Tag: Trains

Quarry Gardens, Schuyler, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The state of Virginia is one of the original states of what would become the United States of America.  The state has produced more U.S. Presidents that any other state to include George Washington, the first president, and Thomas Jefferson, the third president and the one who drafted the Declaration of Independence.  The state has many famous historic sites like the Manassas National Battlefield, Mount Vernon, and Monticello.  The state has many cities and small towns.  In the central region of the state between the famous college cities of Charlottesville and Lynchburg is a small town known as Schuyler.  What is famous about Schuyler?  The town’s claim to fame is that it is the home of Earl Hamner.  Who is Earl Hamner?  He is famed for being the writer of the true stories that inspired the television show The Waltons, a television series that took place in that small town.  In this town, you will find the Waltons Museum where you can learn about Earl Hamner and the television show.  A few miles from the museum is where you will find another great place.

Welcome to Piedmont Discovery Center’s Quarry Gardens.  What is the Piedmont Discovery Center’s Quarry Gardens?

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh, it is a garden that is in a quarry.”

Well, you are exactly right.  It is a garden that was formed in an old quarry.  Well, there are two quarries.  In its heyday, Schuyler was the soapstone capital of the world.  The soapstone was cut out of the quarries, and it was shipped around the world.  Soapstone was quarried on the land now owned by the Piedmont Discovery Center mainly between the 1950’s and the 1970’s, and then it became a dumping site.  A couple named Bernice and Armand Thieblot came up with the idea of making the two quarries into a garden and opening it to the public.  With help from the Piedmont Discovery Center, the idea became a reality.  Today, you can hike the trails around the old quarries.  As you walk around this peaceful place, you will never know that this was once a very active and messy place.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  I loved the Waltons, and I love gardens.  It is amazing that they were able to make a garden out of this place.  There is a big problem.  This is an old quarry.  This is not a railroad site.  Therefore, you will not see me visiting here.”

Why visit the Quarry Gardens?  It is not a railroad site.  Why visit here?

You arrive at the Quarry Gardens.  You park your car, and you enter the Visitor Center to check in.  The Visitor Center contains a small museum telling the history of the quarry and the soapstone industry.  You can also learn about the different plants that have grown in the quarries.  You then see a model train.  I know.  Some places have model trains, but this once is very special.  How special?  It is a model train display of the Nelson and Albemarle Railroad.  What does the Nelson and Albemarle Railroad have to do with the quarry?

As soapstone was mined out of the quarries, it was shipped around the world.  How was it shipped?  You can use big trucks, but the mode of shipping the soapstone from the quarries was the Nelson and Albemarle Railroad.

The Nelson and Albemarle Railroad was a short line railroad that was only 17 miles of total track connecting the quarry to the nearby Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the Southern Railway, which then took the soapstone to the rest of the world.  The model train display tells the story of how the soapstone was taken from the quarries to the other railroads.  When the quarries were decommissioned, the Nelson and Albemarle Railroad was no more.

Many of the old railroad beds are on private property, but you can see one of the old railroad beds in the nearby town of Esmont.  The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway line is now owned by Chessie Seaboard Transportation, and the Southern Railway line is now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.

What about the gardens?  There is great scenery everywhere you walk.  You get great views of the quarries that are now filled with water.  (The water is not safe to drink.)  Please note that the pathways are dirt and gravel and not accessible to wheelchairs, and there are stairs to climb.

The Quarry Gardens are located at 1643 Salem Road in Schuyler, Virginia.  Please note that you must make an appointment to visit the gardens and that you cannot simply enter on your own.  You can go to https://quarrygardensatschuyler.org/ to purchase admission, get directions, and to learn more about the history of the garden.

Schuyler, Virginia was once the biggest supplier of soapstone in the world.  It was the railroad that made it possible.

