CHRISTIANSBURG (CAMBRIA) DEPOT

THE CAMBRIA TOY
STATION MUSEUM
SHOP

THE SCALE CABINETMAKER AND DORSETT
PUBLICATIONS

PLACES TO GO...THINGS TO SEE

This Week in Railroad History (January 17-January 23)

January 19, 1938: First invented in 1933, General Motors begins mass production of the two-cycle diesel train engine. In 1935, GM developed the EMD-E Series Diesel Locomotive. The Virginia Museum of Transportation, in Roanoke, has a number of EMD engines dating from the 1930s and later. If you are interested in Railroads curing the Depression, How Stuff Works has a reasonably concise overview.

January 19, 1944: On December 27, 1943, President Roosevelt seized the railroads inorder to avoid a nationwide strike, and placed the railroads under the supervision of the Secretary of War and the War Department. Following nearly a month of negotiations, a labor agreement was signed and the railroads were returned to private ownership at midnight on January 19th.

A quick aside: For those of you who love maps, the American Memory site from the US Government includes a collection of historic railroad maps, include the 1856 Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Map. The Railroad closely followed the route of the Southwest Turnpike (first developed in 1835 to replace the Allegheny Turnpike) through Montgomery County. Route 11/US 460 follows the original turnpike route until the base of Christiansburg Mountain, where the road swings further to the south. A reproduction of the 1862 Lloyds Railroad Weekly Map and Time Schedule, which shows all of the working railroads at the time of the Civil War, is available from the Cambria Depot Museum and can be ordered through the museum ($20.00 plus shipping and handling).

The Cambria Historic District Store

SPECIAL TOPICS

Tourism

Introduction to Tourism

Tourism Sites in the New River Valley

Tourism Maps

Tourism Resources

Historic Districts

Italianate Architecture

Rain Gardens

 

The Cambria Depot Museum, featuring The Scale Cabinetmaker, is located at the intersection of Cambria and Depot Streets in the Cambria Historic District in Christiansburg, Virginia. In addition to the prototype models from The Scale Cabinetmaker, the museum features exhibits on the history of the railroad in Cambria, the Town of Cambria, and the restoration of the Cambria Depot (Christiansburg Freight Station).

Hours:

Wednesday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Other times, by request. For a tour of the miniatures and the depot, contact Meghan Dorsett by email or call the Cambria Toy Station Museum Shop at 540.382.6431.

Admission:

There is no admission fee; however, donations are accepted.

School and group tours are available.

Our museum shop (The Cambria Toy Station) features wooden toys and trains, puzzles, games, and hands-on projects and books, as well as the Depot poster and a reprint of the 1862 Lloyd's Railroad Weekly Map and Time Schedule. An online giftshop, through Cafe Press, has t-shirts, mugs, and other depot related items. Proceeds from both go to support the ongoing preservation of the Cambria Depot and the ongoing development of online educational materials.