David Winans of Spartanburg, SC shares the powerful and moving story of the FDR Funeral Train. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away in April 1945 at Warm Springs, Georgia, the Southern Railway dispatched two locomotives and several passenger cars to transport the President’s body. Once FDR’s casket was placed aboard, the train began its solemn journey—forever remembered as the FDR Funeral Train. David recounts the poignant and often chilling details of its passage from Warm Springs to Washington, D.C., and finally to President Roosevelt’s final resting place in Hyde Park, New York. Don’t miss this compelling presentation on a moment that deeply touched the nation.

Step aboard a journey through time with this captivating presentation by Bo Brown, uncovering the rarely told story of the Southern Railway Hostesses—women who served with grace, strength, and professionalism from 1942 to 1958. Based on intimate interviews with Myra Virginia Donald and backed by Bo Brown’s meticulous research, this presentation sheds light on a group of dedicated women who helped shape the passenger rail experience during a transformative era in American history. Little has been documented about these remarkable hostesses—until now. Discover their lives, their challenges, and their contributions in this heartfelt tribute to their legacy.

Stephen R. Little, Esq Mayor of Marion NC tells how convict labor built the railroad loops at Old Fort NC and the tunnels that went through the mountains of Western NC

Learn some basic photographic techniques (composition, shutter speed, depth-of-field, panning, etc.) on DSLRs as well as cell-phone cameras.

Use that knowledge to photograph anything, but this focus will be on railroad-related pictures as we look at the famous Saluda Grade, locomotives, track maintenance, train rides, rails-to-trails, and the Historic Saluda RR Depot.

Pearlie Mae Suber Harris, daughter of a Baptist minister who grew up in Saluda NC in the 1940's. Amid racial segregation, Harris moved with her family to Saluda in 1940 and grew up near the railroad tracks. During this time, the Saluda Depot had a Black and a White waiting room. Segregation, as in most of the South, was prevalent. Mrs. Harris describes life in the town of Saluda well before the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Education, although rare for young Black women in the 40’s and 50’s, was a powerful theme throughout Pearlie Mae’s life. She graduated high school in 1953 and left Saluda to find work in Greenville. At that time, she was given the opportunity by Mrs. Simpson (of the Belks-Simpson department store chain) to attend Barber-Scotia College. Pearlie would go on to become a beloved teacher in the community for the next 39 years. She earned her Masters degree from Furman University, where she also later receive an honorary doctorate. In 2020, Pearlie was also honored as the subject of a large-scale mural in downtown Greenville, celebrating diversity and education.

Roland Stadelman describes the construction of the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland. It is the deepest railway tunnel in the world, with a maximum depth of 2,450 m (8,040 ft). Roland Stadelmann, Swiss born and now a resident of Gramling South Carolina, Roland began his enthusiasm for trains at age 8 He lived in Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, and has traveled by rail through Switzerland, Germany, Lichtenstein, Austria, Hungary, France, Italy, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. Roland models miniature trains in O, HO, and N-scale. Professionally, he is the President, CEO and owner of Foothills Financial Group, Inc. with offices in Tryon, NC, and Landrum, SC.

John Pezzano was born in NYC and graduated with a degree in Electronic Engineering. He later got a Masters Degree in EE while serving in the Air Force. He spent 12 years in the USAF doing research in New Mexico. He then worked for Hewlett Packard as a Field Consultant in El Paso. He retired in 2002 as a Computer & Network Consultant for HP in Atlanta and moved to Hendersonville. While in Atlanta and for a time in Hendersonville, he volunteered at the Southeastern RR Museum where he did everything from docent to helping with engine and car restoration to conductor on train rides. He also volunteered with them at the Blue Ridge Scenic RR. In 2014 until 2023, John was in the Apple Valley Model RR Club. He has been a Volunteer firefighter (in NM), Sheriff's Department Volunteer, Red Cross Disaster Team Member, Mineral Museum Docent and more since living in Hendersonville. John is currently a docent and volunteer at the Saluda Historic Depot.

This video details the history of women telegraphers in the United States. Presented by Tom Jepson. Tom Jepsen is a retired information technology professional and a historian of technology, with a focus on the telegraph industry and women in technology. He maintains a website on telegraph history at http://www.the-telegrapher.com/

Saluda NC and the railroad in the Civil War

Railfan Ed Painter explores with Drayton Blackgrove of Delay In Block Productions the immense collection of rail videos and still photos dating from the 1960's through 1996 when the rails stopped coming through Saluda. These videos and stills that have been remastered and are in superb condition. It is a must view for rail enthusiasts. Those knowledgeable about trains and Saluda geography will note some places in this video where the conversation is not synced to the video. We apologize for that. For more detailed discussion about locomotives and Saluda Geography, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhaYsdW-tps&t=1138s

Rail Operations volunteer, Lucas R. Safrit presented an overview of steam and diesel power from the N.C. Transportation Museum, formerly home of Southern Railway's Spencer Shops.

Early railroading and engines that pulled the Saluda Grade are featured in this 30-min. presentation.

