All Aboard In Wilmington

Beaufort  

Today's stop on the Chicken Salad and Lemonade Tour was the Historic Downtown section of Wilmington. A few weeks ago we had visited Eagles Island on the south side of the Cape Fear River to tour the Battleship North Carolina. We had identified a few places we'd like to explore in Wilmington proper and decided to make a day of it. Friends David and Sue travelled from Shallotte and met us at The Wilmington Railroad Museum at 10:30. Exhibits are housed in Warehouse B which was built in 1883. In the main hall, displays ranged from a stunning stained glass depiction of a steam locomotive to railroad signs and symbols, and historic details. Wilmington has long and deep railroad roots, dating back to 1840 when the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was completed and was the longest in the world at the time. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was formed in 1900 and grew through aquisitions to have tracks reaching from Richmond to Florida. In 1965, the company headquarters were moved to Jacksonville, FL. A merger in 1967 with Richmond's Seaboard Air Line Railroad formed Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Years later it has evolved into what we know today as CSX. 

Several large glass cases contained exhibits on uniforms, evolution of sleeping cars, dining on the train, and communications. I found the display of vintage luggage very interesting as they are literally a portable chest of drawers. This museum has the distinction of setting a Guinness World Record (which still stands) for the longest model train. On April 23, 2011, railroaders from the museum constructed a 925-foot long HO scale train with 31 locomotives and 1,563 cars. It traveled continuously for over 750 feet in the Wilmington Convention Center. I can't picture what that would look like, but I was blown away by their huge train room. Billed as the largest model train layout in the region, it includes areas for HO, O, N, and G scale models. The detail in the scenery was incredible. Barry and David worked through a scavenger hunt to discover oddities, including the Weinermobile. I enjoyed pushing all the buttons to activate the many trains and sounds. The recreation of the Wilmington Roundhouse, which allowed engines to rotate and enter any repair bay from the main access line, was top-notch. While the boys were searching for deer, their final item in their hunt, I took a seat on one of the vintage station benches and read The Little Engine That Could.

The top feature of the outside exhibits was steam engine #250, built in 1919 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. It was the final Atlantic Coast Line locomotive in service, running between Wilmington and Fayetteville in the 1950s. The "Welcome to Railroads" statue is made from pieces of rail that guide trains through switches while changing tracks. An authentic concrete milepost was on display. The number 243 is the distance on the Atlantic Coast Line as measured from the center of the James River Bridge in Richmond to Smith Creek Yard in Wilmington. Another marker on display was the whistle post which was placed several hundred feet before crossings to signal the engineer to start blowing the whistle. The stripes represent the sequence of two long blasts, a short blast, and another long blast -- the standard signal for trains approaching a crossing. The former headquarters for the Atlantic Coastline Line Railroad has been repurposed as part of the aloft Wilmington at Coastline Center hotel. 

It was a beautiful afternoon for a little trek around town. We walked to the Cotton Exchange. The former home to the Cape Fear Flour and Pearl Hominy Mill in 1884, the mill was the largest in the South at that time. In 1919 the building was repurposed as a home to Alexander Sprunt & Sons, the largest cotton exporter in the world. Today the Cotton Exchange is home to restaurants and shops. For something totally different we stopped in at The German Cafe for lunch. The exposed beams and old brickwork added to the Old World vibe. The German Chocolate cake looked devine, but we passed after our reubens with authentic German potato salad. After that lunch we needed to walk some more so we headed up Market Street and admired all the classic architecture. St. James Episcopal Parish occupies an entire city block and is the oldest church in Wilmington (1729). The red brick of the 1892 New Hanover Courthouse, with its recently renovated bell tower, made quite a statement. Next to the courthouse stood the William Allen Cobb Judicial Annex in much different, but still exquisite, architectural style. First Baptist Church, dedicated in 1870, has traditional Gothic features -- two towering spires (not pictured) and elaborate window arches. Two streetside cannons provided an interesting accent in the church grounds. 

We took a quick stroll through the grounds of Bellamy Mansion, one of North Carolina's finest examples of historic antebellum architecture. The full colonnade and the huge 154-year-old magnolia tree were the highlights for me. 

I must admit that I was overdressed for the day which turned out to be warm with no wind. We walked back the Cape Fear River and passed a fountain-horse trough in the median at the bottom of the Market Street hill. Across the river was the Battleship North Carolina which we visited a few weeks ago. The federal building was completed in 1919 and makes quite a statement along the waterfront.

The Wilmington Riverwalk is well-decorated with sign pole banners, informational placards, and seating areas. The Cape Fear River begins northeast of Sanford and empties into the Atlantic in Southport. More than 29 counties and 9,000 square miles make up the Cape Fear River Basin, the state's largest river basin. The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge shrank in the distance as we walked back to our vehicles past an interesting pelican sculpture, and following the markers in the sidewalk. We said goodbyes once again to David and Sue again thanking them for all the recent visits. 

We drove back to Beaufort and walked down the dock to Crossroads as the final light of dusk faded beyond the bridge.