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.
The town of Strasburg in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is a railroader’s heaven. You have the famous Strasburg Railroad, the oldest short line railroad in the United States. You have the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania right across the street with the large collections of locomotives and rolling stock. You have the Choo Choo Barn that holds a large model train display depicting Lancaster County. You can spend a night at the Red Caboose Motel where you stay in a real caboose. In the town itself, you have the Iron Horse restaurant. With all of that, you are probably wondering what else could be in Strasburg. One place that you cannot overlook is the National Toy Train Museum.
In case you are wondering, this is not one of those toy train museums where you have this small train display. This is a museum that has a very big collection of toy trains. From the very moment you enter the building that is built to resemble an old train depot, you are greeted by walls and walls of trains from Lionel to Bachmann to American Flyer from the early years to the present day. Yes, there is that many trains. Along with the shelves full of trains are, what everyone wants to see, the model train displays of every single scale. You can also see videos of the trains as they roll through the displays and visit the National Toy Train Library, which has a very extensive collection of books, catalogs, postcards and much more. As mentioned, this is not your normal train museum.
The National Toy Train Museum is located at 300 Paradise Lane in Ronks, Pennsylvania next to the Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant just north of Pennsylvania Route 741. They are open from 10:00am to 5:00pm on most days, and admission is only $7.00 for adults. You can get more information at www.nttmuseum.org.
If you ever want to meet people who play with trains, the National Toy Train Museum has people who have many trains to play with.
The U.S. state of Indiana has the nickname of being the ‘Hoosier State’. How does the state get that name? There is no real known answer to the question, but there is a theory being that Indiana is not one of those states that comes first to many people’s mind that the word ‘Hoosier’ comes from the phrase ‘who’s there’. The definition is simply a resident of the state of Indiana. Many travel experts would tell you that there is nothing to the state of Indiana. Sadly, they are mistaken not knowing that the state is the home of one of sports hallowed grounds known by many racing fans as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which hosts the Indianapolis 500, the greatest Indy Car race in the world. The southern part of the state in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolis, and horse racing fans are fully aware of another hallowed ground known as Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, the longest continuously running sporting event in the world, and it is part of what is known as ‘The Triple Crown’. It is also a big basketball state, and South Bend is home to the University of Notre Dame, a university famous for its football team. Then you have the city of Indianapolis has the second largest number of monuments of any city in the world? (Washington D.C. is number one.) The three longest routes in the United States (U.S. 6, U.S. 20, and U.S. 30) all pass through Indiana, and the longest interstate route (Interstate 90) passes through Indiana. If that is not enough, the city of Elkhart is called the Recreational Vehicle Capital of the World. How? Many recreational vehicles are manufactured here, and it is the home of the RV Hall of Fame.
With all of this in a U.S. state that many people consider a boring state, you have the town of Santa Claus. Yes, there is a Santa Claus. That is Santa Claus, Indiana. Located in the southwestern region of the state, it is a town built around the man himself. Well, it was not originally called Santa Claus but Santa Fe, but there was another Santa Fe in the state. The name was then changed to Santa Claus, and it has kept this name since. What is here? Well, you have an amusement park called Holiday World, and then you have the Santa Claus Museum and Village. The Santa Claus Museum and Village featured some of the original structures of the original post office where you can mail a letter to Santa, a church from 1880 that has its original furnishings, and a statue of the man himself. If you believe in Santa Claus, you will enjoy the Santa Claus Museum and Village.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice. There is a Santa Claus after all. Well, there is a town called Santa Claus in Indiana. The man himself would be proud. There is a very big problem. This town and this museum and village is about Santa Claus. There is no railroad here. Therefore, I will not be going down Santa Claus Lane or visit this town.”
So, you are not going to pay a visit to the town of Santa Claus, Indiana or the Santa Claus Museum and Village because it is not a railroad site. It is not a railroad museum, and, as far as it is known, there has never been a railroad in this town. Why would you want to visit the Santa Claus Museum and Village?
As you arrive at the Santa Claus Museum and Village, you will see the museum building. You will see the original post office. You will see a church that was built in 1880. You will see a tall statue of Santa Claus. What you will not see is an old train station, a locomotive, or a caboose.
