Day 8

This was the day to drive from Chapel Hill to Charlotte for the flight home. On the way was stopped at Southern Railroad's old Spencer shops. The old shops have been saved as a historic tourist stop.

Some of the old shop buildings as the were when the shops closed. These shops at one time were the main steam engine servicing and repair shops for the Southern Railroad. Dieselization was Spencer Shop's downfall. The shops were never really retooled to handle diesel engines and the diesels didn't need servicing as often as steam engines.

The old roundhouse and turntable have been saved. Were were very lucky to see the turntable used a few times on this day. Here old Southern GP30 #2601 is being turned onto another track to help move an old passenger car from one bay to another. (Photo: Mike Colyar)

The shops also have some steam engines. This particular old war-horse needs some work to get it back in running condition, but most of the equipment at the shops are in working condition. (Photo: Nancy Colyar)

Now, I am 6'6" tall. Maybe that gives you an idea of the size of this large old Southern passenger diesel. (Photo: Nancy Colyar)

Railroaders at work. A couple of the volunteers at the shops have push the red caboose back into place as part of the walk through display. The little yellow switcher had pulled the caboose out of one of the work bays at the roundhouse. (Photo by Nancy Colyar)

Train wreck waiting to happen. This is an old switchboard where the dispatcher would control signals over many miles of track. Since I don't know what I am doing, I would probably have several head on collisions. (Photo by Nancy Colyar)

A wide angle shot to show many of the different bays of the round house. The little switcher on the right is getting sandblasted before being repainted. If you are interested in railroads, I recommend spending a couple hours at Spencer shops. (Photo: Nancy Colyar)