Old Train Station: La Plata, Maryland

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Maryland is one of the original states in the United States of America.  It was the state that donated the land that would become the Nation’s Capital.  It is where the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ the National Anthem, was written.  It was where a woman named Harriet Tubman created ‘The Underground Railroad’, an escape network for enslaved people in slave states to escape to the free states in the north, and this escape network is used in other parts of the world today.  It is where the first balloon flight took place, and the oldest continuously operating airport in the world is located here.  The largest estuary in the United States of America divides the state.  The oldest Catholic church is also here.  The eastern end of ‘The National Road’, is located here.  The first tracks of the railroad were laid in this state.  The Western Maryland Railway Locomotive Number 1309, the largest operating locomotive in the world that was originally owned by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, pulls excursion trains out of Cumberland.  You have the coastline at the east end.  You have the plains east of the Chesapeake Bay.  You have the rolling hills west and north of the state with the mountains at the western end.

You then have a forgotten part of the state known as Southern Maryland.  The region on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay south of Annapolis, the State Capitol, is a region not too many people know about.  It is the home of Point Lookout where the Point Lookout Lighthouse is one of the most haunted lighthouses in the world.  The Patuxent Naval Air Station has one of the longest airport runways in the world being one of the few runways where the space shuttle could land.  The Patuxent River, sadly, was used by the British during the War of 1812 as they sailed up to a town called Upper Marlboro and then marched on to Washington D.C. to burn the city.  The state was also settled down here, and it is where Saint Mary’s City, one of the oldest cities in the United States of America, is located.

You see all of this about Southern Maryland, but you wonder anything about the railroad.  Well, there is some railroad history in the region of this state.  Because of the Chesapeake Bay and the wideness of the Potomac River south of Washington D.C., most of the railroad lines ended here.  The defunct Chesapeake Beach Railway brought vacationers from Washington D.C. to the then resort town of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.  Sadly, the tracks are gone, and much of the railroad bed is on private property.  The old train station in Chesapeake Beach is the only surviving train station on that line, and it is a museum today.

There is another railroad line that went south from the town of Bowie.  It was originally built by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, and it is owned by Chessie Seaboard Transportation (CSX) today.  It connects with the Amtrak line in Bowie and winds its way through the southern region of the state to a coal plant on the Potomac River.  One of the towns it passes through is the town of La Plata.  What is special about La Plata?  Well, it is the home of the only surviving train station on the line.  Today, that train station is now a museum.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  The train station is still there.  It is not a major railroad line.  Why do they not demolish the train station?”

La Plata, like many small towns in the railroad era, owes must of its history to the railroad.  Before the automobile, the railroad was the fastest mode of transportation.  Sure.  It took a long while to ride the train to Washington D.C. and points south, but it played a major role in the development of the town.  When you visit the old train station during its opening hours, you will see model trains, and you will see many photos of the railroad in the town.  This includes photos of passenger trains that served the station.  You can also see some of the old schedules.

Need a reason to visit Southern Maryland?  The old train station in La Plata, Maryland, it a good reason.  It really tells the story of the railroad in the region.

The Old Train Station is located at 101 Kent Avenue just north of Maryland Route 6 and less than one mile west of U.S. Route 301.  Admission is free, but they could use your donations to keep the museum open for many years to come.  The museum is owned by the town of La Plata and run by volunteers.  Parking is on site, and the station is wheelchair accessible.  You can get information on the opening hours on their Facebook page and on their website at Facilities • La Plata Train Station Museum.

The next time you think of the state of Maryland, think of a small southern town of La Plata.  It is a town that keep the history of the railroad in the region alive.

The Northern Virginia Model Railroaders, Vienna, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The Northern Virginia Model Railroaders is a model railroad club based in the Washington D.C. suburb of Vienna in the U.S. state of Virginia.  The club is based inside the old train station that was once on a railroad line.  (The railroad line is now the Washington and Old Dominion Trail named after the last railroad to own the railroad line before it was abandoned.)  Inside the old train station is a model train display.

What about the model train display?

