Tag: History

The Reading Railroad Heritage Museum, Hamburg, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

What was the Reading Railroad?

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh!  It was a railroad where people read books while riding the railroad.”

Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the correct answer.

Some of you are saying, “Oh!  I see. It was a railroad that had the ability to read so they called it the Reading Railroad.”

Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the correct answer either.

What was the Reading Railroad?  (In case you are wondering, it is pronounced red-ing as in the color red as opposed to reading as in reading a book.)  It was originally called the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Road running mainly along the Schuylkill River between the city of Philadelphia and the city of Reading in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, and it was one of the earliest in the United States of America.  It was later renamed the Reading Company but was commonly known as the Reading Railroad or the Reading Lines even though the headquarters remained in Philadelphia.  The Reading Company served the eastern region of Pennsylvania connecting the coal mines to the ports in Philadelphia until they were overtaken by Conrail in 1976.  Many of the surviving railroad lines are now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum.  The museum is completely dedicated to the Reading Company.

The journey begins at the entrance.  The museum occupies a structure originally owned by the Pennsylvania Electric Steel Casting Company.  You enter the gift shop and then the museum.  You see models of trains.  You see model train displays.  You see a replica of a station master’s office.  You see tools and artifacts used by the Reading Company.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice that they built a museum that remembers the Reading Railroad, but it would be nice to see some real trains.”

That is where we come to the best part of the museum.  What is the best part?

Welcome to the yard.  This is a railroad yard made up mostly of railroad cars used on the Reading Railroad with a few exceptions.  You have boxcars, passenger cars, locomotives, cabooses, and so much more.  There is also a replica railroad tower.

The Reading Railroad Heritage Museum is located at 500 S. Third Street in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.  It is a short drive from Interstate 78, U.S. Route 22, and Pennsylvania Route 61.  The museum is only open from March to December on Saturdays from 10:00am to 4:00pm and Sundays from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.  Admission required to enter the museum.  Parking is street parking.  The museum is self-guided, but only guided tours for the yard.  The museum is wheelchair accessible, but the yard tour requires walking on terrain that is not paved and may be difficult for wheelchairs.  You can get more information at https://www.readingrailroad.org/.

Come to the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.  Learn more about the Reading Railroad, a railroad worth reading about.

The Mansfield Historical Society and Museum, Mansfield, Missouri

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Missouri is located in the heartland of the United States of America.  It is a state that has so much to offer.  You have the city of Saint Louis, nicknamed the ‘Gateway of the West’.  It is famous for the Gateway Arch, a huge arch that rises over the city that is located on the Mississippi River just south of where the Missouri River flows into it.  The Saint Louis Cardinals, the city’s professional baseball team, is the second most championed team in Major League Baseball.  (The New York Yankees are number one.)  On the opposite side of the state is Kansas City that is mostly in Missouri with sections in the U.S. state of Kansas.  The city is known for being a city of fountains having more fountains that any other city in the nation, and it has been known for its barbeque, but it has been most famous for the Kansas City Chiefs, an American football team that is part of the National Football League.  The state has its small towns.  The most famous small town in the state is Hannibal.  What is famous about Hannibal?  No, it is not named after the famous criminal Hannibal Lector.  It is where the famous author Samuel Clemens, famously known as Mark Twain, grew up, and his famous stories, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was based.  You have Branson, a city kind of known as the Las Vegas of theme parks.  (In case you are wondering, Las Vegas, Nevada is famous for its numerous casinos.)  Then you have the town of Mansfield.

What is special about the small town of Mansfield, Missouri?  As you visit the town of Mansfield, Missouri, it may appear to be an average American town.  It was the home of baseball pitcher Carl Mays, and it was also the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author who gave us Little House on the Prairie which was made into a television series, and her home is open for tours and she is also buried in a cemetery in town.  As you go to the center of the town, it may not appear to be much, but the town was much different in its heyday.

Welcome to the Mansfield Historical Society and Museum.  As you approach the museum, which is also the tourist information center, you will see that it looks like a train station.  Well, it is a replica train station built on the site of the original train station which was demolished.  There is also an old passenger car on the site.

Today, only the main railroad line passes through the town, but the town was once the site of a railroad yard.  The Ava Southern Railroad, a short line railroad, went south to the town of Ava.

