THOMASVILLE—The City of Thomasville gains momentum as the place to watch trains in the Tar Heel State.
Last weekend, many stood by the tracks to watch the historic 611 steam locomotive roll through on its way to Virginia after a million dollar restoration at the NC Museum of Transportation.
The spike in visitors is a recent development after the city marketed it for rail fans two years ago.
"The former Director for Davidson County tourism said you're sitting on a gold mine here with great resources for rail fans," said Thomasville tourism director Mark Scott.
Since advertising, Scott said the town is gaining notoriety.
“The North Carolina Transportation Museum, they said this is easily the No. 2 spot in the state for catching trains because of the volume, uniqueness,” said Scott.
With more visitors, Scott said it’s boosting the local economy.
"People are coming in, they're asking us where they need to go eat and where they can stay,” he said. “While we can't put an exact number on it, we know it's been a big increase and over these past two years are total bottom line has increased about 60 percent."
People have traveled as far as Japan to watch the trains. The town also has one of the oldest passenger depots in the state which is now the visitors center.