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The city of Frederick in the U.S. state of Maryland is a town that many people do not hear about.  A suburb of Washington D.C., this town is rich with history.  The town is on the National Road, and it played a role in the American Civil War with the Battle of the Monocacy River which took place south of the town, and it was a critical war in protecting the Nation’s Capital, and it was a major crossroads to the battles of Gettysburg, South Mountain, and Antietam.  As for the city itself, the city of full of historic sites to include the Barbara Fritchie House (not open to the public), Rose Hill Manor, and Schifferstadt.  Then you have the museums.  Among them is the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.  Here, you will get a glimpse of how soldiers during the American Civil War were cared for.  The museum is truly a must see whenever you are visiting the city of Frederick, Maryland.

Some of you are saying, “Interesting.  They have a museum totally dedicated the Civil War medicine.  However, this museum has nothing to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I will not make it my duty to visit this place.”

Yes.  The museum is dedicated to medical procedures done during the American Civil War.  As you walk through the museum, you will see how the soldiers were cared for.  You see displays of the physicians working on the soldiers bandaging the wounds.  You see wounded soldiers being transported by stretcher onto a cart.  You come upon a particular exhibit.  What is this exhibit?

As some soldiers were treated on the battlefield or in makeshift hospitals, some needed extra care.  They had to be transported to larger hospitals in the big cities.  After the Battle of Wilson Creek in Missouri in 1863, the Philadelphia Railroad Company built hospital cars to transport the wounded from the battlefields to the big hospitals in the cities.  The cars were designed to where the wounded were brought onto the train and hung by ring from poles on the train.

As you walk through the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, you will not see any model train displays or a railroad car.  You will walk down a hallway with murals of the wounded soldiers on the stretchers on the walls on each side.  It gives you the feeling of being in a hospital car with the sounds enhancing the feeling.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine tells the story of many of the wounded soldiers and the men and women who cared for them.  Please note that some of the displays show soldiers bleeding and with amputations and may be disturbing.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is located at 48 East Patrick Street in Frederick, Maryland.  It is open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm and on Sunday from 11:00am to 5:00pm.  Admission is required to enter the museum.  The museum does not have its own parking.  Parking is either street parking or at one of the nearby parking garages.  The museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information about admission and on their upcoming events at https://www.civilwarmed.org/.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is about the medical history of the American Civil War.  It tells the story of those wounded in battle and those who cared for them.

Located in the heart of the city of Scranton in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, you will find the Radisson Hotel.  It is a place where you can spend a luxurious night.

Some of you are thinking that there are many hotels in Scranton, and you are saying that Radisson is in the hotel business and not the railroad business.  That is true, but this particular hotel did not start that way.

As you drive into the parking lot and walk to the entrance, you see ‘Lackawanna’ on the front, and you are wondering why it is there.  You think that it was the name of a railroad.  This Radisson Hotel was once the Lackawanna Railroad Station.  If you look on the backside, you will see the overhangs that passengers stood under as they waited for the trains to come.  Although the trains still come, they no longer stop for passengers.  This station now serves as a different kind of station… for those who want to spend the night.  The Radisson Hotel is located at 700 Lackawanna Avenue.

So, there you have it.  You can now spend a night at a place where people once spent their time boarding a train.

From 1908 to 1935, the Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis Railroad operated in the northeastern suburbs of Washington D.C. connecting the suburbs of Glenn Dale and Bowie to the cities of Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis.  The heyday of the railroad was during World War I.  The Bowie Race Track also brought many riders as they went to the watch horse races.  Sadly, like many short line railroads of the day, went in decline.  The Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis Railroad was no more.  The rails were taken up after the service ceased.

If you drive through the suburb of Glenn Dale in the U.S. state of Maryland, the only trains you will see will be on the old Pennsylvania Railroad line which is now part of the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and the railroad line the runs into the southern region of the state to ports on the Potomac River.  As for the Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis Railroad, the only thing that remains is the old railroad bed of which a section of has been made into the WB&A Trail, or the Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis Railroad Trail.

The WB&A Trail runs from a site near the old Glenn Dale Hospital (currently in ruins) off of Maryland Route 953 to the Bowie Race Track (also in ruins) on Race Track Road between Maryland Route 450 and Maryland Route 197.  The original power lines still run alongside the trail.  As you ride along, you can see where the railway connected the locals to the big cities.  You can get a glimpse of what the passengers saw as they rode the train as very little of the scenery has changed since the demise of the railroad.

What is the Dorflinger Factory Museum?

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh, it is a museum about the Dorflinger Factory.”

It is, but what is special about the museum?  The Dorfinger Factory was the home of Dorfinger Glass Works that was founded in 1865 by Christian Dorfinger.  Who were some of his buyers?  Some of his glass ended up in a special house called the White House.  Yes, that White House in Washington D.C.  Today, the old factory in the small town of White Mills in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is now a museum, and you can see the old structure that once made glass is now where you can see the works of the factory on display.

Now some of you are saying, “This is nice.  Here is a factory where great glass was made and sent to many places to include the home of the President of the United States of America.  There is one very big problem.  This factory has nothing to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I will not be visit this museum.”