You go inside the museum.  Of course, the museum is about the history of Mansfield Missouri, and the different displays are about the life in the town to include the lives of Carl Mays and Laura Ingalls Wilder.  During here time in Mansfield, Laura Ingalls Wilder made much use of the railroad and the train station as she use the railroad to brings many of her goods to the town.  As you look through the exhibits, you will see a photo of Laura Ingalls Wilder attending an event with the driving of the last spike of the Kansas City Ozark and Southern Railroad which later was known as the Ava Southern Railroad.

Mansfield Historical Society and Museum is located at 101 W. North Street in Mansfield, Missouri, one block south of U.S. Business Route 60.  It is open from 10:00am to 3:00pm Monday through Saturday.  (It is closed on Sunday and from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.)  Parking is on site.  Admission is free, but they do take donations.  The museum is on one floor in two different rooms that are wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information about the museum and read more into the historical society at https://mansfieldhistoricalmuseum.com/.

The state of Missouri is nicknamed the ‘Show Me State’.  Allow them to show you the small town of Mansfield.

Arlington Depot Square, Arlington, Tennessee

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Many states in the United States of America has a town called Arlington.  You have most famous Arlington in the U.S. state of Virginia which is a suburb of Washington D.C. and it home to Arlington National Cemetery, one of the most famous cemeteries in the world as it is the burial ground of many men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  It is also where former United States President Howard Taft is buried, and it is also where former United States President John Ferdinand Kennedy and his family is buried.  His gravesite overlooks the National Mall with a view of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the United States Capitol.  The most moving part of Arlington National Cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknowns.  The tomb is guarded by soldiers day and night in all types of weather.  Then you have Arlington in the U.S. state of Texas, a suburb of the city of Dallas.  It is here where the Dallas Cowboys, an American football team that plays in the National Football League.

Then you have the town of Arlington in the U.S. state of Tennessee.

Some of you are saying, “Wow.  You are Arlington, Virginia, and you have Arlington, Texas, but I have never heard of Arlington, Tennessee.”

Well, most people, including those who live in Tennessee, have never heard of the town.  It is about thirty miles (fifty kilometers) east of Memphis, the city famous for the king of rock-n-roll, Elvis Presley, and, sadly, the city where Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated.

What is special about Arlington, Tennessee?

Some of you are saying, “I bet it is a famous railroad town.”

Well, it is not a famous railroad town.  The town was established before the railroad arrived, and it was originally called Haysville.

Some of you are saying, “Oh, the town got its name from being a place where you can get hay.”

Well, that is not true.  It is named after Samuel Jackson Hays.  He was the original landowner of the region, but he also has another claim.  What is that claim?  He was a descendant of United States President Andrew Jackson.  In the town’s beginning, it was not very prosperous.  It was not until the Memphis and Ohio Railroad came to town and a train depot was built that the town began to grow.  The town was renamed Arlington in 1883 naming it after Arlington, Virginia.  The suggestion was made by Captain Henry Pitman who visited Arlington National Cemetery and thought that the cemetery was the most beautiful place on planet earth.  The townspeople boarded the train at the station to visit Memphis and enjoy life in the big city.  Sadly, the original train depot, which became the centerpiece of the town, was demolished in 1971, but many of the original structures of the town remain.

Today, when you visit the town of Arlington, Tennessee, you can visit Arlington Depot Square.  A replica depot has been built on the site of the original depot and is now a senior center.  You can visit some of the original structures to include the post office, a general store, a blacksmith shop, and a small cabin.  Depot Square is also used for concerts in the warm months.  Most important of all, you can see a passing train as the railroad line is still active.

Arlington Depot Square is located on Chester Street.  It is just off of U.S. Route 79 and a short drive from Interstate 40.  Parking is on site.  You can get more information about Arlington Depot Square and read more into the history of the town at https://www.townofarlington.org/.

