The preserved railroad history in Burlington, North Carolina, gives a picture of how the small town was born and its vital purpose for the North Carolina Railroad in the 1850s. In 1849, the North Carolina Railroad was chartered as a 223-mile-long corridor between Charlotte and Goldsboro. With the railroad came progress and the Town of Company Shops that was built around the engine house. The 631-acre site was home to a company headquarters to repair and maintain the railroad cars and track. Company Shops was renamed Burlington in 1887.

The Company Shops Rail Locomotive was built in 1877 and photographed here in about 1880 at Company Shops, which became Burlington, North Carolina, in 1887.
Alamance County Public Libraries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The building in the background was renovated as the Burlington Amtrak station.
The Amtrak train station, built in the 1850s, is the oldest structure in Burlington and a valuable remnant of the NC Railroad Company Shops Station as so many burned in a 1918 fire.
Burlington Station, 101 N Main St, Burlington, NC 27217, USA
Ildar Sagdejev (Specious), CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
It reopened in 2003 and is also home to the North Carolina Railroad Whistlestop Museum.
The brick and wooden Southern Railway Passenger Station "The Burlington Depot" was constructed by NC Railroad Company in 1892.
Burlington Downtown Depot, 200 S Main St, Burlington, NC 27215, USA
cheryl h/TripAdvisor
It is also home to the Alamance County Visitors Bureau.

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For architectural fans, the Victorian Tudor Burlington Depot has an octagonal tower, a hipped roof, and triangular dormers.
cheryl h/TripAdvisor
It is a beautiful monument to Burlington's magical beginnings as a railroad town.
You'll find the inside walls covered with colorful murals depicting the town's history.
Cheryl h/TripAdvisor
This Norfolk & Western caboose is another symbol of the railroad history and was donated to the City of Burlington by Norfolk Southern Railway in 1993.
cheryl h/TripAdvisor
The caboose was restored in 2006-2007 and is now a museum offering a glimpse of what life was like on the train.

Don’t miss this preserved railroad history in Burlington, North Carolina. And while you’re there, your kids will have a blast at this miniature amusement park in North Carolina made just for them.

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Burlington Downtown Depot, 200 S Main St, Burlington, NC 27215, USA