Chester County Transportation Museum

Anyone who has ever lived in Chester, South Carolina, knows that the town is infamous for having about four different sets of railroad tracks and numerous crossings. This fact of life tends to lead to a number of frustrations, especially since trains are constantly moving through the town, or stopping there and blocking traffic on a regular basis.

As this blogger once mentioned in a previous post about Chester during the final year of the War Between the States, the town was once the center of a major transportation hub and in the years following the Reconstruction Era until around the 1970s, Chester was also site to several mill villages owned by the Springs family. Railroad transportation of cotton and textile products was a major industry in that time. 

The Chester County Transportation Museum located at 157 Wylie Street in Chester, was once the site of a former freight depot of the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Built in 1888, and preserved by the Chester County Historical Society through a grant by the SC Department of Transportation, the museum holds a nice collection of historical artifacts related to the railroad and illustrating the development and evolution of transportation in the country. 

Outside the building you will see some old highway mile markers, plus the railroad track which is still in use. On the inside, you can find a collection of old automobiles, a horse-drawn buggy, old bicycles, several model railroads, and hundreds of smaller transportation artifacts from a variety of eras. The building itself has been wonderfully restored by groups of volunteers. This is a great place for railroad fans, antique car buffs, or anyone else who is interested in period historical artifacts.

The office/gift shop is the original freight office, featuring
various displays including railroad and vehicle related items,
maps of early railroad systems, and books about the history of
Chester County rail and road development.

The State of South Carolina first required license plates
for cars in 1917. This display of tags shows every type
of plate from 1917-2017.

Early buggy made in Rock Hill by the Rock Hill Buggy Company.

An old sorting table used in the Chester Post Office to sort mail for
rural mail routes. The Post Office played an important role in
the development of transportation.

A 1906 Model N Ford.

A 1939 Ford automobile.

A 1925 Hardin School Bus used in the Wellridge Community
near Great Falls, SC. This bus was made by the Hardin
Motor Company in Rock Hill, SC.

An old wood stove of the type used by people
around the turn of the century.

A 1921 LaFrance fire truck -- the first one used by the
Chester Fire Department.
This truck was also used as a prop during the filming of the
miniseries Chiefs (1986) in Chester.

A 1931 Ford Model 4 automobile.
Just behind it is a 1934 Ford V-8 Model.

This old railroad trestle over SC HWY 9 in western Chester
still bears the markings of the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad.

I hope y'all enjoyed my photos and, as always, Have A Wonderful Dixie Day, Y'all!