ETSU’s Carter Railroad Museum now open Saturdays
Published 5:14 pm Friday, September 4, 2020
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The George L. Carter Railroad Museum has reopened to the public under specific health guidelines instituted by East Tennessee State University.
The museum, located in the Campus Center Building, is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All visitors are required to wear masks while on the ETSU campus and in its buildings, including the railroad museum. Directional signage is posted throughout the museum to promote physical distancing and for safe traffic flow inside the galleries and corridors. All frequently touched surfaces are routinely disinfected for added safety.
The number of visitors will be restricted to 10 persons in each of the two galleries and time spent in the galleries will be limited to approximately 15 minutes in each when the galleries are fully occupied.
A pre-registration link is provided to encourage patrons to schedule a time to visit: https://tinyurl.com/y3ba5uto. For the added safety of all visitors, the Little Engineer’s Playroom will remain closed until further notice.
There is no admission fee to the museum, but donations are welcome. Heritage Day is held the last Saturday of each month.\
The museum is also seeking artifacts for its displays, including the newest addition dedicated to the “Tweetsie,” which is open for guided tours during event days. In addition to the displays, there is also a growing research library, and an oral history archive is being established as part of the museum’s programs. For more information, visit etsu.edu/railroad.
Members of the George L. Carter Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and the Mountain Empire Model Railroaders (MEMRR) club coordinate the exhibits. The museum can be identified by a flashing railroad-crossing signal at the back entrance to the Campus Center Building. Visitors should enter ETSU’s campus from State of Franklin Road onto Jack Vest Drive and continue east toward 176 Ross Drive, adjacent to the flashing RR crossing sign.
For more information about Heritage Day, contact Dr. Fred Alsop at 423-439-6838 or alsopf@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.