This is a text widget, which allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. You can use them to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. Edit them in the Widget section of the Customizer.
Cities big and small throughout the United States have their landmarks and city parks. Among these city parks is Miller Park in the city of Bloomington in the U.S. state of Illinois. The park has trees, a playground, a small zoo, a manmade lake, a miniature golf course, a memorial to firemen and a war veterans memorial. Located in the southwestern area of the city on the Historic U.S. Route 66, it is a park within the city that is an oasis from the urbanization.
Some of you are saying, “It is nice that these cities have parks. These parks are great. However, there is a problem. Since this park has no railroad history, I will not be taking a walk in this park.”
Oh, you will want to take a walk in this park. Why? One of the big features of this park is Nickel Plate Road Steam Locomotive Number 639 and its tender. Another feature is Caboose Number 4770 from the Southern Pacific Railroad. Other feature include a whistle that was on top of the shops of the Chicago and Alton Railroad and pays tribute to the workers of those shops. (The shops are now gone.) Another feature is an old semaphore. (Semaphores have been replaced by the railroad signals today.)
The locomotive was built by the Lima Locomotive Works and was used by the Nickel Plate Road. When the Nickel Plate Road decommissioned the locomotive, they donated it to the park. Today, it is on display with the Southern Pacific Railroad Caboose.
Miller Park is located at 1020 S. Morris Avenue in Bloomington, Illinois along the Historic U.S. Route 66. (It is west of U.S. Route 51 by way of Wood Street.) Parking is on side. The park is open sunrise to sunset, and the park is wheelchair accessible.
When in Bloomington, Illinois, visit Miller Park. See a locomotive that once ran on the rails of the United States of America.
The U.S. state of West Virginia is a state that was once part of Virginia. It is known as the Mountain State because the typography of the state is 100% mountains, and it is the only state with that kind of typography. The state has no major cities although parts of the state are in the Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metro areas. It does have a few cities like Charleston, the state capital and largest city, Morgantown, the home of West Virginia University, and Huntington, the home of Marshall University where the movie We Are Marshall featured the tragedy of the university’s football team. The state has many engineering feats like the New River Gorge Bridge. What the state is really known for is its coal mines and its natural beauty. One unpopular place in the state is the city of Wheeling. Located in the northern panhandle region of the state nestled between the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, the city of Wheeling is located on the Ohio River and is on the National Road (present day U.S. Route 40). If Wheeling, West Virginia is unpopular, why visit? While in Wheeling, you can visit the West Virginia Northern Community College. Located in the Downtown section of the city, West Virginia Northern Community College welcomes students from the region to get an education. When in Wheeling, make a visit to the West Virginia Northern Community College.
Some of you are saying, “That is nice. You know. Wheeling, West Virginia has never been on my list of places to visit. I either pass through on Interstate 70 or take the Interstate 470 bypass. With Wheeling not being a railroad city, I will not be visiting Wheeling, and I will not be getting an education here.”
You do have a point. Why visit the West Virginia Northern Community College?
The state of West Virginia has a lot of history, and it is a state that has many railroad sites and much railroad history. In Cass, you will find the Cass Scenic Railroad and the Durbin Rocket. You have the railroad town of Thurmond and Prince. In Elkins, you have the Cheat Mountain Salamander, the Mountain Explorer, and the Tygart Flyer, and it is the home of the West Virginia Railroad Museum. In Martinsburg, you have the oldest surviving steel truss roundhouse in the nation. There are numerous rail trails throughout the state. When it comes to the city of Wheeling, well, it is not a famous railroad city with many railroad sites.
So why visit Wheeling, West Virginia?
As mentioned, Wheeling, West Virginia is the home of the West Virginia Northern Community College. What is so special about the West Virginia Northern Community College? Well, before it was a college, it was a train station. In the glory days of railroading, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built the terminal in 1907 to give passenger train service to the people of Wheeling, West Virginia and the surrounding region. The four story brick and limestone train station welcomed passengers to the city as well as sent passengers to other parts of the nation. Passenger service ceased in 1961. The train station was remodeled and became the home of the West Virginia Northern Community College. In 1996, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
West Virginia Northern Community College is located in Downtown Wheeling, West Virginia at the corner of Market Street, 16th Street, and Chapline Street. Please note that the building is not open to the public but to college students and teachers only.
