Piece of NC railroad history moving 30 miles east from Goldston to railyard in Bonsal
It’s the train that arrives to the depot, but on Sunday, June 25, a historic depot will be coming to the train. An 1884 train depot that served the community of Goldston until 1973 is moving to the railyard of New Hope Valley Railway (NHVR), a non-profit tourist railroad and museum located in Bonsal, 30 minutes southwest of Raleigh.
The depot will be loaded onto a truck and hauled 30 miles east to the railyard, which is staffed 100 percent by volunteers.
The Goldston Depot was given to NHVR by Todd Gaines, a Goldston businessman whose father saved the 23’ x 58’ building from demolition in the mid-70s. His father, Jerry, moved it a few blocks away and used it for storage. The same moving company that hauled the building 40 years ago, will move it approximately 30 miles east to Bonsal. The route information and moving times will be confirmed the week of the move.
“We plan to use the building as a depot, a gathering place for special occasions in the railyard and a place to display railroad artifacts and information,” says Mark Duerst, a NHVR volunteer and the Goldston Depot project leader.
More than $50,000 has been raised for the depot move through donations and grants. An additional $20,000 is still needed to restore the depot after it arrives in Bonsal. Renovations include a fresh coat of paint, wood repair, siding, decking and new windows. NHVR plans to restore the building to what it would have looked like in the 1950s by using typical Norfolk Southern Railroad paint colors from that time period on the exterior and leaving the two ‘Goldston’ signs currently on the building. The depot will retain the Goldston name and help preserve a bygone time in North Carolina railroad history.
Donations can be made online. Read more about the Goldston Depot.
When: Sunday, June 25, 2017 (Route information and moving times will be determined the week of the move)
Where: The depot is moving from Goldston, N.C. to New Hope Valley Railway, 3900 Bonsal Rd., New Hill, NC 27562. The railyard is located 30 minutes from Raleigh off of Old U.S. 1 South on the Wake-Chatham county line.
Who: New Hope Valley Railway (NHVR), the Triangle’s Train, straddles the historic towns of Bonsal and New Hill. A real train takes passengers on one-hour train excursions through the woods in covered, open-air passenger cars. The organization was chartered in 1983 as the East Carolina Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and soon began its all-volunteer operated public train ride days. The railyard is also home to the North Carolina Railway Museum and G Scale model garden railroad.
What: In November 2015, the North Carolina Railway Museum – home to NHVR, was gifted an 1884 train depot by Todd Gaines, a Goldston businessman. Todd’s father, Jerry Gaines, saved the 23’ x 58’ depot from demolition in 1973 and used the building as storage for tires and wares from his three companies. The depot served the community of Goldston, N.C. until the mid-1900s.
Photo/Video Opportunities
The depot will be moved in two parts on Sunday, June 25. First, the roof will move and two cranes will lift it in the air upon arriving to the railyard. Then, the building is moved onsite and the roof is reattached. The entire depot is then transported the last several hundred yards and set on cribbing above the new foundation. Piers are built to sit under the floor beams and the whole building is set down on its new foundation.
NHVR volunteers, including Mark Duerst, Goldston Depot project leader, will be at the railyard available for interviews.
Depot photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mhlrrklnq3hkihd/AAC0aFHEbw9Po9rIOVSY62w1a?dl=0
