(rshsdepot) Metcalfe, NC

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_home.com>]

Back in time
Restored railroad station to be dedicated today

The Charolotte Observer 11/11/01

Tiny Metcalfe Station - once a stop on one of the South's smallest
railroads - has been restored and will be dedicated at 3p.m. today. The
station, which also housed a Texaco service station, is on N.C. 226 six
miles north of Shelby.

Today also marks the 102nd anniversary of the railroad, which ran 12 miles
-From the village of Lawndale in northern Cleveland County to Shelby. Started
in 1899 by Henry Franklin Schenck, president of Cleveland Cotton Mills in
Lawndale, the railroad shut down in 1943, but has continued to fascinate
railroad buffs.

The line was a narrow gauge - that is, the tracks were 3 feet apart instead
of the standard measure of 4 feet, 8 inches. In an era before good roads,
the railroad was an important link between a rural textile mill and major
railroad connections in Shelby.

The Gene and Irma Metcalfe family of Macon, Ga., donated 1.8 acres along
with the station and an original boxcar from the railroad. A project of the
Lawndale Historical Society, the restoration was funded by the Dover
Foundation and the C.D. Spangler Foundation.

The station will be open to the public Sundays from 2 to 5p.m. through
Christmas. Information: (704) 538-0062 or (704) 538-8743.

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