Mount Airy was the western end (railroad) or northern (geographic) terminus of the A&Y. This diagram, derived from the A&Y valuation blueprint photographed in the National Archives, shows the yard with the passenger and freight stations and some of the industries in the immediate area. The yard was located on the western edge of town, following along Lovill's Creek. From Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, the creek appears to have been used by some industries for water power early on, and later for fire protection and possibly for waste.
A narrow gauge (3') line, the Mount Airy & Eastern Railway Company, existed from about 1900–1918 to haul lumber from the north and east of town. Nicknamed "the Dinky," this line made it to Kibler, VA. Author Thomas Perry's website details his uncovering of the tracks and stories of the MA&E: Finding the tracks of The Dinky Railroad.
Mount Airy had both a passenger depot and a separate freight house. Although passenger service was discontinued in 1938, the passenger station has been preserved. I have a plaster cast kit model of this station, which I believe is long out of production. I plan to provide a scan of the instruction sheet and photos of my attempt to build the kit.
The freight house was located just south of the passenger depot, as visible in the track diagram above. This photo, obtained on eBay from R.D. Connor, was taken in 1975.
The station as it appeared in 1999. Today it is used as a civic meeting place. Unfortunately the trees have grown so large on the trackside that it is impossible to get a clear shot from that direction during spring and summer.
Mount Airy is a town in northeast Surry County. It was settled about 1850 and incorporated in 1869. In the early nineteenth century this vicinity seems to have been called "the Hollow" or "the Hallow." The rails reached this town in 1890. For more on the history of the town and region, visit the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.
This article was returned in my collection by the document restoration team, but I cannot identify who gave it to me or whether it is copyrighted. It appears to be a piece by the A&Y in a newspaper or magazine (given the moiré in the photographs), dating to the tenure of Mr. Sydnor DeButts as General Manager.
Any information you can provide on this article would be very much appreciated — I would particularly like to see the originals of the photos.
Scan of a photo and story from the Mount Airy News, probably 1950–1953, showing the first diesel to arrive in Mount Airy. This is likely Southern Railway RS-3 #6217, though the full number is hard to read on the locomotive.
Any information you can provide on this article would be very much appreciated — I would particularly like to see the originals of the photos.
The following industries were located in Mount Airy according to a Southern Railway Shippers Guide from 1916 and a Sanborn Insurance Map of 1922. Some likely used the A&Y for carload shipments; others may have used the station or team track for carload or less-than-carload (LCL) shipments. Additional industries are added as information becomes available.
| Industry Type | Goods Shipped/Rec'd | Company Name | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attraction | Livestock, passengers | Virginia Carolina Fair Grounds | Sanborn 1922 |
| Bottling | Soft drink | Chero Cola Bottling Works | Sanborn 1922 |
| Bottling | Soft drink | Pepsi-Cola Bottling Works | Sanborn 1922 |
| Building supply | Hardware, etc. | Beasley Building Supply | Sanborn 1922 |
| Cotton mill | Yarns, 8s to 16s, single and ply, cones, wraps, tubes and skeins | Laurel Bluff Cotton Mills | Shippers Guide 1916 |
| Cotton mill | Blankets, slasher cloths and knitting yarns | Alpine Woolen Mills (M. J. Hawkins) | Shippers Guide 1916 |
| Cotton mill | Hosiery | Renfro Knitting Mill | Sanborn 1922 |
| Cotton mill | Tubes?, cones?, socks | Adams-Millis Corp. (later Sara Lee Sock) | Greensboro Record |
| Fertilizer | Fertilizer | Piedmont Warehouse | Sanborn 1922 |
| Flour & feed warehouse | Flour, feed | ? on Galloway Street | Sanborn 1922 |
| Flour mill | Flour | Bausley Flour Mill | Sanborn 1922 |
| Flour mill, ice plant | Flour, ice | Granite City Mills | Sanborn 1922 |
| Foundry, machining | Metal products | Mount Airy Iron Works | Sanborn 1922 |
| Furniture | Case goods, dining room sets | Mount Airy Furniture Company | Sanborn 1922 |
| Furniture | — | National Furniture Company | Sanborn 1922 |
| Furniture | Chairs | Mount Airy Chair Company | Sanborn 1922 |
| Furniture | Tables, mantels | Mount Airy Mantel & Table Company | Sanborn 1922 |
| Granite | Dressed granite | Mount Airy Granite Cutting Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Granite quarry | Granite | North Carolina Granite Corp. | Shippers Guide 1916 |
| Grist mill | ? | M. T. McKnight | Sanborn 1922 |
| Grist mill | Ground grains | Spaugh Mills | Sanborn 1922 |
| Grist mill, saw mill | Ground grains, lumber | Green Hill Mill | Sanborn 1922 |
| Lumber | Not in operation in 1922 | Mayo-Dan Lumber Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Lumber, manufacturing | ? | Foy Lumber & Mfg. Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Manufacturing | — | Marshall Wagon Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Manufacturing | Buggies (and wagons?) | Mount Airy Buggy Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Manufacturing, lumber | Barrels, lumber | Sandusky Cooperage & Lumber Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Milling, ice plant | ? | Sides Mill & Ice | Sanborn 1922 |
| Oil | Oil and gasoline products | Texas Oil Co. (Texaco) | Sanborn 1922 |
| Oil | Oil and gasoline products | Standard Oil Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Planing mill | Finished lumber | Tess & Short Planing Mill | Sanborn 1922 |
| Tan bark sheds | ? | C.C. Smoot & Sons, Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Tobacco | Leaf | R. A. George Leaf House & Prizery | Sanborn 1922 |
| Tobacco | Planters tobacco | Haynes, Brown, & Haynes | Sanborn 1922 |
| Tobacco | Tobacco | Export Tobacco Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Tobacco | Green leaf tobacco | Imperial Tobacco | Sanborn 1922 |
| Tobacco | Warehouse | Banner Tobacco Sales, Inc. | Sanborn 1922 |
| Tobacco | Warehouse | Farmers Tobacco Sales | — |
| Tobacco | Tobacco | R. J. Reynolds, Co. | Sanborn 1922 |
The primary industry requiring rail service was the granite quarry located 2 miles east of the city. See the NC Granite Quarry sub-page for images. In addition to the quarry, various industries existed including furniture factories and textile mills. Research into additional industries requiring rail service is ongoing.
In 2019, the Mayberry Model Railroaders built an HO scale layout of the A&Y for display at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. The layout is open for viewing during museum hours. For more information on the layout and the club, visit the Regional History Museum (see sidebar link).
A loading dock that still exists across the tracks from the station today.
Additional photographs of Mount Airy locomotives and industries are linked from the sub-pages and the locomotive roster.