More about Saluda's Historic Depot: http://www.SaludaHistoricDepot.com More about the NC Transportation Museum: http://www.nctrans.org

The Carburetors music and mapping from google earth offers an historical trip down what was the nation's steepest, Class-1, mainline railroad grade. It ran 3-miles from Saluda, NC to Melrose then Tryon, NC.

Seeing this rail path leaves little to imagine about the train wrecks that plagued these rails in western N.C. from the 1880's until the grade was closed in December, 2001.

Visit the Saluda Historic Depot at http://www.SaludaHistoricDepot.com The Carburetors music is at http://www.CarburetorsUSA.com Thanks for visiting.

Presented by author, Mike Lassister and film maker, Scott Galloway, both a coffee-table book and PBS special came of this exploration of North Carolina's small towns.

Join the audience at Saluda, NC's Historic Depot for a look at what's important and what we may be losing in America.

Arriving at the Saluda Depot with Raymond 'Bo' Brown, was china and silver from Southern Railway's fleet of dining and office cars.

An outstanding story-teller, Bo shares how dining at 60 mph evolved from box lunches to 5-star dining and now back to...well, 'nuff said.

It's easy to cheer for Southern Railways. They served passengers 10-years longer than others before yielding to Amtrak.

Growing up in small town America. Listen to Charles O. Hearon, III tell his experiences in Saluda as a boy.

The Shands came to Saluda in the late 1800's and Bill's grandfather worked for Southern Railway. That put him in the interesting places covered in this short presentation. Hear about the grade and how Safety Tracks first installed here saved lives on the rails and along mountain roads across America.

His grandfather designed the railway bridges in Cuba and his family had a presence in Saluda since the late 1800's. David Twiggs talked about his family's history at the Saluda Historic

Depot. Here's a condensation of his presentation at Saluda Train Tales.

What was the country's steepest mainline railroad grade was also known for runaways and derailments. Larry Morton, President of the Apple Valley Model RR Club in Hendersonville, presents an overview of the Saluda Grade and some of the notable train wrecks that occurred on it.

At Train Tales, R. Clark Thompson recounted several stories about growing up in Saluda, NC. Some were taken from, "Whangdoodles on Diaper Hill: My Childhood in Saluda", published in 2018 .

Buy your copy at the Depot and help keepSaluda Historic Depot and Museum alive. This short story (3:30) from Train Tales outlines author, R. Clark Thompson's relationship with the Saluda Depot. In fact, he owned it for a while and deeply wondered if the community would ever support it as a museum.

Some 400 movies were produced in North Carolina in the silent era, 1900-1929, a fact that seems to be almost unknown today. North Carolina films were made by major motion picture companies, local producers and itinerant filmmakers. Film historian Frank Thompson gives this overview at Saluda Train Tales of that forgotten cinematic legacy, concentrating on films made in Western North Carolina, particularly in Asheville and, in one case, right here in Saluda and Tryon. Thompson's presentation is illustrated with clips from two surviving features produced in Asheville in 1918 and 1921 as well as by extremely rare images of other films made in our section of the state. Frank Thompson is a film historian and writer, the author of more than forty books and hundreds of articles, interviews and reviews in newspapers and magazines. Since moving to Asheville in 2015, he has devoted himself to researching the silent film era in North Carolina. This has, so far, resulted in one book, "Asheville Movies Volume I: The Silent Era" (2017). His most recent book was 35 years in the making and issued only as an edition limited to 198 copies: "Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman" (2018), co-written with John Andrew Gallagher. Thompson has served as writer and producer on many television shows and has produced, written and/or directed several documentaries. As an authority on film history, Thompson has provided audio commentary for many classic films on DVDs and Blu-Rays and has appeared onscreen in numerous documentaries and television specials. He lives in Asheville, N. C.

Friday night's Train Tales focused on Southern Railway's Dining Car service over the years. From age 12, Bo Brown has been collecting railroad memorabilia, specifically china and silver used in Office Cars and Dining cars. Many pieces are shown during the talk.

David O’Brien gives a history of the Saluda Grade

Ray Rapp speaks at Saluda Historic Depot Train Tales. Discusses WNC Rail Committee and progress of Ecusta Trail and the Saluda Grade. Discusses Blue Ridge Southern and WATCO.

Fascinating stories of railroading and the Saluda Grade told by video producer, Bob Loehne. Recorded as part of the Depot's monthly, Train Tales - a free series that's open to the public at the Historic Saluda Depot.

"Carolina's Railroad Heritage: What's Gone and What's Still Here", presented at the Saluda Historic Depot by Rodger Stroup. This illustrated presentation traces the history and remains of North and South Carolina railroads.

"Saluda Train Tales" with Greaton Sellers and Charlene Pace. This 2016 presentation was recorded live at the historic train station on Saluda’s early boarding homes, inns and hotels.

Saluda Train Tales is a free monthly event to educate the community of the importance of Saluda’s railroad history and the Saluda Grade.

Saluda Historic Depot presents Train Tales as a FREE program on the third Friday of each month. This clip is a portion of the presentation by Lee Atkins presented on 6/17/16.

One of the many stories about The Saluda Grade. This grade, which crests at Saluda, NC, is the steepest standard gauge railroad grade in the United States.