Some of you are saying, “See. There is no railroad here. Therefore, I have no reason to visit this place.”
This is called the Santa Claus Museum and Village. You see the village. Now you enter the museum. The very first thing you see is the gift shop. Of course, you have a gift shop. Then you enter into the various rooms where you see the history of the town. Then you see the model trains. Yes, the Christmas holiday has long been associated with model trains particularly around the Christmas tree, and they are on display here at the museum. From the model trains on display to the model train displays.
Are you still refusing to visit this museum? If you enjoy model trains to include the old Lionel Trains, the Santa Claus Museum and Village is a must see. You may not see the man himself, but you still will have a good time.
The Santa Claus Museum and Village is located at 69 Indiana State Route 245 just south of Indiana Route 162 and minutes from Holiday World, Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 231. Parking is on site. Admission museum is free, but they will gladly accept donations. The museum is open year round, but the hours do vary throughout the year. You can get more information about the museum and village at https://santaclausmuseum.org/.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Well, there is the Santa Claus Museum and Village in Santa Claus, Indiana. You can visit any time of the year. You will have a jolly old time.
How many of you have ever heard of the small town of Grafton in the U.S. state of West Virginia? Most of you probably have never heard of this town. As you drive through the town, you see old buildings. It appears to be a small town with little significance. Then you see what looks like an old train station, but it is not your average small town train station. It looks like something that you would see in a major city.
Why is it here?
The old train station in Grafton, West Virginia was a train station and a hotel. Why would somebody build a train station and hotel in this small town? Ladies and gentlemen, this town was not your average small town.
The town of Grafton, West Virginia, originally established at the town of Grafton, Virginia in 1852 as the land was original park of the U.S. state of Virginia before West Virginia was a state, is said to be named after John Grafton. Who is John Grafton? He was a civil engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that established the town of Grafton. The train station and upscale hotel was built in the 1850’s by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in honor of Daniel Williard, the president of the railroad, and the hotel was called the Williard Hotel in his honor. The hotel closed in the 1960’s with the decline of passenger railroad service and was a hotel for train crews. Passenger service ceased in 1971.
Today, the railroad tracks are owned by CSX Transportation who still has a railroad yard in the town. The old train station and hotel and the Grafton Downtown Historic District are on the National Register of Historic Places, but the old train station is not open to the public. The only view of the interior is through the windows. It is located on U.S. Route 119 south of U.S. Route 50. Along with the railroad building the town, the railroad was a great contributor to the town’s history particularly during the American Civil War. The town is also the home of the Mother’s Day Shrine and is said to be the birthplace of Mother’s Day. As you drive around, you will see that this town that looks like it has little history has some much history to see… brought to you by the railroad and an old train station.
The railroad did not begin in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, but the state has many great railroad sites. The state is also famous for its railroad towns. One of these towns is Strasburg, a suburb of Lancaster. The Strasburg Railroad is the oldest continuously operating standard gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, and this railroad has been giving railroad excursions through the Amish countryside for many years, and it is one of the most popular train rides in the entire world. As many enjoy the Strasburg Railroad, it overshadows another great attraction that is just one thousand feet away.
Welcome to the Choo Choo Barn. What is the Choo Choo Barn?
Some of you are saying, “Well, duh! It is a barn, but instead of housing farm animals, it houses choo choo’s.”
Well, you are partially right. It does not house full sized choo choo’s like the ones you see at the nearby Strasburg Railroad and Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, but it is the home of a model train display.
Some of you are saying, “Yeah! I know. It is one of those model train displays where a model train goes around and around and around a small circle. It is just another boring model train display.”
If you enjoy boring model train displays, then you will be very disappointed when you visit the Choo Choo Barn. How great is the Choo Choo Barn?
You may have heard of Northlandz in the town of Flemington in the U.S. state of New Jersey, home of the largest model train display in the world, and you can still visit Northlandz today. Then you have places like Roadside America in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania and EnterTrainment Junction in the West Chester Township, a suburb of Cincinnati in the U.S. state of Ohio, two other large model train displays that are sadly defunct. All three of these train displays was the dream of one man.
