Rocky Mount station

Rocky Mount station, officially the Helen P. Gay Rocky Mount Historic Train Station, is an intermodal transit station in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States. Its is served by four daily Amtrak round trips –the Carolinian, Floridian, Palmetto, and Silver Meteor – and is a bus station for Tar River Transit and Greyhound. The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Rocky Mount Central City Historic District.

Rocky Mount, NC
Rocky Mount station in 2009
General information
Other names	Helen P. Gay Rocky Mount Historic Train Station
Location	101 Hammond Street Rocky Mount, North Carolina United States
Coordinates	35.9380°N 77.7977°W / 35.9380; -77.7977
Owned by	City of Rocky Mount
Line(s)	CSX North End Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Bus routes	8
Bus stands	7
Bus operators	Greyhound Lines Tar River Transit
Construction
Parking	35 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Racks
Accessible	Yes
Architectural style	Romanesque Revival
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: RMT
History
Opened	1893
Rebuilt	1911-12, 1916, 1997-2000
Original company	Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
Passengers
FY 2023	46,006[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Wilson toward Charlotte Carolinian Petersburg toward New York Wilson toward Savannah Palmetto Fayetteville toward Miami Silver Meteor Raleigh toward Miami Floridian Petersburg toward Chicago      Auto Train does not stop here
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Raleigh toward Miami Silver Star until 2024 Petersburg toward New York Preceding station Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Following station South Rocky Mount toward Tampa Main Line Battleboro toward Richmond Nashville toward Lassiter Nashville Branch Terminus Terminus Kinston Branch Tarboro toward Kinston Norfolk – Rocky Mount Tarboro toward Norfolk
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Official name	Atlantic Coastline Railroad Station
Designated	June 19, 1980
Part of	Rocky Mount Central City H.D.
Reference no.	80002826, 09000659[2]
Architectural style	None Specified
Location

History

Rocky Mount station was originally built in 1893 by the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, in dark red brick Romanesque Revival style. After the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad bought the W&WR, they rebuilt the station between 1911 and 1912, and again in 1916. During the 1960s ACL built a modern structure within the station to store switches and signal equipment before the railroad was merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.

In 1995, the 2.23-acre (0.90 ha) property, which included the station and a former REA Express freight house (c. 1930), was sold to the City of Rocky Mount. Between 1997 and 2000, the station was restored to its early 20th century design features, with additional accessible-compliant platforms and other amenities.^[3] The freight house was converted into a bus terminal for the Tar River Transit and Greyhound stop. In 2010, the station was named after Helen P. Gay, a former member of the Rocky Mount City Council who was instrumental in the station's restoration project.^[4]

Former ACL office car #303 is on display next to the station.^[5] Former ACL "Whopper Hopper" 500000 that had been on display at the station was donated to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 2018.^[6]

References

1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of North Carolina" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
2. "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
3. "Rocky Mount Station Improvements (NCDOT Rail)". Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
4. Cooper, Geoffrey (March 22, 2010). "Community celebrates Helen Gay's birthday". Rocky Mount Telegram. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
5. Pictures of ACL 303 (RR Picture Archives)
6. "N.C. Transportation Museum on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022.

External links

Media related to Rocky Mount (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Rocky Mount, NC – Amtrak
• Rocky Mount, NC – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Rocky Mount Station – NC By Train