The Village Council and the resort are both supporting a project to build a railroad siding that would transport passengers while displaying vintage engines and train cars during special events. Riders could then exit the train and walk to the resort.
A new project could give golfers and visitors of Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort a new, more direct path to the facility, the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer reported.
Village Council members threw their support behind a project by Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railroad to build a railroad siding along N.C. 5 near Morganton Road. The purpose of the parallel strip of track would be to bring passenger cars and display vintage engines and train cars during special events. Riders could exit the train and walk to the resort, the Observer reported.
Carl Hollowell, the railway company’s general manager, told the council up to 20 passenger cars could be parked on the railroad siding. “When you look back at the history of Pinehurst that’s how people used to get here,” he said.
According to Hollowell the project was proposed before the 2014 U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst, but time constraints kept them from building. The championship is returning to the golf resort in 2024, but Hollowell told council members there is interest in bringing tourists by rail beyond the big events. He said a special events company out of New Jersey approached them about bringing golfers by train to the resort for a few days and then transporting them back north. Hallowell said very few golf destinations offer railway access for tourists, the Observer reported.
Pinehurst Resort has also expressed support for the project, the Observer reported.
Council members also unanimously agreed to move forward, faster than expected, on a project to put up six gateway signs at major access points. There is currently only one Pinehurst entrance sign, the Observer reported.
Beautification Committee chairperson Molly Rowell told the council travelers should know when they’ve arrived at the village. “You don’t go through Pinehurst to get to anywhere else,” she said.
The signs cost approximately $4,000 each and would mirror the Pinehurst logo which has a pine cone and the village name. Rowell asked council to consider the project in next year’s budget, but the members liked the signs so much they decided to purchase the signs in the current budget, the Observer reported.
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