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 Posted - October 27 2014 : 2:48:17 PM
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My wife and I attended the 31st Annual Lexington Barbecue Festival this past Saturday, October 25. And as usual,
we took the train! Lexington, NC does not have an Amtrak station, but once a year, Amtrak provides service from
Raleigh and Charlotte to the Barbecue Festival.
Here is the festival welcome wagon as viewed from my seat on the Charlotte train:
And passengers disembarking from the Charlotte train:
And the morning train from Raleigh:
A hospitality area is provided for festival attendees who come by train. It is housed in the Lexington Farmers Market,
which is a restored Southern Railroad freight station. It includes complementary snacks and drinks, a seating area
with tables, clean restrooms (no Port-a-Potties here!), and a coat/package check so you don't have to lug coats and
purchases around with you all day. The hospitality area's amenities are available all day, and it's a great place to
rest and watch some trains!
The restored freight station (farmer's market):
That's my wife in the white hat!
As is our tradition, breakfast was had at Southern Lunch on Railroad steet:
 I had to interrupt breakfast for this shot:
Judging from the motive power you wouldn't know this is Norfolk Southern!
There is an old-fashioned hardware store in Lexington called Lanier's, and believe it or not, it actually has a really good
selection of model railroad stuff! Here are some pictures:
There's even some NOS brass:
Of course, Lanier's is not a full scale hobby shop, but if you're in the Lexington area, it is worth checking out!
Oh yeah, maybe I should post a picture or two of the actual festival!
The annual 50-ton pig-themed sand sculpture:
The crowd:
And the reason the festival exists in the first place:
(For y'all who ain't from 'round here, in the Carolinas, barbecue means pulled pork with BBQ sauce)
Glenn
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"
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 Posted - October 27 2014 : 3:25:27 PM
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 That place looks pretty sweet. Especially considering it's so into it's railroad heritage.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - October 27 2014 : 7:49:29 PM
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the Southern Lunch place is begging to be modeled
quote:Judging from the motive power you wouldn't know this is Norfolk Southern!
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true! that happens alot 'round here
Pulled Pork is AWESOME SAUCE!
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Posted - October 27 2014 : 8:08:12 PM
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quote:
And the reason the festival exists in the first place:
(For y'all who ain't from 'round here, in the Carolinas, barbecue means pulled pork with BBQ sauce)
Originally posted by gmoney - October 27 2014 : 2:48:17 PM
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Yeah man, trains and BBQ, great combo. Around here, Barbecue is a noun. Other places, it's a verb.
I stopped at a restaurant in Kansas. I asked for some "barbecue". The lady looked at me with that 'and finish the sentence look'. Kind of dips her head, widens her eyes. I said, "oh, oh, barbecue pork" They also served barbecue chicken.
Fabulous weather for that this past weekend, too.
Edited by - NC shortlines on October 27 2014 8:09:22 PM
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Posted - October 28 2014 : 12:31:58 AM
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Stephen, a major reason that Lexington arranges Amtrak service for the festival is because it wants to restore regular daily Amtrak service to Lexington, and hopes the ridership for the festival will show Amtrak it would be worthwhile. There apparently is an effort to revitalize the "depot district," as it's called, because there is a mural in the farmer's market depicting a two-track passenger platform and a relatively large station with a clock tower and landscaping. (Maybe I should have taken a picture of it.) So yeah, Lexington does seem to value it's railroad heritage.
Ben, I agree that Southern Lunch begs to be modeled, as do some other buildings in the immediate vicinity. And Barbecue is awesome sauce!
Paul, I grew up in South Carolina and "barbecue" as a noun is second nature to me! Sure, sometimes people will make barbecued chicken or barbecued ribs, etc., but "Barbecue" is pulled pork mixed with sauce. And I have no clue why anyone would think barbecuing is synonymous with grilling out!
Glenn
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"
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