G.K. Butterfield Train Station, also known as Wilson station, is an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train station in Wilson,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is located in downtown Wilson and is part of the Wilson Central Business–Tobacco Warehouse Historic District.

History

The station was originally built in 1924 by the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

, designed by architect A.M. Griffin, and contained a separate REA Express building. The city bought both buildings from

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

in 1994 and it was restored to its original condition between 1996 and 1998. The REA Express building was converted into a police substation. In 2024, Amtrak completed $4 million in renovations to the station, in partnership with the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...

(FRA) and in cooperation with the City of Wilson,

North Carolina Department of Transportation The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina. History The North Carolina ...

, and CSX. This included a new concrete platform with safety lines, additional lighting, guardrails, and signage; the canopy was restored with new roof decking and copper gutters before its slate roof was replaced. And the original stanchions were painted purple and the wood above painted white, which were original Atlantic Coast Line Railroad colors. On October 24, 2024, the station was renamed at a dedication ceremony in honor of G.K. Butterfield in recognition of his decades-long public service to Wilson.

Services

The station, operated by Amtrak, provides

inter-city rail Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

service via two routes: and . The facility is open daily at 9:00am–5:00pm, which includes the ticket office, passenger assistance, baggage service and the waiting area. Located cater-cornered from the station is the Wilson Transportation Center, providing local and

intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

bus services. Through

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

buses, the station also serves a large swath of eastern North Carolina. One route serves Greenville,

New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, Havelock, and

Morehead City Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hi ...

; another serves Goldsboro, Kinston,

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, and Wilmington.

References

External links

Wilson Station – NC By Train
Wilson, North Carolina Amtrak stations in North Carolina W Buildings and structures in Wilson County, North Carolina Transportation in Wilson County, North Carolina Historic district contributing properties in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Wilson County, North Carolina Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina 1924 establishments in North Carolina Railway stations in the United States opened in 1924 Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach stations in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-railstation-stub