Fun for the Whole Family!

The Historic Spencer Shops Train Show features vendors with railroad memorabilia of all types: model train dealers, model train layouts, collectors, and more. The show takes place at the former Southern Railway Spencer Shops steam repair facility, a historic railroad location perfect for a railroading event!

Take a train ride around our 60-acre historic site, ride on restored railroad maintenance motor cars, and enjoy more fun for all ages.

***Vendor tables have sold out for the 2025 train show.***

Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors (65+)/military, $6 for children ages 3-12, and free from children under 3.  Train rides are an additional $10 for adults, $9 for seniors/military, $8 for children ages 3-12, and free from children under 3.  Taxes and fees apply.

Members are Free

Members of the North Carolina Transportation Museum enjoy this daytime event, including museum admission and train rides, for free. Saturday, May 18, is also Member Appreciation Day with special members-only perks. If you’re not already a member, it’s a great day to sign up and enjoy a day at the museum for free! Members are strongly encouraged to reserve tickets in advance using their membership number.

Historic Spencer Shops Train Show Features:

• Model train and railroad collectible vendors
• Model train layouts
• Railroad motor car rides provided by Red Springs & Northern
• Museum passenger train rides
• Museum exhibits and programs
• Special photo opportunities

Special Program:  Southern Railway’s Revolutionary “Big John” Hopper Cars

Everyone interested in railroads knows there is a high level of fascination with locomotives, passenger cars, cabooses, and certain other rolling stock.  However, some cars that might seem otherwise dull stand out in their significance.

The N.C. Transportation Museum has one of these remarkable representatives of the advanced technology and creativity of the time, which also exists as a landmark in the history of railroading.  The sizable “Big John” grain hopper car made its debut in the 1960’s and upended rail shipment by bringing very real competitiveness to both railroads and customers in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gene Lewis from the Greensboro Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society will take a trip into the 1960’s to discuss the remarkable developments that surround both the Big John hopper car and other large grain cars from other railroads.

We hope that you will first visit the NCTM’s Big John, one of only a few in preservation, and then sit in on a talk that should be absorbing.

Program Date:  May 17, 2025
Program Times:  11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

*Program included with admission to Historic Spencer Shops Train Show*