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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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 