What does Arlington, Tennessee have that Arlington, Virginia and Arlington, Texas does not have?  Arlington, Virginia has Arlington National Cemetery.  Arlington, Texas has AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.  As for Arlington, Tennessee, they have Arlington Depot Square, a place where you can see a replica train depot, watch a concert, and, most important, watch the trains go by.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum, Mansfield, Missouri

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Who is Laura Ingalls Wilder?  She was an author who wrote many books, but she is most famous for the Little House on the Prairie which became a television series.  She was born in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and lived in a few states in the Midwest Region of the United States of America.  Her final home was in the town of Mansfield in the U.S. state of Missouri.  This is the same state that produced Samuel Clemens, commonly known by his penname of Mark Twain, who wrote the stories of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and their adventures on the Mississippi River.  Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote Little House on the Prairie while living in Mansfield, Missouri.  When you visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum, you can visit the museum that tells the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the books that she wrote.  You then have the Rocky Ridge Farmhouse and see her writing desk.  You then have the Rock House.  It was here where Laura wrote the Little House on the Prairie books.  As you visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum, you will get the complete story of America’s greatest authors.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  She had to be one amazing woman.  She lived in so many places in the American Midwest.  Her two homes must be beautiful.  There is a very big problem.  First, this is not a railroad site.  Second, this is not a railroad museum.  Third, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote no stories about railroads.  Therefore, you will not see me making a visit to this place.”

You do have a point.  This is not a railroad site.  It is not a railroad museum.  There is no railroad on the property nor was there any railroad here.  She never wrote any story about the railroad.  This brings us to a very important question: why should you visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum?

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum is a museum that features two houses where Laura Ingalls spent the last years of her life that is located just outside of the town of Mansfield, Missouri.  She is buried with her husband at a gravesite in a cemetery that is located in the town, and the public can visit the gravesite.  While she was living in Mansfield, like many people, you buy things.  When you buy things, some people have their things brought to their homes.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice, but there is no railroad at her house nor has there ever been a railroad at her house.”

That is true.  However, there is a railroad in the town of Mansfield, and there was a train station.  The train station is no longer active, but the railroad line remains active today and is owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, simply known as BNSF.  The town also had a railroad yard, and it was served by a short line railroad known as the Ava Southern Railroad that went to the town of Ava.

What does this have to do with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum?

Laura Ingalls Wilder made much use of the train station in Mansfield as she had many of her things ship to the town of Mansfield by train, and then it was brought to her house.  Laura Ingalls Wilder also attended a ceremony celebrating the completion of the Ava Southern Railroad.

Laura Ingalls Wilder never wrote a story about the railroad, but while she was living in Mansfield, Missouri, the railroad was a big part of her life.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum is located at 3060 Missouri Highway A in Mansfield, Missouri.  It is open from March 1 to November 15 from 9:00am to 5:00pm from Monday to Saturday and 12:00pm to 5:00pm on Sunday.  Parking is on site.  Please note that due to the age of the structures, the Rocky Ridge Farmhouse and the Rock House are not wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information and read more into the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder at https://lauraingallswilderhome.com/.

Come to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum.  See where the Little House on the Prairie was written.  See the place where a famous author made her home, and home that made use of the railroad.

Williamsburg, Indiana

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Welcome to Williamsburg, Indiana.

Some of you are saying, “You got it wrong.  You meant to say, ‘Welcome to Williamsburg, Virginia’.”

No.  This is the small town of Williamsburg in the U.S. state of Indiana.  It is not like its Virginia counterpart of Colonial Williamsburg but a small town in the eastern part of the state just west of the U.S. state of Ohio.  When you visit the town, you will pretty much see a ghost town… but it was not always that way.

The town was named after William Johnson, the man who settled the town in 1830.  Like many small towns, it flourished, but something happened in 1901.  What happened?  The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway came to town.  Connecting the Indiana cities of Richmond to the south with Muncie, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway brought massive growth of business and population to the town.  The town had its own train station.  Like many small towns in the United States of America, Williamsburg went into a decline and began beginning to be the ghost town it is today.

Today, the railroad line that passed through the town of Williamsburg, Indiana became a rail trail known as the Cardinal Greenway, the longest rail trail in the U.S. state of Indiana running to Richmond to the south and Marion to the north.  As you visit the rail trail, you will not notice that this was once a busy place.  Located north of the town center just a short drive of U.S. Route 35, you will experience a quiet place at a place that was once the centerpiece of the town.

Welcome to Williamsburg, Indiana.  You will not see people dress in colonial attire, but you will be in a small town where a railroad made history.

The White Oak Rail Trail, Oak Hill, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

In the heyday of America railroading, the railroad connected the small towns with the major cities.  As many railroad lines were no longer used, many of the railroad tracks and the railroad ties were taken up while some rails and ties were left to decay.  Some of the railroad beds were left to erode over time while some were covered into rail trails.  (A rail trail is a trail designed on an old railroad bed to be used for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or just plain walking.)  Many of the trails are paved while some remain dirt or have gravel.

