Built in 1885, Suffolk’s &uot;Seaboard Railroad Station&uot; is one of the most historic sites in the entire city, and the membership of the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society (SNHS) has brought the once busy passenger stop to life once again, even after it lay dormant for more than 10 years.

Sue Woodward serves as president of the 300-member organization which took on the awesome task of renovating the brick and wood structure after it was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1994.

&uot;We believe a vagrant started the fire,&uot; said Woodward. &uot;If the building had been totally destroyed, it would have been the close to a 160-year history.&uot;

Citizens of Suffolk saw the first train arrive in the city in July 1834, traveling here from what was then a great distance: Portsmouth. Suffolk was the first stop of the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad that eventually went to Weldon, N.C., making stops in the villages of Drum Hill and Gatesville, N.C.

That first train was pulled by horses during the first two months, and when the &uot;John Barnett&uot; arrived in September, passengers were amazed by the excessive speed the train traveled: 15 miles per hour. It took only one hour and 20 minutes to arrive in Portsmouth once that fast mode of travel hit town.

Eventually, that first railroad became the &uot;Seaboard Railroad,&uot; and several other rail lines later came to serve the city. Railroads like the Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast Line and the Suffolk & Carolina all transported people and commodities in 1918. During those early years, Suffolk was served by 70 freight trains and 32 passenger trains each day. Today, although the Seaboard line (CSX) and Norfolk & Western still rolls through town today, there is no passenger service available.

All this history took place on North Main Street where the highly visible train station still stands, probably more resplendent than it has been since it was first constructed. All thanks to the SNHS.

Today, the old station is new again and not only does it house one of the most interesting and accurate model train exhibits, but also holds the gift shop that is the means by which the Historical Society derives funding. Money earned at the station is used to pay for upkeep on the structure and other operational costs.

Entering the train station is like stepping into the pages of a wonderful storybook. Instantly, a visitor to the authentically preserved station is transported into a time when life was simpler and moved at a much slower rate.

All around the station are reminders of Suffolk’s glorious past, especially in relation to trains and Suffolk’s golden crop, peanuts. There is a roaster on wheels just like those used by street vendors back in the &uot;old days.&uot; With the abundance of the famous Virginia-type peanuts in the shop, both in-shell and salted cocktail style canned, you can almost smell the freshly roasted goobers inside the station.

Walking around is a journey to the days when the station must have bustled with hoards of people dressed for traveling and many excitedly waiting to take their first train trip. An eye-catching feature is the exquisitely carved almost circular stairwell to the tower that crowns the jewel of a building. That stairwell, still in excellent condition since the Historical Society had it restored, sweeps gently toward the tower’s ceiling, looking out over the railroad tracks that cross the city at an east and west direction.

Betsy Brothers, another Historical Society member, said that tower was where the train masters went to watch for approaching trains.

&uot;Back then, we didn’t have the gates and lights and warning bells we have today,&uot; said Brothers. &uot;The trainman would watch for the train’s approach and then come down the stairs and go outside to the tracks where he would hold up signs telling people to stop because a train was approaching the station.&uot;

Another inside feature is the original fireplace and mantel in one of the offices. The fireplace is obviously of its original brick and mortar and it’s easy to imagine people as they must have stood around the blazing warmth of the fire in the dead of an old Suffolk winter.

Speaking of trains, the station would not be complete without them. Outside the station sits an old caboose. Currently, of course, it’s decorated for Christmas just like the rest of the beautifully landscaped lot around the station.

Also inside, there is an abundance of trains of all sizes including several hand-carved beauties that resemble the type children played with many, many years ago.

&uot;These are for sale to our visitors and they were all crafted without paint so that small children would not be harmed if they cut their teeth on them,&uot; said Brothers. &uot;We have them in many different sizes and they make wonderful gifts for anyone who likes trains.&uot;

Anyone who enjoys train memorabilia or collecting model trains will be thrilled with the items at the Seaboard Station. Not only do they have scale models for sale in the gift shop, but also there is a display that challenges the imagination and allows it to run back to the time when Suffolk had only dirt roads instead of paving.

Woodward explained that the model layout features an HO gauge railroad train, the old Suffolk and Carolina Railroad, and it’s still under construction by the Tidewater Division of the National Model Railroad Association.

According to Woodward, the model layout depicts two miles of the 47-mile trip from Suffolk to Edenton, N.C., passing through the Great Dismal Swamp where it picked up timber. Jimmy McLemore spent about a year researching all this.

Surrounding the gift shop is a layout of the railroad that runs almost through the entire old city of Suffolk. It’s so authentically done that many of its sites are easily recognizable as places that exist today. The old Pinner Street Bridge is there, the old courthouse at Constant’s Wharf, and in fact, the old warehouses that once lined the busy Nansemond River are also part of the display. To totally describe the layout is a considerable challenge since it’s so detailed; even the inhabitants’ laundry on the lines is visible. Gardens, crops in the fields, and trains hauling those famous peanuts and other commodities are all part of the past brought back to the future by the Historical Society.

For details about the Seaboard Station or information on how to become a member of the Historical Society, visit the station at 326 N. Main St.