Commuting by rail is a bright shiny new idea these days, part of the much-needed Wake County transit plan that will help knit the Triangle area together, but for almost 70 years businessmen and shoppers in Franklinton, Youngsville and Wake Forest used the regularly scheduled local trains on the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad, later the Seaboard Air Line Railroad to visit Raleigh during the day, return home in the afternoon or evening.
The Gazette editor is looking for information about those local trains, sometimes named the Shoo Fly. She has heard people talk about how their parents used the trains and would like to hear your memories.
T.H. Pearce’s book, “Franklin County: 1770-1979,” says that in 1905 the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which had taken over the state’s first railroad, the Raleigh & Gaston, would run a Shoo Fly from Weldon to Raleigh and back every day. We know that by the early 1960s that train did not run anymore, and Seaboard tore down the old passenger station (1964) and freight station (1965) and combined both operations in a new brick building that still stands. By1976 Seaboard no longer operated long-distance passenger service through town and the station was donated to become the first office for the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce.
You can reach the editor with your memories at cwpelosi@aol.com or 919-556-3409 though email is preferable.
