Collierville, TN Train Station

The train station in Collierville, TN was originally built by Southern Railway for the town of LaGrange, TN. Then, in the 1940's it was moved to Collierville. In 1976, Southern realized there would be no more passenger service and the depot was given to the city and moved to its present location. Now it is on the town square and off of the quite active NS main line.

now is open as a train museum, which is under the oversight of the Memphis Transportation Museum. There are still some tracks that lead up to this station where the museum has some rolling stock on display. You can read more about the museum here: www.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/museum-on-a-roll

Victoria, TN train depot

Victoria is a small town in Marion County along the Valley View highway (old TN28). Queen Victoria donated a bell to the local Bethel Church and the locals showed their gratitude by naming the town after her.

This brick building was originally a Combination freight and passenger train depot for the Sequatchie Valley Railroad (and eventually NC&StL) likely dating back to the late 1860s. If you look closely, you can see the Victoria name plate above the door.

Although partially obscured by a tree, there is also a hand-painted sign for Ketner's Feed Mill - "Definite Feeds for Definite needs" - Master Mix Feeds - Custom Grinding, Mixing - Molasses. I don't know if this building was once a store, or if it was simple an advertisement for the nearby Ketner's Mill.

Today, the building is a private residence.

1849 Ringgold, GA Train Depot

Back in 1849, Ringgold was the largest city in the area, even larger than nearby Chattanooga. The depot is made of stone which was common in the area at the time.

In 1862, the Ringgold Depot was one of the places to be a part of the Civil War's famous Great Locomotive Chase. Travelling north along the Western and Atlantic tracks, Andrew's Raiders would abandon The General steam locomotive about two miles north of here.

The depot is situated on a bit of an incline from the road below. The main road through town, which used to be the Dixie Highway and is now US41 runs between this vantage point and the station. The road passes under the tracks. The main part of town is to the left.

Today, the building has been restored and the town of Ringgold uses it as a community meeting hall. Originally W&A, the tracks later became part of NCStL and are now CSX. The depot is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tennessee Central Depot - Lebanon, TN

This train depot was built by Tennessee Central in Lebanon, TN. I'm not sure how old it is, but TC went out of business in 1968, so it's older than that. Today, it belongs to Nashville & Eastern railroad which has their sign on the side.

Leeville, TN Train Station

This old NCStL train depot is along Division St. in the small Wilson County town of Leeville. The tracks are all gone, and it has been relocated to use as someone's personal storage.

Decatur, AL Train Depot

From Wikipedia:
The Southern Railway Depot is a historic building in Decatur, Alabama. The depot was built in 1904–05 along the Southern Railway line. Decatur had become a transportation hub of North Alabama by the 1870s, with its connections to the Tennessee River, the east-west Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad (later operated by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and the Southern Railway), and the north-south Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It functioned as a passenger station until 1979, when Amtrak cancelled its Floridian service. The station is built of brick painted white, with quoins on the corners. The building has a rectangular central section with narrower wings stretching along the tracks. The central section has a hipped roof, while the wings have gable roofs; both have deep eaves with decorative brackets. The main entrance is covered by a porte-cochère with arched openings. The depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Here is a view from the pedestrian bridge which crosses the tracks:

Smyrna, TN 2017 Christmas Tree

Located in Smyrna next to the historic train station

Columbia, TN Union Station

The old Union Station in Columbia was built in 1902 replacing an older, long demolished, building that had stood nearby. It served the community for both Louisville & Nashville, NCStL and Duck River Valley Narrow Gauge Railroad and was in use until the 1960s when passenger service was discontinued with cancelled freight and parcel service following. This building once served as one of the hubs of the community but is unused and neglected today despite its presence on the National Register of Historic Places.

Grand Junction, TN Train Station

The city of Grand Junction had been on my Tennessee To Do list for a long time because of the area's prominence in Tennessee's railroad history. Unfortunately, the historic station at the junction had seen better days.

The town of Grand Junction dates back to 1854 when the major East-West Southern Railroad and North-South Illinois Central railroad lines intersected here. Today, the East-West line is part of a very important Norfolk Southern corridor and sees much traffic. However, the North-South tracks do not cross at the junction anymore. (I don't know if those tracks are abandoned, or just act like a spur these days. There were some hoppers parked not too far away.

The depot itself dates back to the 1920s. Since it has been vacant for a long time, it needs a lot of work, but at least the work has been started. As you can tell, all the windows are covered. The roof collapsed around 2000 and fortunately it appears to have been recently replaced.

NCStL Train Depot - Lebanon, TN

The NCStL Train Station located one block south of the Lebanon town square along highway US231 is stop #2 on the Historic Lebanon Driving tour. Here is the text from that brochure:

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad Depot was built in 1916. Lebanon’s first depot was built in 1869 for the Tennessee & Pacific Railroad one mile south of the present site.

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad acquired the line in 1877. The old depot was abandoned and a new depot built closer to the Square.

This depot was used until the last passenger train pulled out of Lebanon in the 1930s. Passenger Rail Service did not return until 2006 with the Music City Star.

Today, the old station is used as offices for Shenandoah Mills. On their website, they say:
Our home is the original Lebanon Train Depot, constructed in the early 1900′s. We have completely renovated the facility to preserve and restore it’s integrity as well as to keep our equipment fresh and innovative. In 1996, we were awarded the William Baird Beautification Award and the Lebanon-Wilson County Chamber of Commerce Cedar Tree award. shenandoahmills.com/about/

Greenback, TN L&N Station

The tracks are long gone but the L&N passenger & freight station from 1914 still remains. It is right in the middle of town along highway TN95 and is now used as a Farmers Market.