How does the Choo Choo Barn compare? It began as a dad giving a gift to his son. It began in a basement of a house. Like many great train displays, it outgrew the basement. It was then relocated to an old maintenance barn, and the Choo Choo Barn came to be as it was opened to the public for millions to enjoy, and it remained under family ownership until 2023 by a man named Gary Russell.
As you enter the room, you see the 1,700 square foot model train display before you. You see a big village with handmade structures. No kits were used in this display. You are mesmerized by the many trains as they go around and around and around. You see a construction crew doing road construction. You can take a peek at the zoo. You can go to the circus You can gaze at the waterfalls. Yes, it is real water going over the falls. As you tour the display, you might want to take in a baseball game.
Through the years, the Choo Choo Barn grew from being a model train display to a gift shop to a small shopping center with model train stores. It went from being the Choo Choo Barn to Choo Choo Barn: Traintown, U.S.A. They also have the Choo Choo Barn Foundation which is a non-profit foundation which acquired the Rocky Springs Carousel. They do have future plans of moving to a new location in the Strasburg area and expanding their attraction while trying to attract younger people to the joys of model railroading.
The Choo Choo Barn: Traintown, U.S.A. is located at 226 Gap Road (Pennsylvania Route 741) in Strasburg, Pennsylvania just a short distance from the Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It is open every day (closed on certain holidays) from 10:00am to 5:00pm. It is suggested that you give yourself an hour to visit the model train display. It is all on one level making it easy for those in wheelchairs. Parking is on site. You can get information on admission and read more into the history of Choo Choo Barn at https://choochoobarn.com/.
The next time you are in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, ride the Strasburg Railroad. Tour the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. See the great model train display at the Choo Choo Barn. Oh, they do have animals. You will see the animals along with the many model trains.
Many people who live in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area are very familiar with a place called Fort Belvoir. It is a United States Army military base located in the U.S. state of Virginia on the Potomac River near Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America. The military base was built on the site of the Belvoir Mansion. (The mansion was destroyed many years ago.) The base is not open to public visitors and is under very tight security, but U.S. Route 1 goes through the base as it leaves Washington D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia and continues south into Virginia and the U.S. states south. As you pass by Fort Belvoir, you pass by a place that employs many people who work for the United States Army.
Some of you are saying, “That is nice. I have never heard of Fort Belvoir. I am a great supporter of the United States Armed Forces. Sadly, this is not a railroad site. Therefore, there is nothing really special about this base.”
Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to learn something about a Washington D.C. area United States Military base.
As mentioned, Fort Belvoir is a base for the United States Army in the southern region of the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area. It was erected on the site of an old mansion of the same name in a region where there were many plantations of which many are still standing. (Nearby Woodlawn and Mount Vernon are two of those mansions.) As you drive along U.S. Route 1, you see the fences that protect the base from unwanted visitors. What you will not notice is anything that has anything to do with the railroad. Most people are unaware of the fact that the railroad was a big part of Fort Belvoir.
Before it was called Fort Belvoir, it was called Camp A. A. Humphreys named after General Andrew Atkinson Humphreys. The camp was erected in 1918 to train soldiers to fight during World War I. The soldiers were taught to build roads, bridges, trenches, and… railroads. Twenty miles of a narrow gauge railroad was built in the camp. Sadly, it was a short lived railroad as the tracks were taken up in 1920, and the locomotives were bought by mining companies who used them to transport coal around the mines. (It is unknown if any of these locomotives exist today.)
The base was renamed Fort Belvoir in the 1930’s. About four miles west of the base was a major railroad line that was owned by the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. The Fort Belvoir Military Railroad was born connecting the base to a major railroad line. (The main railroad line is owned by CSX Transportation today.) The railroad supplied the base with supplies and even had passenger service. Passenger service ceased after the Korean War, but the railroad continued to run until 1993.
Today, the railroad bridge that crossed U.S. Route 1 is long gone and replaced with a street bridge. Although much of the old railroad bed remains, it is either part of the military base or is on private property and is not open for the public to be walked upon, but sections of the old railroad bed called be viewed from the old Backlick Road and from Virginia Route 286. (Please note that much of the original Backlick Road has been rerouted or dismantled by Virginia Route 286 and the interchange with Interstate 95.) One of the original bridges can be viewed from Backlick Road between U.S. Route 1 and Virginia Route 286. (It must be viewed from Backlick Road as it is behind a fence.) You can also drive under one of the original railroad bridges on Cinder Bed Road north of Backlick Road and Virginia Route 286.
