Posted 1:47 am Friday, March 21, 2008
Cotton Belt Depot Featuring Clyde Bragg Model Train
The Cotton Belt Depot Museum will feature the Clyde Bragg model train display each Saturday during the Azalea and Spring Flower Trails, beginning March 22.
Sharon Bragg, wife of the late Clyde Bragg, donated hundreds of model trains to the city in 2004.
The trains made their first run during the Cotton Belt Depot's Centennial Celebration one year later, and since, the depot has had visitors from 50 states and 15 countries to see the collection.
The display will be open for viewing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday through April 5. The Depot is at 210 E. Oakwood St.
The depot was built in 1905 and began serving passengers on the Cotton Belt rail line in 1907.
Service continued through the mid-1950s, and the railroad used the building for offices and storage until 1987. In 1988, the Southern Pacific Railroad donated the building to the city of Tyler.
The city used federal transportation grants, half-cent sales tax funds and a grant from the Vaughn Foundation to restore the historic building, and it reopened for use as Tyler Transit offices in 2003.
Volunteers from the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society operate the museum today. Regular admission is free, and model trains are available to view during regular business hours.
The Depot is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The museum will be closed in observance of Good Friday, but will reopen on Saturday.
