The first steam engine puffed up the Saluda Grade to the Hendersonville Depot in 1879. The steam engine needed a "help engine" attached to the rear of the train at Melrose for additional power to push the train up the Saluda Mountain Grade, the steepest main-line standard gauge railroad in the United States. The Carolina Special ran between Charleston, South Carolina and Cincinnati, Ohio from 1911 until 1968. Today the exterior paint has been restored to its original color. A Southern Railway caboose is located at the south end. The Depot's baggage room houses the Apple Valley Model Railroad Club and their HO scale model railroad. The layout is prototypical of Hendersonville, Asheville, Brevard and Saluda, including the Saluda Grade. The Depot is open year around, Wednesday 12:00PM-3:00PM and Saturday 9:00AM-12:00PM. The Depot is located on Maple Street off of 7th Avenue East.

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