The next time you are driving along U.S. Route 1 or along Interstate 95 and see signs for Fort Belvoir, do not think of it as another military base. Think of it as a military base with a railroad past.
The small town of Batesville in the southeast region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is not a famous town as it is centrally located between the major cities of Indianapolis, Indiana, Cincinnati in the U.S. state of Ohio, and Louisville in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its historic district is on the National Register of Historic Places. As you drive through the town, it looks like any other small town. It has its town hall town parks. It is truly what small town America is about.
Some of you are saying, “It is nice to visit a small town. I enjoy small town America. However, there is a problem with this town. What is the problem? This is not a railroad town. Therefore, I will not be stopping by to visit.”
So, the reason that you will not visit the town of Batesville, Indiana is because it is not a railroad town. As you drive through the town and historic district, you do not see any railroad tracks or old train station of rail trails. The only railroad line in the town runs through the south side, but there is no railroad yard or train station here. Trains mainly just pass through. Why visit this town?
You enter into the historic district of the town. You see the old buildings. You see the town hall. You see the Sherman Inn, and German style hotel and restaurant. What you do not see is railroad tracks nor do you see any sign of the railroad ever being here. Then you come upon Depot Square. Wait a minute. Where are the railroad tracks? You see an old railroad crossing sign. Where are the railroad tracks? You see no signs of railroad tracks.
You walk towards the town center, and you see doors. Doors? They are just doors that are just there, but they have pictures on them. What are they pictures of? They are pictures of the old town. Then you see pictures of the railroad. You look behind the door, but you just see a street or a lot.
In the early years, a railroad line ran along what is now E. Pearl Street. There was also a freight depot and a passenger depot. Along these tracks was once a Buick car dealership where, in 1910, Buicks were brought to the dealership by train.
Some of you are saying, “Alright! Batesville was a railroad town, but it is no longer a railroad town.”
True, but there is more to the story. How much more? Let us start at the beginning.
Before there was the town of Batesville, Indiana, it was just empty land. The early settlers came and settled the land. A man named Teunis Amack brought land from the government hoping to make it into a farm, but he later sold it to a man named George H. Dunn. Who is George H. Dunn? He was the owner of the John Callahan Trust Company. Why did Teunis Amack sell the land? George H. Dunn was also the president of the Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroad. The land was bought to be used for a railroad line. The railroad line was built, and the town of Batesville, Indiana was built around the railroad. The first train arrived on November 1, 1853, and passed through the center of the town. The last passenger train served the town in 1906. Through the years, the tracks were removed, and the train depot was demolished.
Now you have a reason to visit the town of Batesville, Indiana. The trains may be gone, but the ghosts of the trains remain.
The U.S. state of Kentucky is a state known as the Bluegrass State. Many people know about Kentucky Fried Chicken which was started by a man named Harland Sanders, commonly known as Colonel Sanders, even though he started in a restaurant in the state, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken was opened in Salt Lake City, Utah. The state is known for its horses, and it has the continuously running sporting event in the world, the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, which is a horse race that is the first race of the Triple Crown. The state is known for its bourbon, of which there are plenty of bourbon distilleries in the state mainly around the Frankfort and Lexington areas. You may have heard of My Old Kentucky Home. It is a real house in Bardstown. In the city of Bowling Green, you will find the National Corvette Hall of Fame. Along with Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is run, the city of Louisville is known for the Louisville Slugger bat factory where many baseball bats are made and sold, and you can tour the factory and buy a bat of your own. You have Mammoth Cave, the largest known cave system in the world.
Then you have the small town of Mount Sterling. How many of you have ever heard of Mount Sterling, Kentucky? A small town that is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) east of the city of Lexington, it is named after a small burial mound. The town itself is small, but it does have the Adena Trail, a short, paved mile long trail that runs through the town south of the main historic district. The town is small, but it is a special town to visit.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice. Small towns are really special. I am sure that the town of Mount Sterling is a special town. There is a very big problem. Mount Sterling is not a railroad town. Therefore, I find no special reason to visit this town.”