Next time you come upon the city of Wheeling, West Virginia, think of it as a city where you can see a train station that gives you an education.
The U.S. state of Ohio is a state with major cities and small towns. Among those small towns is the town of Sugarcreek. Located within the largest Amish region in the United States of America, it is famous for the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock and the Age of Steam Roundhouse, an active railroad roundhouse that is also a museum. Just a short drive from the Age of Steam Roundhouse is Erb’s Coleman Museum. What is Erb’s Coleman Museum? It is a collection of Coleman products mainly lamps. The Coleman Company is known for camping products including lamps, coolers, tents, and other things, but there is also a collection of lamps used in homes. Once you complete you visit to the Age of Steam Roundhouse, make a short trip to Erb’s Coleman Museum.
Some of you are saying, “This is great. I love Ohio, and I definitely love the Age of Steam Roundhouse. As for Erb’s Coleman Museum, well, I am not really a camper or an outdoorsman. Since it is not a railroad place like the Age of Steam Roundhouse, you will not find me camping out here.”
You are right. It is not a railroad museum. Why visit Erb’s Coleman Museum?
As you approach the museum, you will see a tent and maybe an Amish buggy. It is Amish Country. As you enter, you see a collection of lamps used for camping and for living and bed rooms. When you go upstairs, you see coolers, old radios, gas stoves, railroad flatcars…
Some of you are saying, “Railroad flatcars?”
You will see railroad flatcars across the tops of the exhibition cabinets. Sadly, they are not on a track, but there are plenty to see.
Whether you are an outdoors person or not, Erb’s Coleman Museum is a great place to visit, and it is a great compliment to your visit to the Age of Steam Roundhouse. It is located at 149 Seldenright Road SW south of the town of Sugarcreek. Please note that that property is not wheelchair accessible and requires that you climb a flight of stairs to the second floor. They also do not have a website, and only cash is accepted. What you will see is over 3,000 items on display.
The people stood on the train platform as the Old Train departed the station. They knew that it was the last time that they were going to see the Old Train. They waited and waited and waited until… finally, the New Train was coming. The people stood and waited as the New Train pulled into the station. The train stopped, and the people boarded. When all of the people boarded, the New Train departed the station. The people enjoyed the new seats, the new rooms with the new beds, the new passenger and lounge cars with new tables and new seats, and, most important of all, they enjoyed the new places they were going to see.
It was the first day on the job. Joey was a conductor who was preparing the train to the town of Christmasville. He boarded his car, and the train pulled up to the station platform. He stepped off the train. “All aboard to Christmasville.”
The passengers lined up to board the train.
A father, mother, and boy started to board the train. “Are you going to Christmasville?” He asked the boy.
“Oh, I am.” The boy was very excited. “I can’t wait to see Santa Claus.”
“I bet that he can’t wait to see you.” Joey smiled.
The three men boarded the train. More passengers boarded until it was time for the train to depart. Joey was about to board the train when he saw a beautiful lady wearing a shiny blue robe walking towards him holding a ticket. He noticed her bright white feathery wings and the shine on her face, her hands, and her feet with a golden tattoo on her right foot that sparkled and a shiny brass toe ring on her middle toe.
The angel boarded the train. Joey looked around for more passengers before he boarded the train. The train pulled out of the station and was on its way to… Christmasville.
The U.S. state of Illinois is commonly known as the ‘Land of Lincoln’. Even though Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States of America, was not born in the state, (born in Kentucky) he spent much of his public life here as a lawyer and a politician. In Springfield, the state capital of Illinois, you can visit and tour his home that is owned and operated by the National Park Service. It is also where he is buried along with his wife and son in a tomb in a cemetery on the northwestern area of the city. He is one of the most honored politicians in U.S. history, but when it comes to the railroad, most people would associate him with the railroad more than any other president. Without Air Force One, the railroad was the fastest mode of travel in his day.
This brings us to an old train station in the capital city that is known as the Lincoln Depot. Originally called the Great Western Depot, it was originally built in 1852, and it was repaired in 1857 after a fire destroyed parts of the station. It was here on February 11, 1861, where Abraham Lincoln made what would be his final speech in the capital city before he departed on a train for another capital city, Washington D.C., to begin his life as the President of the United States of America.
