Rail Fans - a Last-Minute NC Invitation!

[bmattock]

Rail Fans & RFF Gentlefolks:

NC Transportation Museum Railroad Days

I apologize for the short notice - this crept up on me. Ann-Marie and I attended last year when we had only just arrived in NC - it was an awesome event for fans of antique trains and has great photo ops for RFF'ers (I have found the two often go together).

This place is a three-hour drive from Wilson, where I live, but well worth it. We're going on Saturday (Ann-Marie has a friend coming into town on Sunday) and we'd like to invite anyone who wants to make the drive to join us or meet up with us there.

Last year, the weather was very hot & humid - it rained on and off and was steamy as could be. This weekend promises to be a bit nicer. They have many steam and early diesel trains and they run them up and down the tracks - rides are given. They had a train made entirely of cabooses! They also have a massive roundhouse with turntable - it's an awesome sight to see a huge engine being spun around to face in another direction. There are also gandy-dancers, bluegrass singers, and of course lots of train paraphernalia being sold.

Anyway, I wish I hadn't let this creep up on me - I thought it was in June!

Hope ya'll can join us - if not, I'll do my best to get some decent photos (with a rangefinder) and post them when we get back.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Rob]

Thanks for the tip bill. I go up to NC in that area several times a year and always forget to stop at that museum there. I will be going up that way in a couple weeks so I will miss this event but it will be less crowded on my trip.
Rob

 

[wlewisiii]

Sounds like fun. I'll look forward to your posts from there.

On a similar note, we'll be taking our son to a "Thomas the Tank Engine" day at the local steam train museum in June - they'll have an engine dressed up as Thomas and given how he loves that show and the books (he's three - perfect age for it) it should be alot of fun. Hopefully we can look at the rest of the displays as well.

William

 

[bmattock]

Sounds like fun. I'll look forward to your posts from there.

On a similar note, we'll be taking our son to a "Thomas the Tank Engine" day at the local steam train museum in June - they'll have an engine dressed up as Thomas and given how he loves that show and the books (he's three - perfect age for it) it should be alot of fun. Hopefully we can look at the rest of the displays as well.

William

You know, one of the best steam train displays I ever saw was a few miles from where I used to live in Golden, Colorado. I thought at the time that it was the only one - little did I know that they were ever whar! But I still have fond memories of that one - they have some things you don't see anywhere else, like Ford Model T trucks that were converted to be narrow-gauge trains.

Spencer has a "Thomas" engine as well...oh well!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

Thanks for the tip bill. I go up to NC in that area several times a year and always forget to stop at that museum there. I will be going up that way in a couple weeks so I will miss this event but it will be less crowded on my trip.
Rob

Yes, I'm sure you're right, it will be less crowded! On the bright side for me - we may have to fight the crowds, but we also get the exhibitions that they normally don't have, and all going on at once. It's a hoot. Get it? A hoot? Sorry, old reference to "Pettycoat Junction" - it was an old TV show with trains and it was in "Hooterville." Hehehehe

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

*BUMP*

I also dug up a couple of the photos I took of last year's event, just to give a feel for the thing.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks