Last Train to Wadley

In my travels sometimes I need to do research. It's fun to drive around the countryside...till you realize you've gone 60 miles and shot nothing. One thing I've always noticed when I'm researching anything is one link will lead to another then another and so on. Which leads me to how I found the depot in Wadley Alabama. It gets better...well no...it gets worse when you realize I drove literally to within one block of pure gold and didn't see it. Hence why I made a second trip to Wadley. I came in from the north side past the high school. Made it nearly to the main highway when out of the corner of my eye...it was, paraphrasing Darrel Sheets from Storage Wars, the "WOW" factor. I laughed at myself at how I could have missed it. I would blame that on age but no...not seeing the obvious on occasion has plagued me most of my life.

According to the local paper, The Randolph Leader, the Spanish Mission style structure was built in 1907 by the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad and was added to the National register of Historic Places in 2011. It last operated in 1964. Ironically, it had a twin in nearby Roanoke that burned to the ground in 2006. All the more reason to find these places while they still exist.

It has obviously seen better days but I was amazed at how good the condition was considering it hasn't been active for 49 years. The interior is mostly tongue and groove construction and apparently there was no such thing as insulation. Most of the interior details were long gone but the wood was remarkably well preserved when not directly exposed to the elements. There was broken glass and rotted floors in places. The city apparently uses it for storage judging by the plethora of Christmas light displays strewn through it. That and some miscellaneous utility equipment and two quite odd playground rides sitting outside.

As I walked through it I could almost feel the activity that once must have filled these walls. At the back of the building was the ramp that they carried freight up to to fit into boxcars. Inside on the freight counter there were still shipping documents from REA (Railroad Express Agency) scattered on the counter. It was a little surreal seeing them still there all these many years later. The only thing they could ship now was half a century of dust.

I love trains. Ever since I got my first electric train set when I was 6 years old. I still remember it was the New York Central and had three cars and a caboose. So, as you can imagine I was quiet happy to be here. To take in history. To wonder who was taking the train to where. Back when a four lane highway was an oddity and everyone rode the train to see their friends or family. The steam engine spinning its wheels trying to get traction as it pulled away slowly...smoke billowing everywhere.

I took Cato with me this trip. He's a bit of a handful but not in a bad way. He's a cat and curiosity is his guide. He did get to explore the depot once I was done with what I wanted to do and could keep an eye on him. I'm pretty sure he didn't appreciate this old place like I did but he seemed to enjoy seeing what there was to see. Funny but I could see a cat like him who loved to hang out at the depot. After all they shipped grain among other things. And grain attracts rats and well, rats attract...cats.

As always thank you for giving me a few moments of your time. And for sharing my passion. Comments? Please, if you can spare a minute more, let me know what you think. Good or bad. And if you know of something that you think is worth shooting let me know. My only criteria is abandoned and not being used. Hence the term "Forgotten Alabama".

Source: http://www.therandolphleader.com/news/article_254a6522-b85f-11e0-ae67-001cc4c03286.html