Convention Center. Normally they are only open on Friday’s and Saturdays, but they will most likely have extended hours during the convention. Their website is https://newtondepot.org/campus/shortline-museum/

Johnson City Railroad Experience

North Carolina Transportation Museum

The North Carolina Transportation Museum, located at the Historic Spencer Shops (celebrating 130 years in 2026) used to be the main repair shops for the mainline of Southern Railway. Located halfway between Washington DC and Atlanta, Spencer was a required stop for every train that ran on this busy line. Spencer Shops rebuilt steam locomotives regularly and repaired other rolling stock in its extensive back shop. With the arrival of diesel locomotives and the demise of the passenger train, Spencer Shops became less important and was eventually closed. Luckily the state of North Carolina stepped in and acquired the property for a new transportation museum.

A huge part of the North Carolina Transportation Museum is the trains on display there, along with the railroad infrastructure of the former repair facility. This includes several steam locomotives, freight and passenger cars, numerous diesel locomotives, and historical displays, all inside the largest locomotive roundhouse remaining in the United States. A diesel powered train ride gives museum visitors a tour of the former repair facility and the railroad yard that surrounded it. The roundhouse has a fully operational turntable that is operated during tours. Other forms of transportation are also covered by an antique car collection.

The museum also has in its collection a significant piece of North Carolina narrow gauge. ET&WNC Combine 15, the only triple combine (mail/baggage/passenger) remaining in the country, built in 1917 as part of the “finest narrow gauge passenger car in the country” has been under gradual restoration at the museum for over 25 years. Significant progress has been made and hopefully more will be done before the convention. We are working to arrange an open house for the combine (it is not in public view now), and when that is accomplished, the dates and times will be posted here. The museum is a state treasure, and well worth a visit. Their website is https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/

Morganton Museum

The town of Morganton (22 miles west of the convention center off I-40) has a nice display of images of logging railroads in the area. Well worth the time to visit. Museum hours are Saturday 1-3 PM. Their website is https://www.thehistorymuseumofburke.org/railroad-depot

Piedmont & Western Museum

This museum is part of the Piedmont & Western model railroad club in Valdese (14 miles west of the convention center off I-40). They have an extensive collection of items from the regions’ railroads. Refer to your layout tour book for information on when the museum will be open. Their website is http://www.pwrr.org/