Black Cat Station
Black Cat Station, in North Wilkesboro, N.C., is the home of the Yadkin Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, which operates a large HO scale model railroad layout. The building, located at 800 Elizabeth Street, formerly housed the Wilkes Art Gallery. The chapter hosts open houses on the second Saturday of each month, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. There is no admission, but donations are appreciated.
In 1999, the Town of North Wilkesboro agreed to lease to the chapter the building at 800 Elizabeth Street in the town, which was the home of the Wilkes Art Gallery. We finally moved in late in 2004 when renovations to The New gallery, in The Downtown area, were completed. Our building was renamed "Black Cat Station" as a reference to the Black Cat Sandwich Shop, one of the early tenants in the building. Over the years, the building has been home to a service station, beauty parlor, variety store and WKBC Radio before being sold to the town by members of the Cashion family. In January 2006, the town approved a new five-year lease, with an automatic five-year extension, for the building, thus assuring us of a home for at least the next 10 years. We plan to have a layout of which all town and county residents can be proud. Work began on the chapter's large HO model railroad layout early in 2005. The layout includes five lines, each approximately 135 feet in length, around the main room. The first of those lines, designated as the freight line, was completed, and the first trains were run in September, 2005. All five of the lines were in operation by mid-July, 2006. On Saturday, Aug. 19, 2006, the chapter hosted its first open house for a model railroad club from the Concord area. One week later, the chapter hosted its first public house, and plans were announced to host open houses on the second Saturday of each month. The president of the chapter is Charles S. Williams.