Johnny Cash's personal train station - Amqui, TN

Located in Madison, TN, L&N Railroad built this passenger station in 1910. Although the town was Madison, L&N named this station Amqui. Nobody remembers where the name Amqui came from but one popular theory is it's an Indian word that nobody remembers. The other theory is Amqui is short-hand for really fast, but they took the 'd' off the front and the 'ck' off the end.

Decades later, like most depots, Passenger service was discontinued at Amqui. Nearby resident Johnny Cash would see his local station and it inspired his song "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore."

Cash purchased the station in 1979 and relocated it closer to his home in Hendersonville where he used it to hold his train memorabilia. Eventually, June Carter Cash also also used it as an antique store.

Upon Johnny Cash's death in 2003, he donated the depot back to the city of Madison. Three years later, they relocated it to some donated land a mile south of the original location. Locals spent several years refurbishing the building, creating a museum and building the adjoining pavilion. As of 2010, the Amqui station is again available for all to enjoy.

For the full story:
www.amquistation.org/

Smyrna, TN Train Depot

Here is the railroad station of the town I call home. The photo was taken in 2012 and there have been recent changes to the area, such as the far side had the roof extended for a musician stage.

The city of Smyrna has its roots to when a station was built here in 1851 and the town sprung up around it. (The line that ran from Nashville to Chattanooga placed a depot every 8 or so miles along the route.) This brick depot was built in 1873.

The historic building had lied vacant for many years, but it is starting to see a little bit of activity. Most of the town festivals are held at the depot and along Front St. Within the last 5 years, the town has worked on revitalizing the area with landscaping and a roundabout at the intersection in front of the depot. The green flag in the picture is the city's logo.

See the historical marker here:
seemidtn.com/gallery/index.php?album=historical-markers%2...

Greetings from Smyrna Depot District

This 2019 mural is located on the side of a building across Front St. from the Smyrna train depot. The mural is signed by Suzanne Lebeau and sponsored by VisitRutherfordTN.

Tuscumbia Railway Depot

This brick railroad depot in Tuscumbia, Al was built in 1888 by the Memphis & Charleston Railroad which became a part of Southern Railway. Memphis is 145.4 miles away and Chattanooga is 164.6 miles away. Known as the Fifth Street Station, Southern eventually abandoned this passenger station a few miles away to accommodate the entire Shoals area. The depot is now being restored to its original condition and has become a museum.

Germantown, TN Train Depot at Night

Tracks were first laid through Germantown by the Memphis & Charleston Railroad in the 1850's. This depot was built by Southern Railway as a replica in 1948 to recreate the depot that was here in 1868.

On the front of the building is a plaque that reads "Restoration by Heritage Woman's Club 1986." Today, the building houses the offices for the Tennessee Shakespeare Company.

Cowan, TN Passenger Depot

The Cowan Depot is wood frame and built in 1904 for the NC&StL railway. When in use, it was originally on the other side of the still-in-use-by-CSX tracks but moved further away to its current location in 1976. It's built in a railroad Gothic style architecture and has been repainted to the original green and yellow colors. The building is in the process of renovation. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Every year, the town has a Summer Weekend festival called Cowan Depot Days with the goal of raising money to further restore the station.

Cowan is located on the historic line that runs from Nashville to Chattanooga and is perhaps best known by railfans as the last stop before ascending Cumberland Mountain and the picturesque but almost inaccessible Cumberland Mountain Tunnel entrance. CSX keeps pusher cars on hand to help trains make the incline to the top.

Steam Locomotive #1 has been the highlight of the Cowan Railroad Museum for many years. It's a Columbia Type 2-4-2. It was built by Porter in 1920 as a tenderless Tank style locomotive and converted with a small homemade tender and had the saddle tank removed. The cab used to contain a small coal bunker. The Engine was functional around Charleston, SC until 1964 when it was sold to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Then, was sold to the Cowan museum in 1979.

To see my other photos from the Depot Museum, look here:
www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/tags/cowanrailroadm...

Clinton, TN Train Depot

This passenger train station was originally owner by Southern Railway. The tracks on the right are active and still in use by NS.

Cowan, TN Train Depot and Steam Locomotive

The Cowan Depot is wood frame and built in 1904 for the NC&StL railway. When in use, it was originally on the other side of the still-in-use-by-CSX tracks but moved further away to its current location in 1976. It's built in a railroad Gothic style architecture and has been repainted to the original green and yellow colors. The building is in the process of renovation. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Every year, the town has a Summer Weekend festival called Cowan Depot Days with the goal of raising money to further restore the station.

Cowan is located on the historic line that runs from Nashville to Chattanooga and is perhaps best known by railfans as the last stop before ascending Cumberland Mountain and the picturesque but almost inaccessible Cumberland Mountain Tunnel entrance. CSX keeps pusher cars on hand to help trains make the incline to the top.

Steam Locomotive #1 has been the highlight of the Cowan Railroad Museum for many years. It's a Columbia Type 2-4-2. It was built by Porter in 1920 as a tenderless Tank style locomotive and converted with a small homemade tender and had the saddle tank removed. The cab used to contain a small coal bunker. The Engine was functional around Charleston, SC until 1964 when it was sold to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Then, was sold to the Cowan museum in 1979.

To see my other photos from the Depot Museum, look here:
www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/tags/cowanrailroadm...

Cookeville, TN Model Depot

The wonderfully preserved Tennessee Central Depot in Cookeville, TN has been converted into a museum. As soon as you walk in, there's a model train display replicating what Cookeville looked like back when the depot was in use.