You are right. Mount Sterling, Kentucky is not a railroad town, and the town has no history with the railroad. Why visit Mount Sterling, Kentucky?
Like many small towns in the United States of America, Mount Sterling, Kentucky has something special. It has the downtown historic district where you have shops, cafes, historic architecture, and art. Just south of the historic district, as mentioned, is a paved trail known as the Adena Trail. It looks like a nice trail. You decide to take a walk around. The trail follows a small creek. You then notice a structure next to the trail. As you walk closer, you see that it looks like a train station. Wait a minute. This town has never been a railroad town. Why is this train station here?
The town of Mount Sterling, Kentucky has never been a railroad town, but that did not keep the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway from passing through here. The Adena trail was built on the old railroad bed. It is about a mile long so walking the entire trail is easy. As for the old train station, it was built in 1910 by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway as a passenger and freight depot.
As the railroad decline, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was forced to abandon lesser used railroad lines. Mount Sterling, Kentucky was a victim of the decline. Railroad service ceased to the town, and the railroad tracks were eventually removed.
Today, the old train station remains, and it is on the National Register of Historical Places. As for the Adena Trail, it is a paved trail that it easily accessible for wheelchairs. The train station and Adena Trail is located at the intersection of S. Maysville Street and Railroad Street about a few blocks from U.S. Routes 60 and 460 and Kentucky Route 11.
The next time you here about the town of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, think about a special town where the railroad once served.
The U.S. state of West Virginia is a state that has so much natural beauty. It has famous sites like the New River Gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge, the Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park, one of the most photographed mills in the United States of America, the natural spas in Berkeley Springs to include George Washington’s Bathtub where George Washington, well… you probably figured it out what he did here, plus the town of Harpers Ferry, and so much more. It has its cities like the capital city of Charleston, Beckley, and Morgantown, and its many small towns. One of these small towns located northeast of Charleston is the town of Gassaway.
Some of you are saying, “Interesting. I bet the town got its name from the fact that somebody was getting gasoline, but the gasoline got away.”
You are very wrong. The small town, established in 1905, is named after Henry Gassaway Davis, a West Virginia politician who was nominated for the Vice President of the United States of America in 1904.
Some of you are saying, “It is nice that they named a town after a politician. There is a very big problem. This is just a small town that has no railroad. Therefore, I will not be taking these country roads to this town.”
If you were to ask people if they had ever heard of the town of Gassaway, West Virginia, you would get many strange looks. The town is often overshadowed by the town of Sutton which is east of Gassaway and is famous for it Bigfoot Festival and museum.
As you approach the town of Gassaway, the very first thing you see it the ‘Welcome to Gassaway’ sign. Many towns have a welcome sign to greet you as you enter, but you see something interesting. What do you see? You see a steam locomotive on the sign. You continue to drive into the town, and you see an old railroad bridge. You drive further into the town, and you see an old train station. You drive to the old train station, and you see a mural with a steam train. What you do not see is a railroad line. Well, the railroad line is now a railroad trail. How did the train station get here? Today, the town of Gassaway, West Virginia does not look like much, but that was not always the case.
The town of Gassaway, West Virginia was a town built by the railroad. The Coal and Coke Railway, which ran between Charleston and Elkins, ran through the town of Gassaway, and, in 1914, they built the train station giving passenger train service to the town. There was also a railroad yard in the town as they changed locomotives in the town as more powerful locomotives were needed to pull the trains to Elkins while locomotives with less power could be used for trains to Charleston. During its heyday, the town had two hotels, a bank, retail stores, office buildings, and, schools, and churches. When the railroad went into decline, so did the town. Railroad service ended and was eventually converted into a rail trail.
As for the train station, it was abandoned for many years, but it was then restored and was put on National Register of Historic Places, and it now serves as an event and meeting space for the town.
The town of Gassaway, West Virginia is four miles west of Interstate 79 on West Virginia Route 4. The old train station is located on 4th Street one block west of West Virginia Route 4. It is open available for events like weddings and parties.
The small town of Gassaway may no longer be a railroad town, but the ghosts and the legacy of the railroad remain.