In the U.S. state of West Virginia in the metropolitan region of Beckley, you will find the town of Oak Hill.  The town is not very famous although it is said the country music singer Hank Williams may have died at a gas station in this town while on route from Bristol, Virginia to Canton, Ohio.  (The story has not been confirmed.)  The only thing most people know about Oak Hill is that most people drive by the town on U.S. Route 19 while traveling from Beckley to the World Famous New River Gorge Bridge which is just north of the town.  One thing that is confirmed is that the town of Oak Hill was served by the railroad.

The White Oak Rail Trail is a rail trail that is slightly under eight miles that passes through the town.  Much of it is paved, but there are portions of the trail that are not paved.  The railroad line was owned by the White Oak Railway, and the rail line was later taken over by the Virginian Railway.  The main center point of the trail is the old train station.

What is special about the old train station?  It is one of the oldest structures in Oak Hill.  It is a passenger and a freight depot.  It was built by the White Oak Railway in 1903, and it was later taken over by the Virginian Railway.  Like many small towns, the railroad was a major contributor to the town’s economy.  The depot was also used by the Norfolk and Western Railway and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.  The train depot remained in service until 1983.  The rail line later became the rail trail it is today.

The train depot is now an art store selling locally made at.  An old railroad line that passes by the old train station is the only reminder of Oak Hill being a railroad town today.

The Oak Hill Train Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is located at the intersection of Virginia Street and Central Avenue.  The trail goes north from the depot to the community of Summerlee and south to the community of Carlisle.  Much of the trail is wheelchair accessible.

When you think of the New River Gorge region of West Virginia, think of the small town of Oak Hill.  It was once a railroad town, and an old train depot remains.

Casey Jones Village and Museum, Jackson, Tennessee

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Many railroad historians are very familiar with the name Casey Jones.  Who was Casey Jones?  John Luther ‘Casey’ Jones was a famous railroad engineer who had a tragic ending to his life.  He had just taken over a train headed for New Orleans, Louisiana that had arrived at the station  in Canton, Mississippi over an hour late, he tried to get the train back on its schedule.  He was known to be on time.  As he was trying to get the train back on schedule, he was unaware that there was a stopped freight train ahead.  He did get word of the stopped train and tried to slow the train down… but it was not enough.  He was the only man in the locomotive as he had told his fireman, the man who shoveled coal from the coal car to the boiler, to jump off of the train.  Casey saw the caboose of the freight train as his train slammed hard into the caboose… and he was killed instantly.  He was the only one on the train who lost his life, but his actions in the locomotive saved the lives of the passengers and the rest of the crew.  He spent much of his life in the city of Jackson in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and it is here where you will find the Casey Jones Village and Museum.

What is the Casey Jones Village and Museum?  Well, you will see a small shopping village, but before you see the village, you will see the museum.  It is here where you can see a short film about the life of Casey Jones.  The museum has artifacts from different railroads and from Casey himself.  There is a small model of the train crash site.  The carriage that carried his casket during his funeral.  The museum has model trains and a train store.

Now that you have walked through the museum, you can go outside and see a replica of Illinois Central Railroad Number 382.  Casey was on the original locomotive that was involved in the crash.

There is also an old baggage car and a caboose.

Another part of the visit to the museum is a tour of the home of Casey Jones.  It is his original home at it original site.  You can see the different rooms with the original furniture.

Once you are finished with the museum, you can visit the Country Store.  It is not only a store, but it also has a restaurant.  The rest of the village feature shops, and there is also a farm and a church.

You do not have to be a railroad fan to appreciate the life of Casey Jones.  Many songs were written about him.  When you see more into his life, you will see him as an American railroad hero.

The Casey Jones Village and Museum is located at 56 Casey Jones Lane in Jackson, Tennessee.  It is just off of Interstate 40 and U.S. Routes 45 and 412.  Parking is on site.  The museum and village hours vary throughout the years.  The museum and house is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information at https://www.caseyjones.com/.

Casey Jones is a hero.  He was a railroad hero who saved the lives of others.  When you visit the Casey Jones Museum, he may become your hero too.

Heritage Station, Huntington, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of West Virginia is a state full of mountains.  The city of Huntington is a city in the western region of the state and located on the Ohio River and across the river from, of all places, the U.S. state of Ohio.

