Bruce Hunt will speak about the history and future of the Saluda Historic Depot during the April 18 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Tryon.

The luncheon meeting begins at noon Wednesday at the Congregational Church on Melrose Avenue in Tryon. Anyone interested in learning more about this topic or about the Kiwanis Club is invited to attend.

Please call Kathy Woodham at 828-894-0972 to reserve a seat/lunch.

Bruce will give a short history of the Saluda Grade, the steepest mainline railroad gauge in the US and significant dates surrounding the building of the railroad from Spartanburg through Tryon, Saluda, Hendersonville, and eventually to Asheville. He will describe the serendipitous story about the Saluda Historic Depot and how a group of Saluda citizens came together to form a nonprofit to create a train and heritage museum.

Bruce Hunt retired to Saluda from a 40-year experience in the banking industry, and is a certified SCORE mentor and has helped many small businesses succeed. He is one of the citizens who helped form the Saluda Historic Depot LLC, and serves as a board member and treasurer.

The Saluda depot sits on historic Main Street at the crest of the steepest mainline standard gauge railroad in the United States and is a contributing structure on the National Register of Historic Places in the listing for the Saluda Main Street Historic District.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Seasonal exhibits include the Saluda Grade “O Grade” diorama and “G Grade” train dioramas of the different railroad eras in Saluda. There are also running videos of train that came up the Saluda Grade and a gift station.

The Saluda Historic Depot is located at 32 W Main St., Saluda.

For more information, please contact Judy Ward at 828-674-5958 or judyward@charter.net or Cathy Jackson at 828-817-2876 or cathy@saludalifestyles.com.