Wilmington Railroad Museum
Hours of Operation
Sunday: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
After Labor Day to Mid-April
Closed Sunday
Support the Museum
WITH MUCH GRATITUDE!
The Museum recently received two grants to support additional development in programs and facilities.
~ FROM LANDFALL FOUNDATION: $4000 to establish a "Train Camp" for the summer of 2012. We'll be organizing several one-week sessions to stimulate creativity and imagination within the context of railroading and model railroad pastimes. Geared for grade-shoolers, thses sessions will be part education, part activity, and part skill-building, based on an age-appropraite curriculum and adult mentoring.
~ FROM CAPE FEAR GARDEN CLUB: $2984 to beautify Railroad Heritage Square with planters and shrubbery. Now that area construction is complete, we can proceed with touches thatsoften the industrial aspect of Warehouse B andare consistent with surrounding streetscape improvements. Improvements include columnar greenery around the 1855 station bell, and planters near the end of the wheel lathe and access ramp.
Special Notice - Many local businesses are supporting the great work of the Museum as it enters a new era of service. Click on "a business" below to see who is helping!
Click Here to find out about how you can add your support:
as an individual/family
as a business!
Become Part of History
PRESENTING THE FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE
You have an opportunity to honor or remember a member of your family, or to have your business name be prominently displayed on a part of Wilmington history. The Wilmington Railroad Museum met the exciting challenge of moving all of our artifacts, ranging from a pencil to a 100-ton steam locomotive, into a different building or onto new tracks with minimum disruption for Museum visitors. As you can imagine, this complicated and expensive process was only the first step in the continuous effort to tell the story of the railroads and the people who worked on them. You can become a part of Wilmington history and at the same time help us with your gifts.
We maintain a "wish list" of projects and improvements that are designed to enhance the visiting experience for the thousands of visitors we see each year. Please call the Director at 763-2634 to review our needs and find out how you can contribute.
Please make your checks out to ?The Wilmington Railroad Museum Foundation and mail to: Wilmington Railroad Museum, 505 Nutt Street, Wilmington, NC 28401. Each gift will be properly acknowledged.
SPECIAL ARTIFACT PROJECTS
We preserve and maintain artifacts for the enjoyment of our visitors. Sometimes there is something that needs work done with outside assistance. These are some examples of unique items for special attention.
Link-and-Pin Coupler: This was unearthed in the freight yard area and dates from before the 1870s, when the more familiar knuckle couplers were starting to be introduced. It shows how cars were hooked together, along with hints about the dangers of standing between cars to drop the pin in place. It's heavily rusted, but clearly shows the pin securing the link within the coupler boot. Work would include trating the remaining iron to stabilize it agains future deterioration.
Casket Cart: This was used to offload caskets from baggage cars and move them to a funeral home or indoors for pickup. Work is needed to prevent further deterioration, along with replicas of accessories and restoration painting.
Locomotive Whistle: This was ussed on the largest of the ACL mainline locomotives in the twilight of steam power. The project would re-mount the whistle in Railroad Heritage Square, to sound a grade crossing signal once a day. Never before heard in Wilmington, this would be an enduring echo of times past, when scores of trains arrived and departed each day.
If you have any questions about sponsoring one of these very distinctive projects, please click on CONTACT US on our main menu and send us your request. We will get back to you within the next two days.
MODEL RAILROAD VOLUNTEEER OPPORTUNITIES AND SCHEDULES
In addition to routine gatherings on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m., model volunteers are welcome throughout the week to expand and refine the features and details of the largest museum-grade HO layout in the southeastern U.S. Model activities are constituted as part of the Board of Trustees and serve to demonstrate the craftsmanship and technical excellence of this pasttime. Contact Bill Bryden at 509-9713 or Kurt Schwerdt at 256-0937 for more information.
CREATING A NEW MUSEUM: Photos from the "Big Move" in 2007
Arched doorways in progress in new museum
Two hour firewall under construction
Future home of our caboose being made ready
Ticket window to right, loft renovation in background
Loft renovation nears completion
Wooden floor set for reproduction of ticket office
Office walls and windows added
Drywall and door added to enclose the Museum office
Old 250 Starts Its Move