The model train display is a model of the Western North Carolina Railroad, an actual railroad that ran in the western region of the U.S. state of North Carolina particularly between the cities of Salisbury and Asheville with towns in between.  The railroad line is still in operation today under the Norfolk Southern Railway.  A trolley line, model after the Blue Ridge Traction Power and Light Company, is also displayed here.

The members of the Northern Virginia Model Railroaders are all volunteers who have a great love for model trains.  Their model train help keep the memory of two forgotten railroads alive.

The Northern Virginia Model Railroaders are located in the old train station at 231 Dominion Road NE in Vienna, Virginia along the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Trail just a few blocks from Virginia Route 123.  Please note that due to the age of the structure that the model train display is not wheelchair accessible.  Parking is street parking, and it is free.  The model train display is free to visit, but they can gladly use your donations to keep their trains.  They have eleven open houses a year.  You can get more information about when the display is open to the public at https://www.nvmr.org/.

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Ronks, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

When you think about railroads and the state of Pennsylvania, there are so many famous rail sites and railroad excursions that you can bring up.  The railroad is a major part of the history of the state of Pennsylvania.  The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania encompasses all of that history under one roof.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has one of the largest collections of locomotives, rail cars, and artifacts in the United States.  You will notice this is before you approach the museum from the east or the south.  The collection includes steam locomotives including the Lindbergh locomotive that raced a plane, electric locomotives, diesel locomotives to include the last E7 in the world, historic box cars, plus many others under one big climate controlled roof or outside where there is also an old turntable.

Among the huge collection you will also find model train displays, an honor roll, a kids play area, a train simulator, and a gift shop just to name a few.  Be advised that when you come to this museum, you will need to give yourself plenty of time to see everything.

If that is not enough, the Strasburg Railroad, the oldest short line railroad in the United States, is across the street where there is plenty more to do.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is located in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country in the Lancaster suburb of Strasburg, Pennsylvania on Pennsylvania Route 741 (300 Gap Road) just east of Pennsylvania Route 896.  It is open all year round.  General admission is $10.00 for adults, $9.00 for seniors and $8.00 for children 3 to 11.  (Rates many vary due to specific events.)  Go to www.rrmuseumpa.org for more information on museum hours, to learn about the history of the museum, to read about their numerous restorations and to look up special events hosted by the museum.  For the rail fan, this place will fail to disappoint you.

A Train Ride into a New Year

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Each year begins on January 1 with New Year’s Day and ends on December 31 with New Year’s Eve.  A majority of people around the world stay up all night to celebrate the exact time when the clock strikes at midnight ending the year before and starting the year ahead.  Most people dress up and attend a party.  Some parties are private while others are public like the most popular party at Times Square in New York City, New York.  With twenty four time zones, the celebrations happen each hour around the world.  The celebrations begin in cities like Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia, and end in cities like Anchorage, Alaska and Honolulu, Hawaii.

How about riding a train from the old year to the new year?

The place is Boyertown, Pennsylvania.  What is special about Boyertown?  Well, it is not a famous town, but it is the home of the Colebrookdale Railroad.  What is special about the Colebrookdale Railroad?

It is December 31, 2025.  I arrive at 10:00pm and park my car in the parking lot.  As soon as I step out of my car, everything changes.  I see a clock, and it says, ‘It is 10:00pm.  The day is December 31, 1925’.  Wait!  What happened?  I heard somebody say, “We will soon say goodbye to 1925 and hello to 1926.”  Did I go back in time?  I walk to the Victorian train station to get the ticket to ride the train.  I look around and see Model T Fords arriving at the station.  I see other classic cars, but they are not classic cars.  It is 1925.  I board the train, and I go to my seat at a table in a first class car.

The train leaves Boyertown at 10:30pm.  Where are we going?  Ladies and gentlemen, we are headed to 2026.  Well, at this time, we are going to 1926.  We are going down the track seeing nothing but darkness with an occasional site of railroad lights at the grade crossings.  I see people walking up and down the train ready to ring in the new year.

