Riding the rails in St. George, SC

Train mural, St. George, SC  

St. George has a lot of murals. I had taken pictures of this particular one years ago and on a recent drive was happy to see it looking bright and refreshed on the main corner next to the gas/convenience station.

Something was missing though. In my earlier version of the mural, the train engineer had been painted in and was the image of the gas station owner. As it changed hands through the years he was painted out of the engineer role. Below are the earlier shots:

Train weather-vane for a train station

From my country roads album - a train weather-vane for a train station. Pretty cool I thought. I spotted this in Branchville, SC.

I think I found the train weather-vane here although it would need to be painted black.

Charleston Station

Charleston Station, North Charleston, SC  

I do like trains. Sadly our North Charleston train station is a bit of a dump but the vintage sign is pretty cool. The last picture I caught of the sign was in the evening against the sun and only showed as a silhouette so I was pleased to get an earlier afternoon view.

It's been a week since our historical rain storm and I'm still drying out my bits and pieces. I didn't think I had much stored in my shed but it seemed like a lot more soaked in a foot and a half of water and carried out to the curb. I got my exercise workout in although my usual walk is a bit more fun. There have already been a few trucks of scavengers come by to see if I threw out anything worthwhile. I hope they get lucky.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Yemessee

Yemassee Junction, Yemassee, S.C.

This weekend was so beautiful I sympathize with anyone who had to work or spend it indoors.I've hit enough different spots this weekend to keep the blog filled for a week or two myself!

This week's Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance is the Holy Temple Church in the railroad junction town of Yemassee, S.C. I'd taken this same picture a few years ago and as always was relieved to see an old favorite still intact. Sciway.net has more information on the town and it's railroad history and this site has some great old photos.

Yemassee had a brief fling with fame a few years ago when they were featured in a reality show series called "The Week the Women Went" when all the women left town leaving the men to fend for themselves for a week.

Holly Hill Train Depot

Holly Hill Depot, Holly Hill, S.C.

Every time I see one of these old depots I have a pang of sadness that there isn't an active train pulling up to it. I am pleased to see that at least the building was restored and is in use.

1921 railroad depot with visitors center: Holly Hill Depot, circa 1921, was built on the sites of two previous depots dating back to 1886 when the Eutaw Railroad reached Holly Hill. The railroad defined the location for the town’s business section and it was responsible for the town’s growth and founding in 1887. The depot is now a visitors and a satellite office of the Tri-County Chamber of Commerce.

I had every intention of going in to town for the Martin Luther King parade this morning but my quickie oil change turned into a lengthy and much more expensive visit than I had intended. Drat. Double drat.

Calling all train fans!

 Winnsboro, S.C.


It's been years since I rode a steam engine train but for some reason the cooler air made me think of it. I checked the web site to confirm that they still offered the fall train ride in Winnsboro and tracked down these pictures from a few years ago. I did it all in time for you to make your plans for a day trip. See the schedule and link below. What fun!

I used to ride the old British steam engines in India with bits of coal dust floating in the windows. We'd buy sweet hot tea in thin clay mugs at station stops and then gleefully throw them out the window to crumble when we were done. It was much more satisfying than drinking from Styrofoam cups.
 
 Winnsboro, S.C. Train Ride


October 15, 16, 22 and 23, 2011 - Steam Train Specials

Fare Information:
Adult Ticket (Ages 12 and up):	$10.00
Child's Ticket (Ages 1 to 11):	$7.00
First Class Ticket (All ages - includes light refreshment and snack in relaxed atmosphere comfort)	$15.00
Fares subject to change without prior notice. There are no advanced ticket sales. The museum reserves the right to cancel, reschedule trains and operating days or to substitute equipment, or adjust the trip length as required or necessary.For more information, please call 803-635-4242 (9-5 Weekdays) or call 803-635-9893 (Recorded message only).