Transportation Museum offers free train rides for veterans, active military

SPENCER — As a show of appreciation for service given to our nation, the N.C. Transportation Museum will offer free train rides for all active military and veterans Saturday.

With a military ID, veterans and active-duty personnel can experience a train ride around the museum's 25-acre property. Trains run Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1, 2 and 3 p.m.

Also on Saturday, the museum will host Kevin Duffus' program, "War Zone: WWII off North Carolina's Outer Banks." A researcher, author and documentary filmmaker, Duffus will tell the story of attacks against U.S. ships off the Eastern Seaboard in 1942.

The damage caused by German U-boats was extensive. Some 5,000 people lost their lives while 397 ships were sunk or damaged. The worst of those attacks happened off the North Carolina Outer Banks.

Duffus has compiled eyewitness accounts from merchant sailors, members of the Coast Guard and coastal residents to tell these incredible stories. The program also delves into the urban legends of German spies, saboteurs and sympathizers living in North Carolina.

Duffus last appeared at the museum in January, presenting his program, "How Shipwrecks Shaped the Destiny of the Outer Banks." Museum Educational Programming Coordinator Brian Moffitt says January's program, "was a very successful event, with an overwhelming turnout."

Seating is limited to 60 people. Those wishing to attend should reserve seats by calling Vickie Peacock at 704-636-2889 ext. 232.

Duffus' program is brought to the museum in association with the N.C. Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The N.C. Transportation Museum, located in historic Spencer Shops, the former Southern Railway repair facility, is just five minutes off Interstate 85 at Exit 79 in Spencer. For more information, visit www.nctrans.org.