Hitting the Road to Learn the Science Behind It

 It seems appropriate that on our last day of 4-H Biotech Day camp we hit the road nice and early to learn about transportation.  We travelled to Spencer, NC to visit the NC Transportation Museum.  Spencer is just above Charlotte.  It was a bit of a drive but well worth it when you realize all we saw and got to see.

  When we got there we went straight to the Barber Junction Depot which was a train station built in 1898 to get our tickets for the day.  We arrived right in time to take a train trip to tour the rail yard.  This yard was actually the largest train repair center in the Southeast for Southern Railway.  Now the historic structures serve as homes to everything from planes, trains, automobiles, and cycles.  Basically if it was involved in transportation there is something at this museum to represent it.

  The train trip took place in a restored Southern Railways car.  Not only is the train and cars fully restored but they are updated with video and audio components for the special functions they host such as the Thomas the Engine ride and their Polar Express rides near the holidays.  The 25 minute train ride that had us switching tracks twice to tour the railyard.  This was this first real train ride for many of our campers.

  Once disembarking the train we headed to the incredibly huge Back Shop which was the original repair shop for the railroad.  It now houses all types of vehicles including planes, motorcycles, fire trucks, delivery trucks, boats, semi's, etc.  The building has been completely restored and it is hard to imagine how many engines could come through this facility at one time.  The 200,000 Pullman Boxcar is located in this building on the original tracks that ran through it.  

  Behind the Back Shop is the Round House.  This was built in 1924 and had 31 bays to service steam and later diesel engines, as well as railcars.  Today is serves as a museum space for different types of rail cars and engines.  A section of the round house still operates as a repair center for engines and rail cars.  there is also a number of exhibit areas.  In these areas there is a section dedicated to flight and it highlights not only the Wright Brothers, but Piedmont and Eastern Airlines.  

  To further explain the engineering genius that a round house and turntable provided for railroads we took a ride on the actual turn table.  Our campers could see how it works to get engines and rail cars into the different bays.  They also learned that you have to be spot on navigating this spinning bridge so that the cars can move seamlessly from the rail to the turntable and back to the rail.  Being off by a half inch could derail a train right there in the yard.  Ain't nobody got time for that. 

  Our campers were able to learn what it was like to live in a rail town such as Spencer when this facility employed more than 3,000 people in its heyday.  Since engines had to be serviced every three hundred miles this was the halfway point between Washington DC and Atlanta where engines could be maintained and it was the largest railyard of its kind at the time.

  When we were done at the roundhouse we headed toward the flue house.  This is where an amazing assortment of automobiles and auto memorabilia are on display.  You can find everything from historically accurate license plates to oil displays and scenic displays for each of the cars, some that are very rare, that are historically accurate.

  We also got to see a new exhibit on unusual cycles.  This was more than just the big wheeled bicycles and tandem bikes.  the engineering on some of these machines is amazing and have not been seen in person.  Although some are impractical it is interesting to see how far we have come in the last century.

After a quick lunch we headed back to Lumberton to meet our families.  We hope our campers have had a great week and walk away with some great information.  To see more of this day in photos please click on this link.  Stay tuned becuase our last week of Summer Fun will be next week with our Cloverbuds.