Some time ago, I noticed out not very far from the small eastern NC town of Atkinson (old Wilmington to Sanford line) what was definitely and old ACL depot that had been relocated. As near as it was to the town of Atkinson, Iw ould assume that the structure was the former depot for the town. However, the station sign said "T SPRINGS". To my knowledge there was never any station named T Springs and not in the Atkinson, NC area. I assume someone had purchased the station and proceed to give it a "new name." Any ideas? Also, does anyone know when Atkinson closed?

Thanks, Raymond Smith

-- Raymond Smith (aclrr7@hotmail.com), January 28, 2002

Answers

How'd you all get past the dawgs guarding the "T Springs" depot property?? It took me two visits to get a close shot of the structure without running the risk of becomming a chew toy. But on both visits, no humans were around to help solve the nameboard mystery. It looked genuine to me (not a repainting), and I posted this same question earlier but no one had an answer.

Rocky Point- this is intersting news, and sounds easy to get to; but I'm wondering if this depot is not actually from Castle Hayne, which shows up on two NC depot lists as a wooden structure that had been moved and used as a house. While we're in NC, can anyone confirm existence/status of ACL depots in Woodside(or Hampstead) and Palmyra, both listed earlier as having been moved. Thanks.

-- Bob Venditti (bobvend@bellsouth.net), January 29, 2002.

THe frame depot at Atkinson, N.C. ( Pender County ) is still standing on First Avenue in Atkinson. This depot served the A&Y line of the ACL. I used to pass it as a locomotive fireman on the ACL working between Wilmington and Sanford. The structure is currently serving as a farm supply and storage building. The next station Northwest of Atkinson was Ivanhoe.

-- Bill Sellers (was2nd@charter.net), January 28, 2002.

Hi Guys,

I think I located the passenger half of the Rocky Point, NC depot recently. John Casha of Rocky Point was the depot agent's son, and he told me that the depot was cut in half and moved away many years ago. "Holly Shelter Road" leads due east out of Castle Hayne, just south of the Cape Fear River swing span bridge north of Wilmington. This road has an interchange with I-40. Right at the I-40 interchange is an unmistakeable railroad depot building, very ACL- like. It is on the south side of the road, the last building going east before the interchange ramps. I am guessing this is the old Rocky Point depot, relocated a few miles down the road. Has anyone else seen this one? It has the Wallace-style eaves, rather than say the Lake Waccammaw open eave style gable. Better check it out Buddy! :-) Best wishes, Marc

-- Marc L. Hamel, NCDOT Rail Division (gigsup@aol.com), January 28, 2002.

Well... Being a long way from Tarpon Springs, Fla., and there having been no other stations on ACL lines in the area with "Spings" in the name, I'd agree that it was the owners whim.

The last passenger service, a rider car on a mixed train, was taken off sometime between December 1950 and December 1951. There was still an agent assigned to Atkinson in January 1958(J. D. Eakins), thus the closing was sometime after that date.

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), January 28, 2002.

When I visited the depot back @ 1994, it was still wearing the Atkinson station sign, on the rear I believe. I wasn't able to find anyone to ask permission to walk around the building so I wasn't able to take a close look and may have missed the sign you're talking about.

Back in 94, it was painted in (or rather peeling) the ACL's gray and brown scheme. The building has enough differences from the standard ACL depots that I've seen that I've always wondered if it was a former Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley design. The main difference being the numerous "triangular" eave supports. I've only seen this feature on depots located on this line (ex CF&YV). Steadman, Sanford and Garland (based on a photo) come to mind. Hope this little bit helps though I doubt I answered any of your questions.

-- Buddy Hill (palmettoLTD@hotmail.com), January 28, 2002.