Some of you are saying, “Yeah!  Too bad that it happens to be a boring city with nothing to do.”

Those who see the city of Huntington, West Virginia as a boring city has obviously never visited the city.  Some of you may have heard of Marshall University which is located in this city.  The university was made famous by the movie We Are Marshall about how the university’s American football team that was tragically killed in a plane crash and, when the university wanted to end the program, the people of the university told them otherwise.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice, but this city is not a railroad city.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, you are wrong again.  One of the founders of the city of Huntington was a man named Collis Potter Huntington.  Yes, it is the same Collis Potter Huntington who had a steam locomotive named for him.  He is considered one of the “Big Four” of western railroad as he was the man who built the Central Pacific Railroad which became a part of the Transcontinental Railroad.  He founded the city to be hub for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.  Another railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, also came here, and they built a passenger train station downtown.

Welcome to the Heritage Station.  What is the Heritage Station?  It was once a passenger train station for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  When passenger service ceased, the old train station remained.  Also called the Heritage Village, not to be confused with the Heritage Village and Farm, a living history museum located south of the city, it houses the Cabell Huntington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and a few shops and restaurants.  One of the shops is called the ‘Red Caboose’, which sells arts and crafts by regional artists.  There are old freight houses and an old bank that is part of the village.  What is special about the bank?  It is said that it was robbed by Jesse James, the famous outlaw.  It was the city’s first bank robbery.

As you approach the Heritage Station, the first thing you will see is not the old train station but a steam locomotive.  The locomotive was first used by a coal mine and then used to haul lumber.  You will also find an old Pullman passenger car and two boxcars.

Need a reason, to visit Huntington, West Virginia?  You actually have many reasons to visit this city.  The Heritage Station is just one of them.

The Heritage Station is located at 210 Eleventh Street at Veterans Memorial Boulevard (U.S. Route 60).  Parking is on site.  You can get more information at https://ghprd.org/index.php/heritage-station.

As mentioned, you have many reasons to visit Huntington, West Virginia.  The Heritage Station is one of many.

Historic Railpark and Museum, Bowling Green, Kentucky

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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 Historic Railpark in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  As you arrive, you will notice that it looks like an old train station.  Well, that is because before it was a museum, it was a train station.  The Louisville and Nashville Railroad built the train station in 1925, and twenty trains served the station each day.  As passenger train service decline, some smaller cities like Bowling Green, Kentucky were no longer served by the passenger train.

Fortunately, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot was not demolished like many other train depots, and it eventually became the home of the Historic Railpark and Museum.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice that the train station was spared and made into a museum.  Too bad that there is not much to see here.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you only enjoy museums that do not have much to offer, then the Historic Railpark and Museum is not for you.  What is special about the Historic Railpark and Museum?

As mentioned, you will first notice that it was a train station.  This is just the beginning.  Yes.  It is just the beginning.

Behind the old train station, you will see a train.  No.  It is not a little model train.  It is a full size train.  Located at the original boarding platform, you will see Louisville and Nashville Railroad Locomotive Number 796.  Behind it is Railway Post Office Car Number 1107 also from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.  It is followed by the Duncan Hines Dining Car, the Towering Pine Sleeping Car, and the Presidential Parlor Car.  Yes, you can take a guided tour of this train, but two other cars that are not open to the public is a caboose and one of the few hospital cars on display.  If you are fortunate enough, CSX may treat you with a passing freight train which runs on the same tracks that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad used as the served the station.

If you think that you have seen everything, let us say that you have not seen much yet.  It is now time to go inside.

As you enter the old train station from the old boarding platform, you enter the gift shop.

Some of you are saying, “What are they trying to do?  Are they trying to get us to buy things before we tour the museum?”

It is designed where you enter the gift shop to pay your admission.  The next thing you see the model trains.  Yes, there are a few model trains here.

The waiting rooms, the main hall, and the upstairs are filled with rotating exhibits.  As you look at the ceiling and the walls, you will think that you are in a grand train station and not a museum.

The Historic Railpark and Museum is a great Kentucky treasure.  It is a place when railroad history continues to stand still.

