Member Appreciation Day
Celebrating our Members!
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Member Appreciation Day is held in conjunction with both The Historic Spencer Shops Train Show on Saturday, May 18. All members of the N.C. Transportation Museum are invited to enjoy special perks, tours, and treats on Member Appreciation Day.
Weather permitting, members should make their first stop at the white membership tents outside Barber Junction Visitor Center to receive wristbands, boarding passes, and other information and goodies! In the case of inclement weather, members should check-in inside Barber Junction Visitor Center.
Core Member Benefits Include:
- • Free admission to the museum.
- • Free admission to The Historic Spencer Shops Train Show and all its related activities.
- • Free admission to The Lester J. Brown Antique Truck Show and all its related activities (postponed due to weather)
- The historic Woods Garage & Showroom WILL be open 11:30 am – 4:30 pm and is included with your admission.
- • Free turntable rides and train rides (limited seating on the members-only Seaboard Air Line 6604 observation lounge car and Pine Tree State rail car).
Members-Only Tours Include:
- • Walking Through Railroad History
- • The “Survivor” private rail car
- • Museum artifacts in our Collections Corner
- • Railroad Restoration Shop
- • Piedmont Airlines “Potomac Pacemaker” DC-3 Restoration
Drawings For Special Event Tickets:
- • Day Out with Thomas™ family 4-pack
- • 4 standard coach seats on THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride
- • Pair of Brew & Choo tickets
- • 1 Diesel Cab Ride ticket
Other Activities Just For Members:
- • VIP lounge for members onboard stationary first-class rail cars
- • Members-only rides in a 1914 American LaFrance fire engine provided by Brown Antique Equipment (weather permitting)
- • Children’s scavenger hunt
- • Additional member discounts in the Gift Station
- • And more!
On Member Appreciation Day
First Stop: Weather permitting, members who reserve train-ride tickets, please come to the white membership tents outside Barber Junction Visitor Center to have your tickets scanned, receive your boarding passes, and be given wristbands. Members who were not able to reserve tickets should also come to the white membership tents to check in and get their wristbands and boarding passes. All members will receive a membership sticker to identify them for member-only activities.
Weather permitting, member tents will be outside of the Barber Junction Visitor Center from 9 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Pick-up your member gift, sign-up for member-only tours, and fill-out entry for a door prize.
If you reserved museum admission-only, please start your day at the teal membership tents outside of the Barber Junction Visitor’s Center to redeem your admission tickets and receive your wristbands.
In case of inclement weather, member tables will be inside Barber Junction Visitor Center until 3:00 p.m.
We encourage you to be in line for your train ride at Barber Junction Visitor’s Center at least 15-minutes before your ride time to allow for boarding. Member-only trains will have a separate boarding line from regular passenger trains, and will leave at 5 minutes past the hour. Train rides last approximately 25-minutes. Please give yourself ample time to check in and sign up for all the activities.
Back by popular demand: Limited seating free barbecue sandwich lunch at the Woods Garage and Showroom from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. Stop by the white membership tents to learn more and get your ticket. Woods Garage and Showroom are located less than 1-mile south of the museum at 1109 S. Salisbury Ave., Spencer, NC 28159.
The “Survivor” Rail Car
Learn More
Take a guided 30-minute stroll through a premiere vintage railcars being restored by the NCTM. The “Survivor”, a great example of a private railcar at the height of popularity in the 1920’s. Built for the F.W. Woolworth family, the original pioneers of the five-and-dime stores. Dante Stephensen, well-known for his eclectic nightspot “Dante’s Down the Hatch” in Atlanta, GA took ownership in 1982, but kept the interior true to the roaring 20’s. The “Survivor” not only was Dante’s personal rail car, but it became his home. See memorabilia from his lifetime of experiences, including his service as a Navy Seal and visits from an amazing list of famous people from US presidents to actors and athletes.
Maximum 8 people per tour
9:45 AM
10:30 AM
11:15 AM
1:00 PM
1:45 PM
2:30 PM
3:15 PM
4:00 PM
Walk Through Railroad History
Learn More
This special tour, led by one of our volunteer docents, will lead participants through the last five bays of the roundhouse, where they will learn how Southern Railways attempted to transition the Bob Julian Roundhouse from steam to diesel locomotives. Participants will also learn about the expansion of railroads into the Western part of North Carolina, as told by the “How the West Was Won” exhibit, as well as about the equipment on display there, including the world’s fastest Shay Locomotive and a gasoline-powered rail car. Walkthroughs of the Rail Post Office Car and Army Hospital Car will also be provided, and participants will be welcomed to learn how steam locomotives were balanced in the nearby newly opened Wheel Balancing Shed.
Maximum 20 people per tour
9:45 am
10:45 am
11:45 am
1:45 pm
2:45 pm
3:45 pm
N.C. Transportation Museum’s Collections Corner
Learn More
From railroad passes to airplanes, the N.C. Transportation Museum has over 10,000 items in its artifact collection, many of which are not on display. During this tour, led by the Museum’s Collections Manager, participants will get to see and learn about a selection of artifacts not on display to the public, including Samuel Spencer’s personal train passes, Bob Julian’s shop manuals, and more. This 30-minute tour meets at the front steps of the Master Mechanics Office.
Maximum 15 people per tour
9:45 AM
10:30 AM
11:15 PM
12:00 PM
1:45 PM
2:30 PM
3:15 PM
Railroad Restoration Shop
Learn More
Learn how we keep history in motion. The Bob Julian Roundhouse was built in 1924 and saw the repair of steam locomotives until 1953 and diesel engines until the early 70’s. While dormant for several years, the shop floor has been an active place for the museum’s 45 years and you can see it in action today! Join us as we take you on a tour of the restoration bays, occupying stalls of the roundhouse used for locomotive and rail car maintenance, where visitors get down on the main shop floor to learn how volunteers work on various railroad pieces and manufacture parts for the museum’s rolling stock.
Maximum 20 people per tour
10:00 am
10:45 am
11:30 am
12:15 pm
2:00 pm
2:45 pm
3:30 pm
Piedmont Airlines “Potomac Pacemaker”
DC-3 Restoration
Learn More
Join us in the Back Shop to learn the rich history of an aviation classic. Hear from one of our dedicated volunteers about this once C-53D Skytrooper used by the Army in the American Theater of WWII as you see the restoration going on first-hand. Later purchased by Western Airlines, she served as a passenger DC-3. Christened in 1956 as the Potomac Pacemaker with Piedmont Airlines, she was the next-to-last DC-3 to retire from Piedmont in February of 1963. Restoration work has been significant in terms of hands-on restoration, but also the preservation of Piedmont Airlines history. Hear about the groundbreaking early days of the airline that brought the state, and the entire region into modern travel and commerce.
Maximum 20 people per tour
10:15 am
11:00 am
1:15 pm
2:00 pm
2:45 pm
3:30 pm