Then, the time comes.  It is official.  We have officially ridden the train from the old year of 1925 to the new year of 1926.  We were the last people to ride the train from the old year and are the very first passengers on the train in the new year.

Well, the train returns to the station in Boyertown.  We deboard the train on January 1, 1926.  I walk away from the station, and things change.  What happened?  I see a sign that says, ‘Happy New Year 2026’.  I am back to the present.  It is said that the Colebrookdale Railroad is a railroad that takes you back in time.  A ride on the New Year’s Celebration train, you are not just riding history.  You are a part of history as you ride from one year to the next.

The National Toy Train Museum, Paradise, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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.

Old Train Station, Grafton, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

How many of you have ever heard of the small town of Grafton in the U.S. state of West Virginia?  Most of you probably have never heard of this town.  As you drive through the town, you see old buildings.  It appears to be a small town with little significance.  Then you see what looks like an old train station, but it is not your average small town train station.  It looks like something that you would see in a major city.

Why is it here?

The old train station in Grafton, West Virginia was a train station and a hotel.  Why would somebody build a train station and hotel in this small town?  Ladies and gentlemen, this town was not your average small town.

The town of Grafton, West Virginia, originally established at the town of Grafton, Virginia in 1852 as the land was original park of the U.S. state of Virginia before West Virginia was a state, is said to be named after John Grafton.  Who is John Grafton?  He was a civil engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  It was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that established the town of Grafton.  The train station and upscale hotel was built in the 1850’s by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in honor of Daniel Williard, the president of the railroad, and the hotel was called the Williard Hotel in his honor.  The hotel closed in the 1960’s with the decline of passenger railroad service and was a hotel for train crews.  Passenger service ceased in 1971.

Today, the railroad tracks are owned by CSX Transportation who still has a railroad yard in the town.  The old train station and hotel and the Grafton Downtown Historic District are on the National Register of Historic Places, but the old train station is not open to the public.  The only view of the interior is through the windows.  It is located on U.S. Route 119 south of U.S. Route 50. Along with the railroad building the town, the railroad was a great contributor to the town’s history particularly during the American Civil War.  The town is also the home of the Mother’s Day Shrine and is said to be the birthplace of Mother’s Day.  As you drive around, you will see that this town that looks like it has little history has some much history to see… brought to you by the railroad and an old train station.

Choo Choo Barn – Traintown, U.S.A., Strasburg, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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.

Batesville, Indiana

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The small town of Batesville in the southeast region of the U.S. state of Indiana.  It is not a famous town as it is centrally located between the major cities of Indianapolis, Indiana, Cincinnati in the U.S. state of Ohio, and Louisville in the U.S. state of Kentucky.  Its historic district is on the National Register of Historic Places.  As you drive through the town, it looks like any other small town.  It has its town hall town parks.  It is truly what small town America is about.

Some of you are saying, “It is nice to visit a small town.  I enjoy small town America.  However, there is a problem with this town.  What is the problem?  This is not a railroad town.  Therefore, I will not be stopping by to visit.”

So, the reason that you will not visit the town of Batesville, Indiana is because it is not a railroad town.  As you drive through the town and historic district, you do not see any railroad tracks or old train station of rail trails.  The only railroad line in the town runs through the south side, but there is no railroad yard or train station here.  Trains mainly just pass through.  Why visit this town?

You enter into the historic district of the town.  You see the old buildings.  You see the town hall.  You see the Sherman Inn, and German style hotel and restaurant.  What you do not see is railroad tracks nor do you see any sign of the railroad ever being here.  Then you come upon Depot Square.  Wait a minute.  Where are the railroad tracks?  You see an old railroad crossing sign.  Where are the railroad tracks?  You see no signs of railroad tracks.

You walk towards the town center, and you see doors.  Doors?  They are just doors that are just there, but they have pictures on them.  What are they pictures of?  They are pictures of the old town.  Then you see pictures of the railroad.  You look behind the door, but you just see a street or a lot.

