Tag: Ohio

West Virginia Northern Community College, Wheeling, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of West Virginia is a state that was once part of Virginia.  It is known as the Mountain State because the typography of the state is 100% mountains, and it is the only state with that kind of typography.  The state has no major cities although parts of the state are in the Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metro areas.  It does have a few cities like Charleston, the state capital and largest city, Morgantown, the home of West Virginia University, and Huntington, the home of Marshall University where the movie We Are Marshall featured the tragedy of the university’s football team.  The state has many engineering feats like the New River Gorge Bridge.  What the state is really known for is its coal mines and its natural beauty.  One unpopular place in the state is the city of Wheeling.  Located in the northern panhandle region of the state nestled between the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, the city of Wheeling is located on the Ohio River and is on the National Road (present day U.S. Route 40).  If Wheeling, West Virginia is unpopular, why visit?  While in Wheeling, you can visit the West Virginia Northern Community College.  Located in the Downtown section of the city, West Virginia Northern Community College welcomes students from the region to get an education.  When in Wheeling, make a visit to the West Virginia Northern Community College.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice.  You know.  Wheeling, West Virginia has never been on my list of places to visit.  I either pass through on Interstate 70 or take the Interstate 470 bypass.  With Wheeling not being a railroad city, I will not be visiting Wheeling, and I will not be getting an education here.”

You do have a point.  Why visit the West Virginia Northern Community College?

The state of West Virginia has a lot of history, and it is a state that has many railroad sites and much railroad history.  In Cass, you will find the Cass Scenic Railroad and the Durbin Rocket.  You have the railroad town of Thurmond and Prince.  In Elkins, you have the Cheat Mountain Salamander, the Mountain Explorer, and the Tygart Flyer, and it is the home of the West Virginia Railroad Museum.  In Martinsburg, you have the oldest surviving steel truss roundhouse in the nation.  There are numerous rail trails throughout the state.  When it comes to the city of Wheeling, well, it is not a famous railroad city with many railroad sites.

So why visit Wheeling, West Virginia?

As mentioned, Wheeling, West Virginia is the home of the West Virginia Northern Community College.  What is so special about the West Virginia Northern Community College?  Well, before it was a college, it was a train station.  In the glory days of railroading, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built the terminal in 1907 to give passenger train service to the people of Wheeling, West Virginia and the surrounding region.  The four story brick and limestone train station welcomed passengers to the city as well as sent passengers to other parts of the nation.  Passenger service ceased in 1961.  The train station was remodeled and became the home of the West Virginia Northern Community College.  In 1996, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

West Virginia Northern Community College is located in Downtown Wheeling, West Virginia at the corner of Market Street, 16th Street, and Chapline Street.  Please note that the building is not open to the public but to college students and teachers only.

Next time you come upon the city of Wheeling, West Virginia, think of it as a city where you can see a train station that gives you an education.

Erb’s Coleman Museum, Sugarcreek, Ohio

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Ohio is a state with major cities and small towns.  Among those small towns is the town of Sugarcreek.  Located within the largest Amish region in the United States of America, it is famous for the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock and the Age of Steam Roundhouse, an active railroad roundhouse that is also a museum.  Just a short drive from the Age of Steam Roundhouse is Erb’s Coleman Museum.  What is Erb’s Coleman Museum?  It is a collection of Coleman products mainly lamps.  The Coleman Company is known for camping products including lamps, coolers, tents, and other things, but there is also a collection of lamps used in homes.  Once you complete you visit to the Age of Steam Roundhouse, make a short trip to Erb’s Coleman Museum.

Some of you are saying, “This is great.  I love Ohio, and I definitely love the Age of Steam Roundhouse.  As for Erb’s Coleman Museum, well, I am not really a camper or an outdoorsman.  Since it is not a railroad place like the Age of Steam Roundhouse, you will not find me camping out here.”

You are right.  It is not a railroad museum.  Why visit Erb’s Coleman Museum?

As you approach the museum, you will see a tent and maybe an Amish buggy.  It is Amish Country.  As you enter, you see a collection of lamps used for camping and for living and bed rooms.  When you go upstairs, you see coolers, old radios, gas stoves, railroad flatcars…

Some of you are saying,  “Railroad flatcars?”

You will see railroad flatcars across the tops of the exhibition cabinets.  Sadly, they are not on a track, but there are plenty to see.

