Selma Union Depot, also known as Selma Union Station, is a train station and museum in

Selma, North Carolina Selma is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. In 2010, the population was 6,073, and as of 2018 the estimated population was 6,913. Selma is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area. The area has a populati ...

. Built in 1924, it is currently served by two

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

passenger trains, the ''

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'' and the '' Carolinian.'' It is located at 500 East Railroad Street in the heart of downtown Selma. The ''

Silver Meteor The ''Silver Meteor'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line ...

'' and the ''

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'' have their northern split here, but do not stop in Selma. The station appears in Amtrak timetables as Selma- Smithfield.

History

The original station in the area was the Mitchner station, built in 1855 a few blocks from the current station. The building still exists and is believed to be the oldest surviving train station in North Carolina. A wood-frame structure at the current site was constructed in 1897. The current station was built as its replacement in 1924 by architect

A.M. Griffin Alpheus Marston Griffin, (March 2, 1885 – August 6, 1954) was an American architect who worked as a staff architect for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in the 1920s. Griffin was educated at Peabody College. He worked as an architect for the Na ...

, for the Atlantic Coast Line and Southern Railroads. The ACL trains were north-south for the company's ''Everglades'' and ''

.'' The Southern Railway trains were east-west trains on the North Carolina section of the '' Carolina Special.'' The station was closed in 1971, when Amtrak took over passenger service throughout much of the country. In 1975, the people of the city thwarted the station's demolition, and beginning the year after this reopened the station as a museum devoted to the city's railroad heritage. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

on June 24, 1982. Amtrak service to Selma began on October 31, 1982, when the ''

'' began stopping there.

Layout

The old freight house is located to the west of the station on Railroad Street and South Webb Avenue. A maintenance shed is located to the north. Two tracks exist along the east side of the station, another one exists along the south side, and the fourth is a section of curved track behind the station that connects two of the tracks. Three platforms exist at the station, one of which is along the curved track. A parking space exclusively for the handicapped can be found between the curve and the station house. Selma Union Depot 2021b.jpg, Historic boarding shelter Selma Union Depot Backlot.JPG, Rear of the station Selma Union Depot 2021f.jpg, Station interior

Routes

* '' Carolinian'' * ''

References

External links

Selma Station – NC By Train
* ttp://www.visitselma.org/index.php/things-to-do/history-and-heritage History & Heritage - Selma Historic Union Station (Visit Selma.org) Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Johnston County, North Carolina Amtrak stations in North Carolina Former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad stations Former Southern Railway (U.S.) stations Union stations in the United States Transportation in Johnston County, North Carolina Railway stations in the United States opened in 1924 National Register of Historic Places in Johnston County, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-railstation-stub