Goldsboro Union Station

The Goldsboro Union Station is a former passenger train depot and future intermodal transit station in Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States. Originally operating from 1909 to 1968, the Eclectic two-story brick depot was preserved as one of the most ambitious railroad structures in North Carolina, built as a symbol of the importance of railroading to Goldsboro. Currently closed-off for future renovations, the five-acre (2.0 ha) facility also includes the GWTA Bus Transfer Center.

Goldsboro Union Station
General information
Location101 North Carolina Street
Goldsboro, North Carolina
United States
Coordinates35°23′5″N 78°0′15″W / 35.38472°N 78.00417°W / 35.38472; -78.00417
Line(s)W&W Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform (abandoned)
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parking87 spaces
ArchitectLeitner & Wilkins
Architectural styleEclectic
History
Opened1909 (1909)
Closed1968 (1968)
Former services
Preceding station Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Following station
Pikeville
toward Wilson
Wilson – Wilmington Dudley
toward Wilmington
Preceding station Southern Railway Following station
Rose North WilkesboroMorehead City New Hope
DesignatedApril 13, 1977
Reference no.77001015
Location
Map

Location edit

The station is located four blocks west, or 700 yards (640 m), from Downtown Goldsboro's Center Street, via Walnut or Mulberry streets. Covering two full blocks, the five-acre (2.0 ha) facility is bounded by CSX tracks along with Chestnut, Mulberry, and Carolina streets. Surrounded by residential, some of the immediate properties are zoned as general business, but are not occupied.

History edit

 
Union Depot, ca. 1911

On March 2, 1906, the Goldsboro Union Station Company was chartered to build a new station, which was to be a union of passenger rail services from Atlantic and North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Line (ACL), and Southern railroads. The site selected was at the foot of Walnut Street on a spur line that bypassed west of downtown. Construction began in August 1907 and was completed in June 1909, at a cost $72,024. The architectural design is credited to J.F. Leitner's firm, Leitner & Wilkins. It is a two-story brick building, seven bays wide and two bays deep, with a hip roof, flanked by one-story gabled brick wings. It features a three-story central tower and one-story front and rear porches.[1]

The ACL operated trains on the former Wilmington and Weldon Railroad between Wilmington (the original headquarters of the ACL) and a point near Wilson, where a connection was made to the RichmondFlorida main line. The Southern Railway operated passenger trains such as the northern branch of the Cincinnati-bound Carolina Special from Goldsboro through Raleigh and Durham to Greensboro.[2] Into the early 1950s the Atlantic and East Carolina Railway ran a daily passenger train from Goldsboro, North Carolina southeast to Morehead City on the Crystal Coast.[3][4] The last passenger train to use Goldsboro Union Station was discontinued in 1968. That train was a Rocky Mount station - Wilmington Union Station Seaboard Coast Line route that originated in connection with the Champion southbound, and the Palmetto northbound.[5]

Goldsboro Union Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, by that time the property changed hands several times and was currently owned by Goldsboro Builders Supply.[6]

On August 17, 2007, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced that it had purchased the facility and adjoining acreage to preserve and adaptively reuse as a modern multimodel center. After providing stabilization of the historic building, NCDOT passed ownership to the City of Goldsboro in December 2008.[7][8][9]

In August 2014, construction began on the Gateway Transfer Center, a bus station located north-end of the property. It was opened in September 2015 and was renamed the GWTA Bus Transfer Center.[10][11]

GWTA Bus Transfer Center edit

GWTA Bus Transfer Center
General information
Location103 North Carolina Street
Goldsboro, North Carolina
United States
Coordinates35°23′09″N 78°00′12″W / 35.38575°N 78.00335°W / 35.38575; -78.00335
Owned byCity of Goldsboro
Bus stands9
Bus operators  GWTA
Connections  Amtrak Thruway
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: GBO
History
OpenedSeptember 2015 (2015-09)

The GWTA Bus Transfer Center is a bus station located at Goldsboro Union Station and serves as a bus terminus for the Goldsboro–Wayne Transportation Authority (GWTA) and provides intercity bus service via Amtrak Thruway.[11]

Services edit

The facility includes a 4,800 square foot (450 m2) building with tickets/information, restrooms, waiting area, nine bus bays, and parking for 18 GWTA vans. Free same-day parking is located on the south-end of the Goldsboro Union Station property.[10]

GWTA operates the following routes from the Transfer Center:

Amtrak Thruway service connects with the Carolinian and Palmetto, via Wilson station; Bus #6190 departs at 12:24pm and Bus #6189 arrives at 3:40pm.[18]

References edit

  1. ^ "Goldsboro Union Station" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. n.d. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  2. ^ "Southern Railway timetable, July 30, 1952, Tables K, 1B, 1C, 5B" (PDF). Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Atlantic and East Carolina Railway". Official Guide of the Railways. 82 (8). National Railway Publication Company. January 1950.
  4. ^ Freight only"Atlantic and East Carolina Railway". Official Guide of the Railways. 84 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1951.
  5. ^ "Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, Table 9". Official Guide of the Railways. 100 (5). National Railway Publication Company. October 1967.
  6. ^ "National Register Information System – Goldsboro Union Station (#77001015)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "Future Service". North Carolina Department of Transportation, Rail Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  8. ^ "NCDOT PURCHASES GOLDSBORO'S UNION PASSENGER STATION" (Press release). North Carolina Department of Transportation, Rail Division. August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on August 15, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  9. ^ "Goldsboro Union Station" (PDF). City of Goldsboro. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  10. ^ a b City of Goldsboro (July 21, 2015). Goldsboro Wayne Transfer Center Update 3. YouTube. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Gateway Transfer Center". City of Goldsboro. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "GWTA Purple Route" (PDF). Goldsboro–Wayne Transportation Authority. January 1, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  13. ^ "GWTA Yellow Route" (PDF). Goldsboro–Wayne Transportation Authority. January 1, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "GWTA Blue Route" (PDF). Goldsboro–Wayne Transportation Authority. January 1, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  15. ^ "GWTA Green Route" (PDF). Goldsboro–Wayne Transportation Authority. January 1, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "GWTA Red Route" (PDF). Goldsboro–Wayne Transportation Authority. January 1, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  17. ^ "Mount Oliver Connector & Circulator" (PDF). Goldsboro–Wayne Transportation Authority. April 1, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  18. ^ "Vacations in North Carolina by Train & Thruway Bus". Amtrak. Retrieved May 7, 2022.

External links edit