The U.S. state of Kentucky is a state known as the Bluegrass State. Many people know about Kentucky Fried Chicken which was started by a man named Harland Sanders, commonly known as Colonel Sanders, even though he started in a restaurant in the state, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken was opened in Salt Lake City, Utah. The state is known for its horses, and it has the continuously running sporting event in the world, the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, which is a horse race that is the first race of the Triple Crown. The state is known for its bourbon, of which there are plenty of bourbon distilleries in the state mainly around the Frankfort and Lexington areas. You may have heard of My Old Kentucky Home. It is a real house in Bardstown. In the city of Bowling Green, you will find the National Corvette Hall of Fame. Along with Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is run, the city of Louisville is known for the Louisville Slugger bat factory where many baseball bats are made and sold, and you can tour the factory and buy a bat of your own. You have Mammoth Cave, the largest known cave system in the world. Very few people think of the railroads in Kentucky as there of plenty of great railroad sites in the state.
Welcome to the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Kentucky. Although the original museum was founded in 1954, it has been at it current site since 1990 after the land was donated by locals to be used as the site of the museum.
As you enter the museum parking lot, you are greeted by Locomotive Number 11 from the Louisville Cement Company. You park your car, and you notice a wooden boxcar next to the old train station. What is this boxcar? It is known as a Merci Car and it one of fifty wooden boxcars that were sent to different areas of the United States of America by France as a thank you to the U.S. for protecting the nation of France from being taken over by Nazi Germany during World War II. The Kentucky Railway Museum was one of the fortunate recipients of one of these cars.
Now it is time to go inside. You enter the gift shop which is located in the ticket master’s office. You see the telephone, the telegraph machine used to send Morris code, and you get a view that the ticket master had of the trains even though it is much different today that the original view.
You then go into the big room. What is in the big room? Of course, you have railroad artifacts. You have an HO model train display. You have many models of locomotives and passengers cars on the wall. You have model locomotives enclosed in glass.
The model trains and artifacts are nice, but you want to see big trains. Time to go outside.
Locomotive Number 770 from the Nashville and Louisville Railroad is the first thing you see as you approach the train shed covering a row of cars. Many of these cars to include passenger cars were used on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. If you are fortunate enough, the museum does have train rides.
The Kentucky Railway Museum is located 136 South Main Street (U.S. Route 31E) in New Haven, Kentucky. Hours vary by the time of the year. Parking is on site. The great news is that the museum and the train is wheelchair accessible. You can get more information about the history of the museum, admission, train rides, and hours at https://www.kyrail.org/.
The Kentucky Railway Museum is one great museum to visit. You can almost say that it is one of the state’s great treasures.
The U.S. state of Maryland is one of the original thirteen states. It was in this state where the National Anthem of the United States of America was written near Fort McHenry. The oldest Catholic Church is in this state. The oldest continuously operating airport in the world, College Park Airport, in located in the state. The capitol building in Annapolis is the only capitol building in the nation where the capitol dome is completely made with wood. It is where you will find the largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, in the nation. As for the railroad, the first railroad began in Maryland, and you can still ride the first mile and a half of railroad at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore. The oldest railroad bridge in the nation as well as the oldest railroad aqueduct in the nation are in the state and still used today by the Chessie Seaboard System (CSX). The oldest surviving train station in the nation is in Ellicott City and is open as a museum.
Then you have the city of Hagerstown. Located in the western region of the state, it is a city that is at a crossroads. The National Road (present day U.S. Route 40) passes through here as well as U.S. Route 11, and it is where Interstates 70 and 81 meet. In the city of Hagerstown, you have the Hagerstown Police Department. What is special about the Hagerstown Police Department? Well, it is like any other police department in the nation, but they do have one exception. What is special about the Hagerstown Police Department? We must look to their headquarters. Yes, some cities have a fancy elaborate headquarters for their police, but Hagerstown is different. How? It was not always the headquarters of the Hagerstown Police Department.
Before it was the Hagerstown Police Department Headquarters, it was a train station for the Western Maryland Railway. The structure you see today was not the original train station for Hagerstown. The current structure was built on the site of the original train station. When passenger serviced ceased to Hagerstown, the building was spared and bought by the city of Hagerstown and became the headquarters of the police department.
The Hagerstown Police Department Headquarters is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 40. Along with the station, there are a few monuments to the police and to the railroad on the grounds.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 