Whether you are an outdoors person or not, Erb’s Coleman Museum is a great place to visit, and it is a great compliment to your visit to the Age of Steam Roundhouse.  It is located at 149 Seldenright Road SW south of the town of Sugarcreek.  Please note that that property is not wheelchair accessible and requires that you climb a flight of stairs to the second floor.  They also do not have a website, and only cash is accepted.  What you will see is over 3,000 items on display.

‘Bridge of Dreams’, Brinkhaven, Ohio

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Ohio has so many great sites throughout the state.  It has great historic houses, museums, and parks.  The state is also known for its covered bridges.  One of these covered bridges is known as the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ in the small town of Brinkhaven.  Unlike most covered bridges, this particular covered bridge was not an automobile bridge but is part of a hiking trail.  Why is it called the ‘Bridge of Dreams’?  The answer is that the bridge that crossed the Mohican River was considered to expensive to build, but money was raised, and it was built.  Today, the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ is the second longest covered bridge in the state of Ohio and the third longest covered bridge in the United States of America.  If you love covered bridges, you will wanted to see the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ in Brinkhaven, Ohio.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  I love covered bridges.  It is a great thing about the United States of America.  The sad thing is that with this being a covered bridge, it has nothing to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I will not be dreaming of seeing this covered bridge.”

What is special about the ‘Bridge of Dreams’?  Yes, it is the second longest covered bridge in the state and the third longest covered bridge in the nation, but there is more to the story.

You will just see a long covered bridge if you hike, or bike, the trail.  It you approach the bridge from the road, you will notice something.  What do you notice from the road?

The ‘Bridge of Dreams’ is a covered bridge today, but it was not always a covered bridge.

Some of you are saying, “Wait a minute, are you saying that this was not always a covered bridge?”

You have read correctly.  It was originally a railroad bridge.  The trail, known as the Mohican Valley Trail, was built on an old railroad line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.  What is now the ‘Bridge of Dreams’ was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1920’s.  It was a railroad bridge until the 1990’s when the railroad line was abandoned, and it was made into a rail trail.  There was an idea to convert the old railroad bridge into a covered bridge.  Fighting against the skeptics, the bridge became a covered bridge, and it was dedicated in 1999.

Today, you can take a walk across a bridge that was once traversed by the railroad.  The bridge is a short drive from U.S. Route 62 south of Brinkhaven.  You can park next to the trail and take a quarter mile walk on a paved trail that is easily accessible by wheelchairs.  If you have enough energy, you can go ahead and walk the entire four and a half mile trail to the nearby town of Danville.

The next time you hear about the ‘Bridge of Dreams’, you can dream about the days when the railroad traversed the Mohican River.  The railroad is long gone, but the dream still remains.

Marie’s Candies, West Liberty, Ohio

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Ohio has many major cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Akron, Dayton, and Toledo just to name a few.  It is the home of Bob Evans, the man who founded the company of the same name.  It was where the Wright Brothers, the brothers who made the first successful air flight on the beaches of North Carolina, spent most of their childhood.  The state has small towns like West Liberty in the western region of the state.  What is special about West Liberty?  It is the home of Ohio Caverns, Piatt Castle, and Marie’s Candies.

Some of you are saying, “Wait a minute.  Marie’s Candies?  What is so special about Marie’s Candies?”

You are asking what is special about Marie’s Candies.  As you already figured out, it is a place that sells candy.

Some of you are saying, “Well, we already knew that, but there are places across the country and around the world that sell candy.”

That is true, but there is something special about Marie’s Candies.  What is special about Marie’s Candies?  Let us say that many people drive great distances, past other candy shops, to buy candy here.

Some of you are saying, “That is definitely special, but who is Marie?”

That is a good question.  The answer, sadly, has a tragic beginning.

It begins with a man named Winfred King, a farmer, and he worked very hard on a farm in Ohio, but then he got polio, and the disease confined him to a wheelchair, and he was no longer able to work the farm.  Friends and neighbors stepped up to help his family.  Of course, when people help you, you want to show gratitude to those who helped you.  He and his wife, Marie, gave boxes of homemade candy.  The candy was made in their kitchen of their home.  A business began, and people traveled great distances to by their candy.  The business moved from their home to a home in the town of West Liberty, and their business continued to thrive.  Today, a trip to Marie’s Candies in West Liberty, Ohio will be rewarded with a very sweet and delicious ending.