Around 1900, passenger and freight service ceased. The depot when through many ownerships before it was bought by a local group in 1960 to preserve the depot, and it was eventually made into a museum. There was another fire in 1968. (Arson was suspected but not proven.) The museum was closed in 1977, but it was reopened as a museum in 1980 when a new owner took over. The museum was closed in 2011, and it was sold again to be a law office, but the lawyer was a descendant of Abraham Lincoln’s law partner. In 2014, it was a museum again, and it remains a museum today.
Today, the Lincoln Depot in Springfield, Illinois in on the National Register of Historical Places. The trains that pass by the station are freight trains from the Norfolk Southern Railway. (Amtrak service is in the center of the city just blocks from the State Capitol.) It is open Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Please note that only the first floor is open to the public, and admission is free. It is also wheelchair accessible. The museum does not have its own parking. There is metered parking on the street or you can park at a parking garage. You can get more information on the depot at https://www.lincolndepot.org/. On the website, you read Abraham Lincoln’s farewell speech, read more into the history of the train depot including a timeline, and see photos of the depot.
When in Illinois, visit the capital city of Springfield. Visit an old train depot where the journey of a man on his way to a house called the White House, began.
The U.S. state of Ohio has so many great sites throughout the state. It has great historic houses, museums, and parks. The state is also known for its covered bridges. One of these covered bridges is known as the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ in the small town of Brinkhaven. Unlike most covered bridges, this particular covered bridge was not an automobile bridge but is part of a hiking trail. Why is it called the ‘Bridge of Dreams’? The answer is that the bridge that crossed the Mohican River was considered to expensive to build, but money was raised, and it was built. Today, the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ is the second longest covered bridge in the state of Ohio and the third longest covered bridge in the United States of America. If you love covered bridges, you will wanted to see the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ in Brinkhaven, Ohio.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice. I love covered bridges. It is a great thing about the United States of America. The sad thing is that with this being a covered bridge, it has nothing to do with the railroad. Therefore, I will not be dreaming of seeing this covered bridge.”
What is special about the ‘Bridge of Dreams’? Yes, it is the second longest covered bridge in the state and the third longest covered bridge in the nation, but there is more to the story.
You will just see a long covered bridge if you hike, or bike, the trail. It you approach the bridge from the road, you will notice something. What do you notice from the road?
The ‘Bridge of Dreams’ is a covered bridge today, but it was not always a covered bridge.
Some of you are saying, “Wait a minute, are you saying that this was not always a covered bridge?”
You have read correctly. It was originally a railroad bridge. The trail, known as the Mohican Valley Trail, was built on an old railroad line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. What is now the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1920’s. It was a railroad bridge until the 1990’s when the railroad line was abandoned, and it was made into a rail trail. There was an idea to convert the old railroad bridge into a covered bridge. Fighting against the skeptics, the bridge became a covered bridge, and it was dedicated in 1999.
Today, you can take a walk across a bridge that was once traversed by the railroad. The bridge is a short drive from U.S. Route 62 south of Brinkhaven. You can park next to the trail and take a quarter mile walk on a paved trail that is easily accessible by wheelchairs. If you have enough energy, you can go ahead and walk the entire four and a half mile trail to the nearby town of Danville.
The next time you hear about the ‘Bridge of Dreams’, you can dream about the days when the railroad traversed the Mohican River. The railroad is long gone, but the dream still remains.
It is Thanksgiving. Many people will be traveling to meet with others to enjoy a big feast. Many will be traveling by train to get to that feast. Did you know that many turkeys will be traveling by train? This is not referring to your exes. This is referring to the turkeys that many of you will be eating on that big day. They come from the farms. They are then prepared and frozen. Some are put into a refrigeration car to be shipped to your local grocery store where you buy it, take it home, and eventually ends up on your table along with many other items.
So, on this thanksgiving, take the time to thank the engineers who drive the train that pulls the cars with the turkeys, the men and women who loaded and unloaded those refrigeration cars.
For those who will be traveling by train, take the time to thank the engineers, the conductors, the porters, the baggage handlers, mechanics and all those who make you journey to and from that feast a pleasurable one.
