Rocky Mount station, officially the Helen P. Gay Rocky Mount Historic Train Station, is an intermodal transit station in Rocky Mount,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its main building serves as an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train station, while an adjacent building serves as the

bus terminus A bus terminus is a designated place where a bus or coach starts or ends its scheduled route. The terminus is the designated place that a timetable is timed from. Termini can be located at bus stations, interchanges, bus garages or bus stops. Te ...

for the

Tar River Transit Tar River Transit is the primary provider of mass transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems availab ...

and as a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

stop. The station is located just south of downtown Rocky Mount and is part of the

Rocky Mount Central City Historic District Rocky Mount Central City Historic District is a national Historic district (United States), historic district located at Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Edgecombe County and Nash County, North Carolina ...

History

Rocky Mount station was originally built in 1893 by the

Wilmington and Weldon Railroad The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with of track ...

, in dark red brick

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style. After the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

bought the W&WR, they rebuilt the station between 1911 and 1912, and again in 1916. During the 1960s ACL built a modern structure within the station to store switches and signal equipment before the railroad was merged with the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

to form the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

. In 1995, the property, which included the station and a former REA Express freight house (c. 1930), was sold to the City of Rocky Mount. Between 1997 and 2000, the station was restored to its early 20th century design features, with additional

ADA Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...

-compliant platforms and other amenities. The freight house was converted into a bus terminal for the

and

stop. In 2010, the station was named after Helen P. Gay, a former member of the Rocky Mount City Council who was instrumental in the station's restoration project. Former ACL

office car A private railroad car, private railway coach, private car, or private varnish is a railroad passenger car either originally built or later converted for service as a business car for private individuals. A private car could be added to the make- ...

#303 is on display next to the station. Former ACL "Whopper Hopper" 500000 that had been on display at the station was donated to the

North Carolina Transportation Museum The North Carolina Transportation Museum is a museum in Spencer, North Carolina. It is a collection of automobiles, aircraft, and railway vehicles. The museum is located at the former Southern Railway's 1896-era Spencer Shops and devotes much ...

in 2018.

Services

The train station, operated by Amtrak, provides

inter-city rail Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...

service via four routes: , , and . The facility is open 24-hours, which includes the ticket office, passenger assistance, baggage service and the waiting area. The bus terminal, operated by Tar River Transit, provides eight bus routes that operate Monday-Friday at 6:45am–6:45pm and Saturday at 9:15am–5:45pm, closed on Sunday. Greyhound operate, including package express and ticket office, Monday-Friday at 7:30am–1:30pm, 3:30pm–5:30pm and Saturday at 7:30am–12:00pm.

References

External links

Rocky Mount Station – NC By TrainEarly 20th Century Post Card
{{Amtrak North Carolina stations Amtrak stations in North Carolina Rocky Mount, North Carolina Transportation in Nash County, North Carolina Bus stations in North Carolina

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Edgecombe and Nash County, North Carolina, Nash counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it ...

Railway stations in the United States opened in 1893 Historic district contributing properties in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Nash County, North Carolina Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina