The Old Aiken Railroad Depot in Aiken, South Carolina

The railroad came to Aiken in the early 1830s.






This depot was built in
1899 & operated until
1954.






After the building was restored, it opened in 2010 as Aiken's Visitors Center and Train Museum.

A Pullman Car sits on

the tracks next to

the depot.

Train passengers on overnight train trips slept sitting upright in their seats in the early to mid 1800s. According to legend, George Mortimer Pullman spent a very uncomfortable night on an overnight train ride from Buffalo to Westfield, New York and decided to solve the problem of passengers sleeping in an upright position.

Pullman used his experience traveling on the Erie Canal to develop, manufacture and sell a new type of train car to railroad companies... the sleeper car.  Travelers would pay extra to sleep in comfort on a Pullman Car on a overnight train ride.

Oops!

There are two Pullman

Cars here.

We visited on Sunday and found the Visitor Center was closed.  

One of the pitfalls of touring during the off season is limited hours of attractions.