Some of you are saying, “Well that is so sweet.  It is really sad what happened to her husband, but at least the business has been successful.  There is one problem.  As you can see.  This is a candy shop.  This candy shop has nothing to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I find nothing sweet about this place.”

Ladies and gentlemen, this story is not over.  There is more to this story.  What is special about Marie’s Candies?

The answer goes back to the Golden Age of Railroading.  What does the Golden Age of Railroading have to do with Marie’s Candies?  As passenger train service declined, many places were no longer served by passenger trains.  The small town of West Liberty, Ohio was one of those places.  When a town lost train service, the train station was no longer used by the railroad.  While some train stations were demolished or converted into museums or visitor centers, some were just abandoned like the one in West Liberty.

What is special about Marie’s Candies?

When Marie’s Candies needed a new space, they looked at the old train station that was deteriorating.  The train station was relocated from its original location to its current location on the north side of the town, and it was fully restored, and Marie’s Candies moved in, and the business continues out of there today.

Now you see what is special about Marie’s Candies.  Even though the business runs in an old train station, most people really visit for the candy.  Once you taste it, you will develop a sweet tooth and will want more.  Even though they sell candy that they make, they do sell candy from other candy makers as well.  A business that began with gratitude from Wilfred and Marie King still remains in the family today along with thirty other employees.

Marie’s Candies is located at 311 Zanesfield Road (U.S. Route 68) in West Liberty, Ohio.  Parking is on site.  You can get more information on store hours and read more into the family history at https://mariescandies.com/.

Marie’s Candies is a great place to visit, not for candy lovers and railroad lovers alike.  Who ever thought that railroad history could be so sweet?

Please note that the photos of the farm and barn are AI generated photos.

The Age of Steam Roundhouse, Sugarcreek, Ohio

by jbcowgill, posted in Ohio, Ohio History, Railroad History, Railroads

What is the Age of Steam Roundhouse?  In the early years of railroading, roundhouses were needed to service the steam locomotives.  From the first roundhouse in Baltimore in the U.S. state of Maryland, now the home of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, to roundhouses across the United States of America, they were a very essential part of the movement of the railroad.  When the steam locomotives which had to be serviced after one hundred miles of operation were replaced by the diesel locomotives that could run hundreds of miles of operation before they needed maintenance, the railroad roundhouse became obsolete.  Although most of the old roundhouses were preserved like the Mount Clare Roundhouse in Baltimore, many were demolished.  With many of these roundhouses in small towns, the closure of the roundhouses meant fewer jobs in the small town causing many small towns to decline.  The era of the railroad roundhouse was no more.

With the railroad roundhouse obsolete, there will be no need to build a roundhouse ever again.  A man named Jerry Joe Jacobson did not think so.  Who is Jerry Joe Jacobson?

Originally from Lancaster in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, a city famous for the Amish lifestyle and is home to the famous Strasburg Railroad, the oldest continuously operating railroad in the United States of America, Jerry Joe Jacobson made his way to the U.S. state of Ohio where his work on the railroad began with passenger excursions in the area around the small town of Sugarcreek.  It was here where he built a roundhouse.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  He built a roundhouse, and that roundhouse is just a museum that just collects rolling stock, and people go and see the locomotives and old passenger and freight cars.”

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Age of Steam Roundhouse.  Jerry Joe Jacobson founded the Age of Steam Roundhouse with a collection of steam locomotives.  Yes, it is a museum, but it is also an actual working roundhouse.  As mentioned, it is an actual working roundhouse.  Yes, locomotives and rolling stock are serviced here.  During your visit, you may be fortunate to see restoration of a locomotive or freight car.

There are many railroad museums across the nation.  Some of these railroad museums are housed in old roundhouses.  What makes the Age of Steam Roundhouse special is that it is a newly built roundhouse with vintage steam locomotives from different railroads as well as diesel locomotives, old passenger cars, freight cars, and cabooses.  The founder, Jerry Joe Jacobson, passed away in 2017, and he is entombed in a mausoleum just a short walk from the roundhouse.

