Aiken pays tribute to the trains that put it on the map
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Everybody says Aiken is here because of the horses, but the trains actually brought the horses here first.
Aiken owes its existence to these tracks.
“If it was not for the railroad, Aiken wouldn’t exist,” said Samuel Ellis of the Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum. “We are here exclusively because of the railroad.”
The center where Ellis works is modeled after an old train depot.
That’s appropriate because Aiken’s founder, William Aiken, was president of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Co.
“Aiken is actually the epicenter for a lot of the railroading that made the building of the nation possible,” Ellis said.
Ellis says that’s why the center is dedicated to preserving railroad history.
It has two real Pullman cars that are both more than a century old.
“When these came here, these were rust buckets,” he said.
After years of work, the first one, circa 1918, has been restored.
It will be opened up to the community this weekend.
“Railroading is as American as apple pie,” Ellis said. “It’s just part of the national consciousness. It’s part of our cultural imagination, and I think it’s important to show the community that they can take pride in the railroad history that happened here.”
That’s why Aiken is holding a free event Saturday that’s being dubbed Train Day.
There will be live music, train displays, train rides, vendors and more.
It will be from at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum, 406 Park Ave. Southeast.
Activities include live music, games, model railroads, a coloring contest, and an exciting trackless train ride for kids. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the live music by Depot Jam. Event ission is free, and tickets for the train ride are $2. Concessions will be provided by The Pot Smoker BBQ and Flanigan’s Ice Cream.
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