May everyone have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and may we always be grateful to all those who keep the trains running.
The cover photo is a harvest display at the Omni Homestead Resort in Warm Springs, Virginia, U.S.A.
The turkeys on the train photo is an AI generated photo.
The second photo is a harvest display at a general store in Clifton, Virginia, U.S.A.
The third photo is of the train station for the Arcade and Attica Railroad in Arcade, New York, U.S.A.
The fourth photo is of the Greenbank Train Station which is owned by the Wilmington and Western Railroad in Greenbank, Delaware, U.S.A.
The final photo is the Essex Train Station which is owned by the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat in Essex, Connecticut, U.S.A.
There are so many things about the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is a state that has so much natural beauty. You have the New River Gorge. You have Dolly Sods, the largest unspoiled natural area east of the Mississippi River. You have the many mountains and valleys. Are you thinking about the coal mining industry? You can visit the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, a once active coal mine in Beckley that is now open for public tours. What about railroads? You have the Cass Scenic Railroad in the town of Cass that takes you to the top of the second highest point in the state. Also in Cass, you can take a ride on the Durbin Rocket. You have the city of Elkins that was once a major railroad city with only excursion trains today. Elkins is also the home of the West Virginia Railroad Museum that tells the history of the railroad in the state. There is so much to the state of West Virginia from small towns to natural beauty to railroads to its cities with the largest city being Charleston, the state capital. A city that is very often overlooked is the city of Wheeling. How is it overlooked as Interstate 70 and the National Road (U.S. Route 40) passes through this city which happens to be on the Ohio River and borders Ohio? Once known as the ‘Gateway to the West’, it was once a big railroad town with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad having a presence here, but it has a great little treasure known as the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum.
What is the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum?
Some of you are saying, “Well, duh, it is a museum of toy and trains that happens to be on Kruger Street.”
You are exactly right. It is on Kruger Street. It is about toys and trains. Well, it is about model trains of which there are plenty here. Yes, there are plenty of museums about toys and about trains, but what makes this place different?
It all began with a father and son who collected toy trains. The collection grew, and they decided to display their collection in a museum, but where?
As you arrive at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum, you notice that it looks like a school. That is because it was a school. It was bought through an auction, and the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum was opened in September of 1998.
Before you enter the old school, you notice a yellow caboose. Yes, there are cabooses everywhere, but this particular caboose is from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a memorial to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s influence to the city of Wheeling.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is just the beginning.
You enter the museum, the very first thing you see… is a model train, but there is much more.
The museum features rooms dedicated to different toys, and there are rooms dedicated to different model trains. You have the O Gauge Room. (O Gauge is a size of the model train.)
Then there is the Ohio Valley History Room which has a model train display of the Ohio River Valley of which Wheeling is a part of, and there is a display in honor of Chuck Yeager, a famous jet pilot from the state who is famous for breaking the sound barrier.
What is a train museum without the Historic Train Room? The room has a collection of historic model trains from Lionel.
You have the HO Gauge Room. Yes, it features a HO Gauge model train display, but it also displays locomotives in brass and model trains from all gauges.
Yes this is a museum about toys and trains. For those who are a fan of Peanuts (the cartoon and not the food item), the museum features a collection of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and other Peanuts characters that was donated by a local doctor named William Mercer so that many would enjoy the collection for years to come. Yes, it is about Peanuts, but there is also a model train display here as well.
The Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum is a very special museum in a not-so-famous part of West Virginia. A visit here is a visit you will cherish. For those of the older generation, it will bring back memories of your childhood. For the younger ones, they will see the toys that the children played with before them.
The Kruger Toy and Train Museum is located at 144 Kruger Street in Wheeling, West Virginia. It is less that a miles from Interstate 70, U.S. Route 40, and West Virginia Route 88. The museum is open year round, but hours do vary due to the time of the year. Parking is on site. Due to the age of the structure, the museum is not wheelchair accessible. You can learn more about the museum and its exhibits, the history of the museum and the building, and get information on hours and admission at https://www.toyandtrain.com/.
They call it wild and wonderful West Virginia, but the state has much to offer. The city of Wheeling has the Kruger Toy and Train Museum. When you visit, you will have a wonderful time.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 