The Age of Steam Roundhouse is located at 213 Smokey Lane Road SW south of the town of Sugarcreek, Ohio off of Ohio State Route 93.  Different guided tours are offered on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from April into November with events throughout the year.  (Please note that due to safety reasons and the fact that this is a working facility, all tours are conducted by a tour guide.  Self-guided tours are strictly prohibited.)  Parking is on site, and the facility is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information on tours (there are different tours offered), admission, events, read more into the life of Jerry Joe Jacobson and into the Jerry and Laura Jacobson Foundation, Inc. at https://ageofsteamroundhouse.org/.

It is called the Age of Steam Roundhouse to remind everyone of the era of steam railroading and the steam locomotive.  As you are taken on the tour, you will be taken back in time.

The Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum, Bellevue, Ohio

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Ohio has many cities as well as small towns.  Among these towns is the town of Bellevue.  Located in the north central region of the state, it is not a popular town with only U.S. Route 20 being the only major route through the town and the Ohio Turnpike (Interstates 80 and 90) running north of the town, but it is a town centered on the railroad.

Welcome to the Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum.  (For those who are wondering, NKP stands for the Nickel Plate Road, a railroad that ran on many routes in the northern region of the United States of America.)  The mission of the museum is to preserve the heritage of the railroad in the region.

Some of you are saying, “Oh yeah!  I have been to these small town museums.  They have a caboose and a small model train display.  It is a waste of time to visit an out of the way town to see this.”

Ladies and gentlemen, be advised that the Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum is not a museum that has just a caboose and small model train.  Be warned that as soon as you arrive here, you will be totally amazed at what you will see.

Let us begin with the main building.  Well, it may be hard to go to the main building after seeing after what you see, but it is here where you will need to pay your admission before seeing the rest of the museum.  You enter the gift shop to pay your admission, and then you enter the exhibits.  The very first thing you will see is a replica of a steam locomotive called the ‘Sandusky’, the first locomotive run by the Mad River Railroad between Bellevue and the port town of Sandusky located on Lake Erie.  In the same room is a bell that was used on the Lincoln Funeral Train, the train that carried the remains of President Abraham Lincoln from Washington D.C. to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.  Other items include China (dishes) used on passenger cars.

From here, you enter into the next room which has two cabooses.  The one caboose is from the Nickel Plate Road, and the other caboose is from the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, another railroad that ran through the town.  There is also a Mack truck from the Railway Express and a luggage cart.

Then you have a third room.  What is in this room?  It is here where you really go back in time to the days before Amtrak.  You enter into old passenger cars.  You see the passenger seats and the private rooms and the dining area.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is only a small part of the museum.

From here, you go outside and across the street to the very thing that kept you here at the museum.  You see the rolling stock.  You have the switcher locomotive.  You have a hopper.  You have a tank car and many box cars.  You have numerous diesel locomotives, cabooses, and more passenger cars and baggage cars.  Then you have the old Bellevue Train Station.

Some of you are saying, “Alright!  That is everything.”

Ladies and gentlemen, there is more.  Yes, there is more.

Across the main rail line from the museum is the Kemper Rail Park.  Yes, there is more things to see.  What is here?  You  have Locomotive  Number  2  from the Pennsylvania Railroad.  You have more locomotives, a crane, the freight house from the New York Central System, and you have the star attraction.  What is the star attraction?  Nickel Plate Road Locomotive Number 757 sits here in the park.

So you think that this it.  There is more.  The town of Bellevue was served by many railroads back in the day.  Today, the Norfolk Southern Railway is the only railroad in town, and, if you are fortunate enough, a freight train may pass by. 

The Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum was established by people who wanted to keep the heritage of the railroad in Bellevue alive.  It is an all-volunteer operation including restoration of old rolling stock, and the museum receives no public funding.  When you come here, be advised that it is not a waste of your time.

The Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum is located at 253 Southwest Street in Bellevue, Ohio.  It is just a few blocks from U.S. Route 20 and Ohio State Routes 18 and 269, and it is easily accessible from the Ohio Turnpike (Interstates 80 and 90).  It is open from May through October from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.  (Open weekends only in May, September, and October.  Open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  The Rail Park is open year round from sunrise to sunset.)  Please note that due to the age of the structures, not all areas are wheelchair accessible, but the rail park is completely accessible.  You can get information in admission, directions, and to read more into the history of the museum and the railroad at https://madrivermuseum.org/.

The Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum is an amazing place.  There is much here.  It is definitely worth making the journey.