The Historic Railpark and Museum is located at 401 Kentucky Street (U.S. Route 68) in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  The museum is open year round, but the hours and days vary throughout the year.  Parking is on site.  Although the museum is wheelchair accessible, the train is not.  You can read more into the history of the museum, the old train station, how you can help out or donate with the restoration of some of their railroad cars, get information on admission, and get directions at https://www.historicrailpark.com/.

When you think about what is great about the U.S. state of Kentucky, think about the Kentucky Derby.  Think about the Louisville Slugger.  Think about Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Think about that glass of bourbon.  When you visit the Historic Railpark and Museum in Bowling Green, you will have a great railroad site on your mind.

Chatham Railroad Museum, Chatham, Massachusetts

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Massachusetts is one of the New England states that makes up the northeastern region of the United States of America.  The state began as one of the thirteen original British colonies and became a U.S. state when the United States of America won its independence from Great Britain.  It was here at a place called Plymouth Rock on the shore of Cape Cod Bay where the Pilgrims landed after a long voyage from Holland, and it was here where what was called the First Thanksgiving took place.  Even though it was not the actual First Thanksgiving as the actual one happened in the U.S. state of Virginia near the present day city of Richmond, it was the Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving that the holiday is modeled after as it involved a feast where as the in Virginia, it was a long prayer of thanking God for surviving a long and dangerous voyage across the ocean.  Massachusetts played a big role in the American Revolution with the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Boston Tea Party, the famous ride of Paul Revere, and ‘the shot heard around the world’ at the Battle at Concord Bridge.  (In case you are wondering, ‘the shot heard around the world’, was not a gunshot that was so loud that it was heard as far away as Antarctica but message that the United States of America was fighting for its independence.)  Along with the American Revolution, the city of Boston, the state capital, is a big sports town.  It is the home of the Boston Celtics, the most championed team in the National Basketball Association and the third most championed team in North American professional sports.  (The Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League is number two and the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball are number one.)  Also, you will find the Basketball Hall of Fame in the city of Springfield.  The state is known for its geography with a long stretch of land known as Cape Cod and its islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and the state has a few great lighthouses.  In the town of Provincetown at the very end of the Cape Cod peninsula is where the eastern end of U.S. Route 6, a road known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway which honors American Civil War Veterans and is the longest route in the United States of America, is located.

Yes, the state of Massachusetts is known for many things.  When people think about the state, very few people will think about the railroads.  The railroad sites are commonly overshadowed by its other historic sites.  There is one particular place where the railroad once was.

If you visit the town of Chatham, Massachusetts, you will see a nice, charming town.  Located on the southeast corner of the state, you will get great views of the Atlantic Ocean, on old windmill, a lighthouse that is still active and own by the United States Coast Guard, and an old train station.

Some of you are saying, “Wait a minute.  There is no railroad on Cape Cod.”

Welcome to the Chatham Railroad Museum.

Some of you are saying, “Oh!  I see.  They found an old train station and brought it to this town to make it a museum.”

Actually, you are wrong.  The old train station, built in 1887 in what is called a Railroad Gothic style, is on its original site.  On what was originally the trackside is a wooden caboose from the New York Central System.  The town was the end of the line for the Chatham Railroad Company that ran between the town of Chatham and the town of Harwich.  There was also a railroad yard in Chatham.  As tourism in Chatham grew, so did the railroad.  As the roads on Cape Cod improved, the railroad declined.  Service to Chatham ended in 1937.

Today, very little evidence of the railroad remaining in Cape Cod with very few of the old railroad beds are now rail trails.  As for the old train station, it later became the home of the Chatham Railroad Museum.

Some of you are saying, “Oh yeah, and it has somebody’s old train collection.”

Well, if you had two New York Central System model locomotives that were on display at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, you can say that it is a great collection.  The exhibits display the history of the railroad to Chatham and the stations along the short railroad.

The Chatham Railroad Museum is located at 153 Depot Road in Chatham, Massachusetts, just off of Massachusetts Route 28.  It is open from June to October.  Admission is free, but they can use your donations to keep the museum open.  The museum is staffed by volunteers with no paid staff.  Although the train station is wheelchair accessible, the caboose is not.  You can read more into the history of the Chatham Train Station and get information on hours and directions at https://www.chathamrailroadmuseum.com/.

The U.S. state of Massachusetts is a state full of American history, a state of sports history, a state of natural beauty, historic sites, and an old railroad town called Chatham.  It is a town where you can enjoy a lobster roll with a little railroad history.