In the early years, a railroad line ran along what is now E. Pearl Street.  There was also a freight depot and a passenger depot.  Along these tracks was once a Buick car dealership where, in 1910, Buicks were brought to the dealership by train.

Some of you are saying, “Alright!  Batesville was a railroad town, but it is no longer a railroad town.”

True, but there is more to the story.  How much more?  Let us start at the beginning.

Before there was the town of Batesville, Indiana, it was just empty land.  The early settlers came and settled the land.  A man named Teunis Amack brought land from the government hoping to make it into a farm, but he later sold it to a man named George H. Dunn.  Who is George H. Dunn?  He was the owner of the John Callahan Trust Company.  Why did Teunis Amack sell the land?  George H. Dunn was also the president of the Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroad.  The land was bought to be used for a railroad line.  The railroad line was built, and the town of Batesville, Indiana was built around the railroad.  The first train arrived on November 1, 1853, and passed through the center of the town.  The last passenger train served the town in 1906.  Through the years, the tracks were removed, and the train depot was demolished.

Now you have a reason to visit the town of Batesville, Indiana.  The trains may be gone, but the ghosts of the trains remain.

Gassaway, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of West Virginia is a state that has so much natural beauty.  It has famous sites like the New River Gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge, the Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park, one of the most photographed mills in the United States of America, the natural spas in Berkeley Springs to include George Washington’s Bathtub where George Washington, well… you probably figured it out what he did here, plus the town of Harpers Ferry, and so much more.  It has its cities like the capital city of Charleston, Beckley, and Morgantown, and its many small towns.  One of these small towns located northeast of Charleston is the town of Gassaway.

Some of you are saying, “Interesting.  I bet the town got its name from the fact that somebody was getting gasoline, but the gasoline got away.”

You are very wrong.  The small town, established in 1905, is named after Henry Gassaway Davis, a West Virginia politician who was nominated for the Vice President of the United States of America in 1904.

Some of you are saying, “It is nice that they named a town after a politician.  There is a very big problem.  This is just a small town that has no railroad.  Therefore, I will not be taking these country roads to this town.”

If you were to ask people if they had ever heard of the town of Gassaway, West Virginia, you would get many strange looks.  The town is often overshadowed by the town of Sutton which is east of Gassaway and is famous for it Bigfoot Festival and museum.

As you approach the town of Gassaway, the very first thing you see it the ‘Welcome to Gassaway’ sign.  Many towns have a welcome sign to greet you as you enter, but you see something interesting.  What do you see?  You see a steam locomotive on the sign.  You continue to drive into the town, and you see an old railroad bridge.  You drive further into the town, and you see an old train station.  You drive to the old train station, and you see a mural with a steam train.  What you do not see is a railroad line.  Well, the railroad line is now a railroad trail.  How did the train station get here?  Today, the town of Gassaway, West Virginia does not look like much, but that was not always the case.

The town of Gassaway, West Virginia was a town built by the railroad.  The Coal and Coke Railway, which ran between Charleston and Elkins, ran through the town of Gassaway, and, in 1914, they built the train station giving passenger train service to the town.  There was also a railroad yard in the town as they changed locomotives in the town as more powerful locomotives were needed to pull the trains to Elkins while locomotives with less power could be used for trains to Charleston.  During its heyday, the town had two hotels, a bank, retail stores, office buildings, and, schools, and churches.  When the railroad went into decline, so did the town.  Railroad service ended and was eventually converted into a rail trail.

As for the train station, it was abandoned for many years, but it was then restored and was put on National Register of Historic Places, and it now serves as an event and meeting space for the town.

The town of Gassaway, West Virginia is four miles west of Interstate 79 on West Virginia Route 4.  The old train station is located on 4th Street one block west of West Virginia Route 4.  It is open available for events like weddings and parties.

The small town of Gassaway may no longer be a railroad town, but the ghosts and the legacy of the railroad remain.