Godbold Transportation Center

The Godbold Transportation Center is a train station in Brookhaven, Mississippi, United States, served by Amtrak's City of New Orleans passenger train.

Godbold Transportation Center
The Transportation Center in January 2023
General information
Location440 North Railroad Avenue
Brookhaven, Mississippi
United States
Coordinates31°34′59″N 90°26′28″W / 31.58306°N 90.44111°W / 31.58306; -90.44111
Owned byCity of Brookhaven
Line(s)Illinois Central (CN)
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Other information
Station codeAmtrak code: BRH
History
Opened1907 (Union Station)
2011 (Transportation Center)
Passengers
FY 20233,790[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
McComb City of New Orleans Hazlehurst
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station
Hartman Main Line Montgomery
toward Chicago
Location
Map

The facility is located in the town's old power plant, originally constructed in 1890. Renovation plans called for partial demolition of the power plant, but the soaring smokestack was retained as a symbol of the building's industrial heritage. Large expanses of glass on the principal elevations allow natural light to flood the waiting room. The wooden benches used by passengers were once located in the old Illinois Central depot.[2]

History

edit
 
Postcard of the former Brookhaven Union Station built by Illinois Central Railroad, now a military museum

Brookhaven was a hub between the Illinois Central (formerly the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern), the Brookhaven and Pearl River Railroad, the Mississippi Central, and the Meridian, Brookhaven, and Natchez Railroad. In 1907, Illinois Central constructed the Union Station and freight house in downtown Brookhaven. Designed by F. D. Chase, the Tudor-revival brick building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[2]

The old station building, located at 125 South Whitworth Avenue,(31°34′44″N 90°26′35″W / 31.57889°N 90.44306°W / 31.57889; -90.44306) is now occupied by the Military Memorial Museum.[3]

Godbold Transportation Center, named after a former Brookhaven Mayor Bill Godbold,[4] opened in 2011. This replaced a small shelter beside the old depot building that had been used by Amtrak.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Mississippi" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Brookhaven Station". Amtrak's Great American Stations. Retrieved December 3, 2014.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Museums and Points Of Interest". About Brookhaven. Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved December 20, 2015. Military Memorial Museum (old railroad depot) South Whitworth Avenue. Photos, artifacts and personal items of area veterans; plus displays of military equipment dating back to WWI.
  4. ^ "Former Brookhaven mayor dies". Archives. Hattiesburg American. September 12, 2010. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015. One of Godbold's last projects was the city's multi- modal transportation facility, which is still being built. Current Mayor Les Bumgarner says the facility is named for the Godbold family
edit