FIDDLERS GROVE MODEL TRAIN MUSEUM

Are you aware there is a model train museum in Fiddlers Grove? Not only that, there is a real caboose, and a historic train station where people used to buy a ticket to ride the train to and from Nashville and other destinations. The following is a short history of Tuckers Gap Depot, Baxter the Caboose, and the Fiddlers Grove Model Train Museum.

Tuckers Gap Depot

Tuckers Gap Depot was a part of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad. The railroad was chartered in Tennessee on December 11, 1845 and served the people of the South until it was absorbed by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in March 1957. The N.C. & St. L’s tracks reached from Paducah, Kentucky south to Atlanta, Georgia with a major branch from Bruceton, Tennessee to Memphis, Tennessee. The main line from Nashville to Chattanooga, running a distance of 151 miles, was opened in early 1854.

Wilson County had struggled for a railroad. In 1849, J.D. Debow was appointed chairman of a committee to promote a Southern railroad to the Pacific. In 1854, the State Legislature passed resolutions urging Congress to authorize a railroad to California and chartered the Nashville & Knoxville road a link.

In 1866, DeBow was elected president of the road and Major E. F. Falconet was appointed chief engineer. Averaging about two miles of survey each day, Major Falconet sought “the shortest and most practicable route” which was through Lebanon, Gordonsville, and onward. It is interesting to note that in 1884 the Nashville & Knoxville, which was later to become part of the Tennessee Central, followed much of this survey.

On July 4, 1869, the fourth celebration in Lebanon was the turning of the first dirt for the construction of the railroad. In open country about half mile south of the Lebanon Square, Senator Bowen drove the first pick into the sod, Judge Robert L. Caruthers the first spade. At this site a four-story general office building was erected and became known as the old depot.

By 1871, the Tennessee and Pacific defaulted on its bond interest. The capital stock was owned largely by Davidson and Wilson County. In 1877, the N.C. & St. L acquired the road by paying $300,000.00 to the State of Tennessee for a clear title.

It is believed Tuckers Gap Station was built around 1870 and was originally part of the Tennessee and Pacific line. According to the Tarver and Hagan family records, John Bell Tarver was the owner of the land when the railroad was built.

Nancy Harris Tarver Hagan (October 1, 1874 – April 6, 1949) was employed at the age of sixteen by the N. C. & St. L. Railroad to operate the Tuckers Gap Station. She worked at the station until the very end of the railroad’s use of this line. There is a love connection here. Nancy (Nannie) Tarver fell in love with her future husband, Henry Hobson Hagan, shortly after she began working for the railroad. They married on February 15, 1894. According to stories passed down by the family, Nannie would sell chickens, livestock, eggs, flowers, etc. from the old depot in order to add money to the family farm account.

July 13, 1935 was a very sad day for Tuckers Gap and all the communities up and down the tracks of the old N.C. & St. L. line as this was the train’s last run. Of note, Mr. and Mrs. Berry VanHook, who operated the County Farm, were on board the first day it ran sixty-five years earlier and also on the last date it ran.

Fiddlers Grove is proud to say we continue to share Tuckers Gap to this day. It was relocated here on August 24, 2005 and was dedicated on August 20, 2006. It was heavily damaged in the tornado of March 3, 2020, but has been restored once again to continue with its historic past.

“Baxter The Caboose”

Baxter the Caboose was relocated to Fiddlers Grove in 2007. In the heyday of railroads, the caboose served many functions for the train crew. It was their office, sleeping quarters, sometimes kitchen, and even had a restroom for the crew. Shipping manifests were kept in the office section which was a record of everything they were hauling. There is an elevated section where the brakeman and other crew members could get a bird’s eye view of the track ahead. The red brake valve was close at hand for quick action in the event of an emergency. A belt connected to the axles turned a generator that provided electrical power for the multi-purpose caboose. The age of computers brought an end to the number of people required to run a train or need a caboose and was the end of service for most cabooses.

“Baxter” the caboose was moved to Fiddlers Grove with the assistance of the Nashville & Eastern Railroad and the McCord Crane Service in the spring of 2007. It made its way by truck along the bypass under the escort of the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department and the Lebanon Police Department to its present location where it stands as a proud reminder of the Golden Age of Railroads. J. D. and Ann Floyd donated the caboose to Fiddlers Grove in memory of Billy Baxter.

Fiddlers Grove Model Train Museum

On August 17, 2013, during the Wilson County Fair, the new Model Train Museum was dedicated. Many of the cars and buildings had been donated by Mr. Ben Pulley’s family after his death. He had worked for L & N Railroad in Nashville for forty years. During this time, he began collecting model trains and had established a large exhibit in a special building at his home created just for his model trains and beautiful scenery.

Thanks to Wilson County, several portable class rooms were acquired and one was used to house the Pulley layout and to include the layout already on exhibit at Tucker’s Gap. Since its beginning, the exhibit has grown. It has been expanded to include a second room in what is now called the Fiddlers Grove Model Train Museum. Volunteers have continued to work each week in 2019 and 2020 to electrify the buildings, remake the layout, repair and add new trains and track. It is a true work in progress that probably will continue for many years to come.

It is such fun to see the visitors, both young and young at heart, as they view the trains running through the cities and countryside. Their eyes light up and you can see the joy in their faces as the older folks reminisce of days gone by and the young ones as they create new memories. This is a fun hobby for train enthusiasts and they are invited to come check it out.

You must take time to visit the Fiddlers Grove Model Train Museum, Tuckers Gap, and Baxter the Caboose. It will be well worth your time.

Information copied from Wilson County Fair History dated 2009.