Why visit the Dorflinger Factory Museum?

As you arrive at the museum, you park your car.  You enter the old factory, and you see the many glassworks on display.  Many of the glass were sold to others who eventually returned the glass to be put on display in the museum.  A few of the items were owned by John B. Smith.  Who was John B. Smith?  He just happened to be the president of the Erie and Wyoming Valley Railroad.  The collection included a goblet with an engraved locomotive.  It is said that the goblet was a gift from Christian Dorflinger to John Smith who created a special locomotive that ran in the valley.  Other items of John Smith’s collection is also on display here.

If you think that is not enough, the factory needed heat in order to create the glass.  The heat was created by coal.  How did the coal get to the factory?  The nearby Erie and Lackawanna Railroad brought the coal to the factory.

The Dorflinger Factory Museum is located at 670 Texas Palmyra Highway, commonly known as U.S. Route 6, the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, in White Mills, Pennsylvania.  It is open from April to December from Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm and on Sunday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.  Parking is on site, and the museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information on admission and read more into the history of the Dorfinger Glass Works at https://dorflingerfactorymuseum.com/.

Why visit the Dorfinger Factory Museum?  It is not just to see the John B. Smith collection, but to also see the great craftsmanship of the glassmakers of the Dorfinger Factory.

The U.S. state of Virginia is a state full of historic cities like Richmond, Alexandria, Manassas, Williamsburg, Norfolk, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and many more.  It is a state with many historic sites from the first English settlement, numerous Civil War battlefield to include the battlefield that hosted to major wars, and the many homes of U.S. Presidents.  Among these sites is the Oakland Grove Presbyterian Church in the small town of Selma in the western region of the state.  What is special about this church?  Originally called ‘The Church of the Springs’, it was used as a hospital during the American Civil War.  Today, you can visit the church and the surrounding cemetery and see this great historic site.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  I love these little churches and their cemeteries.  The problem is that there is no railroad history here.  Therefore, I will not be paying a visit here.”

What is special about this church?  As mentioned, it was a hospital during the American Civil War.  Some of you are wondering where this place is.

Selma, Virginia is a very small town, and it is very small.  You can say that it is a suburb of Clifton Forge, a major railroad town that was the home of the Virginia Central Railroad and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway which have been taken over by CSX who still has a big yard here.  It is also the home of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Heritage Center.  The small town of Selma is just west of Clifton Forge, and the railroad passes by the Oakland Presbyterian Church.

Some of you are saying, “The railroad passes by the church.  However, the church has nothing to do with the railroad.”

That is where you are wrong.

If you visit the site today, you will see the church.  What you will not see is the Jackson River Depot.  Many structures were on the property.  One of them was the church which is in its original location, and another was an old train station called the Jackson River Depot.  The church was located at the western terminus of the Virginia Central Railroad.  The passengers who needed to continue west continued from this location on horseback.  Also, as the church was being used as a war hospital, wounded soldiers were brought here by train and transported a short distance to the church.  As with many train depots, they were no longer used, and they were eventually demolished.  The church is the only standing structure on this site today.

The Oakland Grove Presbyterian Church is located west of the town of Selma on Selma-Low Moor Road west of the town of Clifton Forge, and it is just minutes from Interstate 64 and U.S. Routes 60 and 220.  There is a small gravel parking area.  (Not recommended for large vehicles like motor homes and busses.)  The site of the depot is next to the parking area but is not open to the public.  The church itself is also not open to the public.  Although there is handicap parking, the grounds may be difficult for wheelchairs.

Not you have a reason to visit the Oakland Grove Presbyterian Church.  You can tell your mother that you went to church.

It was quiet in the town.  There was not even a peep until… toot!  Toot!  The train is coming.  You see a column of black and white steam rising into the sky.  Yep!  The steam train is coming.

Welcome to the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania also known as Steamtown U.S.A.  Built on forty acres of the old Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Yard, Steamtown, operated by the National Park Service, is a collection of locomotives, freight and passenger cars and maintenance equipment from the various eras of railroading.  As you enter the parking lot, you are greeted by the Reading 2124 Steam Locomotive.  You make your way to the ticket office, and you see a huge roundhouse, a roundhouse that houses the museum.  After you pay your admission, you walk around the different locomotives and rolling stock from numerous railroads from across the nation.  You walk through the numerous exhibits and the old maintenance shops.  If that is not enough, you can take a walk outside along the walkways and see more rolling stock sitting in the rail yard to include a locomotive that is over one hundred years old.  If that is not enough, you can even take a ride on a train.  Yes, you can take a train ride through the rail yard, or you can take one of their rail excursions to one of the many towns in northern Pennsylvania.  (A schedule is available on the website.)

The Steamtown National Historic Site is a must for any rail fan.  It located in downtown Scranton with its entrance at Lackawanna Avenue and Cliff Street.  The park is open all year round, but the train rides are seasonal.  Go to http://www.nps.gov/stea/index.htm for directions, hours and for a schedule of events.  If the Steamtown National Historic Site is not on your bucket list, it should be.

