(The following story by Robert Boyer appeared on the Burlington Times-News website on May 16.)
BURLINGTON, N.C. — On May 10, 1869, workers from the east and west met in Promontory Summit, Utah, and drove the last spike in the transcontinental railroad.
For the first time, America had a coast-to-coast transportation system.
For well into the 20th century, the railroads brought life and commerce to towns across the country.
The community that eventually became Burlington was among the beneficiaries. In the 1850s, it sprang to life as Company Shops, the home of maintenance and repair operations for the North Carolina Railroad. The railroad moved its operations in the 1886, but the town stuck. Locals renamed it Burlington in 1887 and incorporated under the same name in 1893.
For decades, the railroad was the American titan of transportation, the preferred mode of travel for people and goods.
But rise of the car and the dawning of the interstate highway system in the 1950s signaled the inexorable decline of American railroads, especially passenger rail service.
By the 1980s, passenger rail was the redheaded stepchild of travel in the Tar Heel State, mostly forgotten and underfunded.
But train travel is sexy again; since October, ridership is up more than 20 percent on the Carolinian and the Piedmont, the two in-state Amtrak lines that run through Burlington.
Although lacking some of the scheduling and time conveniences of car and airplane travel, rising gas prices and service improvements are causing more travelers to think train.
So, with a nod to the past and present, Amtrak held its first-ever National Train Day on May 10, with Burlington and the state’s 11 other Amtrak stations holding daylong festivities.
The Burlington station, in the old Company Shops engine house, was festooned with balloons and gifts for those who came to ride or just see the 9:43 a.m. train from Greensboro arrive.
Train whistles, pens, schedules, maps and a drawing for a trip for four were among the enticements.
All aboard
Judging from the turnout in Burlington, National Train Day, was a hit.
On a typical day, 12 to 15 folks board the Piedmont Train 73 the morning train that runs from Raleigh to Charlotte. Another 15 to 20 opt for Carolinian Train 80, the morning train that runs from Charlotte to Raleigh and continues on to New York City.
On May 10, those numbers swelled to 28 boardings for Train 73 and 50 for Train 80.
Leslie Brown and son Joshua were itching to get on the train as it pulled in from Greensboro 7 minutes late at 9:50 a.m., but a family illness cut short their travel plans. Joshua, who’s closing in on 3, took the postponement in stride, but his mother was disappointed. “He’s never got to ride,” she said.
Jeremy Mitchell brought 6-year-old son Jorrin and Hailey, his 4-year-old daughter, to see what all the fuss was about.
Jeremy moved here from Sarasota, Fla., 21⁄2 years ago and is intrigued with the idea of train travel. “You don’t see trains down in central Florida,” he said. “We’ll definitely try it. We’re going to look and see about taking the train down to Charlotte to the science museum.”
Attendants Bob Lawrence, Harold Ireland, Harrell Leonard and Joe Jones man the Burlington station.
The May 10 turnout was a far cry from March 1999, when the station moved from an open-air covering to a small trailer across the tracks from the current station on the corner of Webb Avenue and North Main Street.
Back then, seven to nine passengers took the morning trains, 10 to 15 the evening trains.
“The people I talk to say they love the convenience of getting on that train,” Lawrence said.
Riding the rails allows passengers to relax, read or work on the computer, things you can’t (or shouldn’t) do when driving.
Children accounted for a good chunk of the May 10 passengers. The same holds true for other days, Ireland said. “We have more students (on) field trips.’
College students and professionals are also traveling more frequently, the attendants said.
The four railroad men were as excited about the festivities as anyone else, and about the future of rail travel in Burlington.
The station doesn’t have a ticket agent, but is scheduled to get an automated ticket machine by the end of July.
Instead of making reservations online or by phone, travelers with a credit or debit card can book trips and get a ticket at the station. Once the machine is installed and word gets out, the number of Burlington train travelers will increase “tremendously,” Ireland said.
Steel horses, dinosaurs and some luck
Lady Luck rode with Amtrak as the Carolinian cruised to Raleigh and back on National Train Day. So was her husband.
Debra and Darrell Luck of Gibsonville collected their grandchildren and took a trip to the capital to visit the North Carolina Natural Sciences Museum. The museum, the General Assembly building, the old state capitol and the state history museum are less than a mile from the Raleigh train station.
Word of National Train Day spurred the Lucks to come to the Burlington.
“The kids had never ridden on Amtrak and we wanted to take them on a day trip,” Debra said.
Everyone in the Luck party seemed happy with the experience.
“I thought it was going to be bumpy,” 13-year-old granddaughter Cheyenne Davis said. “It was a really smooth ride.”
Cheyenne and Paige Skeen, her 11-year-old cousin, live in Asheboro. Both said they would probably ride again.
Dylan Gerner, the Luck’s 6-year-old grandson who lives in Burlington, said he likes watching the scenery pass by.
Turns out that Darrell, at 58, had just made his first rail trip. He enjoyed the excursion, saying it was “pleasant” and “beat driving,” but added: “It wasn’t as fast as I’d like it to have been.”
If gas prices continue to climb, Debra Luck said she and her husband might vacation by train this year; having more trains to choose from would encourage them to take more trips, Darrell said.
Regardless, the Lucks said they will probably take two to three train trips a year.
Brian Lehrschall of Raleigh is a volunteer train host. Hosts work under the aegis of the N.C. DOT’s rail division, which oversees the Piedmont and Carolinian lines in partnership with Amtrak.
The volunteers assist passengers and point out interesting facts and sights along the routes.
Lehrschall, who’s 26, has been a host for about 18 months and recently snagged an interview to get a job with Amtrak.
Everyone from grandmothers to local television personalities ride the trains, he said. “We notice a lot of people who are first-time riders.”
Lehrschall said he gets to “meet a lot of nice people” while hosting. “Everybody’s got a story.”
For now the Raleigh, Durham and Cary stations seem to be particularly thick with passengers, he added.
The most fun part of his job might be watching the reactions of some of the younger passengers. “Kids are awe-struck by the train,” he said.