The Cotton Belt Depot Museum and the Clyde Bragg model train display will be open for viewing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 22; Saturday, March 29 and Saturday, April 5, at the Cotton Belt Depot, 210 E. Oakwood.
Hundreds of model trains were donated to the City in 2004 by Sharon Bragg in honor of her late husband Clyde. The trains made their inaugural run during the Cotton Belt Depot’s Centennial Celebration in June 2005. Since that time, the Depot has had visitors from all 50 states and 15 different countries. In addition to the Bragg collection, there are many artifacts from the railroad industry which played a major part in the early development of Tyler and Smith County.
The Cotton Belt Depot celebrated its centennial in June 2005. It was built in 1905 and began serving passengers on the Cotton Belt Line in 1907. Service continued until the mid-1950s, and the railroad used the structure for offices and storage until it was boarded up in 1987. The Southern Pacific Railroad donated the building to the City of Tyler in 1988. The City used federal transportation grants, half-cent sales tax funds, and a grant from the Vaughn Foundation to restore the historic building. The building reopened as offices for the Tyler Transit bus system in the summer of 2003.
The Museum is operated by volunteers from the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society. Admission is free; the trains are also available for viewing during regular business hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Cotton Belt Depot Museum will be closed on Friday, March 21 for the Good Friday holiday.
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