The town of Myersville in the U.S. state of Maryland is a small town northwest of Washington D.C. off of the famed National Road.  It is not a popular town, but it is a town, nevertheless.  This town has its own library.  If you are ever in Myersville, you will want to visit the Myersville Community Library.

Some of you are saying, “It is a library.  Many towns and cities around the world have libraries.  Why in the world should anybody come to this town to see a library that is just like the library in their neighborhood?”

Well, that is a very good question.

The Myersville Community Library is… well, a library.  It has books.  It has a place to read books.  It has rooms where you can read books.  It has a trolley that you can sit in a read a book.

Some of you are saying, “A what?”

Oh, you asked why you should visit the Myersville Community Library in Myersville, Maryland.  Yes, it has books like any other library, but how many libraries have a trolley that you can sit and read your book?  No.  It is not a fake trolley.  This trolley actually carried passengers.

Trolley Number 150 was built in 1918 by the Perley A. Thomas Car Works and was originally used in Columbia, South Carolina before being acquired by Hagerstown and Frederick Railway in 1923 on the line that once connected the town of Myersville to Hagerstown until 1938 when service ended and replaced by the modern routing of U.S. Route 40.  It was privately owned until it was purchased by the town of Myersville in 2017.  It was restored and was placed in the Myersville Community Library where it remains today.  It is one of only four surviving trolleys from the Hagerstown and Frederick Railway, and, today, you can sit on the seat on a trolley that ran through the countryside of Maryland and read your favorite book.

The Myersville Community Library is located at 8 Harp Place in Myersville, Maryland.  It is just of Maryland Route 17 north of Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40.  The library is free to visit.  It is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Monday and Wednesday, 10:00am to 8:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 10:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday.  Parking is on site.  For those in wheelchairs, there is a ramp that you can use to access the trolley.

So, you have the local library, and then you have the Myersville Community Library in Myersville, Maryland.  It is a place where you can read in a trolley.

You have the museum, and you have the ‘MOOseum’.

Some of you are saying, “What in the world is a ‘MOOseum’?”

If you think that it has something to do with cows, you are mostly right.  Located in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C., it is housed in a barn that was once state of the art that was originally part of a working farm.  James and Macie King bought the farm in 1913 from another family.  In 1926, the farm was destroyed by a fire.  James King rebuilt the farmhouse, and he rebuilt the barn that currently houses the museum.  Sadly, he passed away in 1962 leaving the farm to his wife and son.  Macie sold the farm to land speculators who rented the land to local farmers.  The land eventually came under the ownership of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.  The farm buildings went into disrepair, and the land that was once farmland would eventually become the Maryland Soccerplex.  Was all lost?  No.  Although the farmhouse and other buildings were destroyed, the barn was repaired, and the silo was rebuilt, and it became the home of the King Barn Dairy ‘Mooseum’.  Today, you can see the life of a dairy farmer.

Some of you are saying, “It is nice that they were able to save this barn and turn it into a museum, and it is nice that the farm was made into soccer fields and not houses as what normally happens in the Washington D.C. suburbs, but this is about a dairy farm.  It is not a railroad museum.  Therefore, I do not find this place very ‘MOOving’ and will not be visiting here.”

Well, you do have a good point.  Why would somebody who enjoys trains want to visit a museum that is about dairy farming?  It is unknown is a railroad ever passed through or by this farm with the nearest access in Germantown on the original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Line (now CSX), but it is many miles from the farm.  Even with the automobile, that is still a great distance away.  Why visit?

The King Barn Daily ‘MOOseum’ was erected on the site of a dairy farm.  It tells the life of dairy farming in the region which, if you have recently visited Montgomery County, Maryland, mostly developed into housing communities with very little agricultural land.  As you enter the barn, you will see it set up like a dairy barn with the cows in stalls being milked.  (In case you are wondering, they are not real cows.)  You see depicted the like of the farmers as well as the life of the dairy industry.  Then you see a model train display.

Some of you are saying, “A what?”

There is a model train display with a locomotive, a tank car, and a caboose painted in cow colors surrounding a farm.  There is along a display of the rail line from Union Station and the old train station on New Jersey Avenue (now gone) and the old train station in Eckington (also gone) to the train station at Point of Rocks, Maryland.

As you can see.  The ‘MOOseum’ not only shows you the story of dairy life in Montgomery County, Maryland, but it tells the life of the county itself, and you do not have to be a resident of Montgomery County to appreciate what this museum is all about.  It is open from May to October from 10:00am to 3:00pm on Saturday and 1:00pm to 4:00pm on the fourth Sunday of the month.   It is located at 18028 Central Park Circle inside the South Germantown Recreational Park next to the Maryland Soccerplex.  Admission is free, but they will gladly accept donations to keep this museum open for many generations to come.  Parking is on site, and the ‘mooseum’ is wheelchair accessible. You can get more information at https://www.mooseum.org/.

Be warned.  As you visit the King Barn Dairy MOOseum, you will not realize that you are in the suburbs of Washington D.C.  You will see the life of a dairy farmer.