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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.
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 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.
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.
Davy was a little boy who loved trains. His father often took him to the old train station to watch the trains go by. They would sit on the bench next to the ticket office, and wave at the engineers as the locomotives pulled the trains past the station, and they pulled their horn.
One day, they went to the station, and they saw a young lady wearing a t-shirt, blue jeans and was barefoot sitting on their bench crying hard. “Why is she so sad?” Davy wondered.
“Wait here.” Davy’s father said to him. He walked over to the young lady. “Are you O.K.?”
The young lady peeked up at him with tears rolling down her face.
“My little boy saw you crying. I was just wondering.” He added.
She wiped the tears from her face. “I just got the news that my boyfriend is not coming home.”
“What happened?” He asked.
More tears rolled from her face. “We were going to get married as soon as he returned home. He was a proud soldier, and he always wanted to serve his country. He was about to board the plane to come home, but a band of terrorists attacked the plane killing everyone on board.”
The father was getting emotional.
“We would chase trains all the time. We spent most of our dates at the bridge watching the trains go across. The last time I saw him, he boarded the train right here. We kissed, and I told him that I will wait for him to return.”
The father was choked up. “He must be remembered for his sacrifice.”
She continued to cry.
“What is your name?”
She immediately noticed Davy standing next to her.
“My name is Davy. I like to watch trains. Do you?” Davy smiled.
She grabbed Davy and hugged him. “I’m Jessica.”
“What was your boyfriend’s name?” the father asked.
“Calvin.” She had more tears rolled down her face.
“Well then, we must thank him for his dedicated service not just to the nation but for the many who are able to live their lives because of his service. If people only knew what it is like to live under tyranny, they would take the time to remember every soldier who did not return home from war. Because of his service, many who wish to destroy our freedom have been stopped. Everyone needs to thank your boyfriend. He was a great man.”
She wiped tears from her face.
“We are here to watch trains. Do you want to watch trains with us?” Davy asked her.
She paused, and she gave Davy a big hug. “I would love to watch trains with you.”
Davy sat on one side of Jessica while his father sat on the other side.
An hour went by. “Here comes the train.” Davy shouted.
A passenger train pulled up. A few passengers stepped off of the train. The conductor saw Jessica sitting between Davy and his father. He walked over to Jessica and said, “I heard that your boyfriend is not coming home. I am sadden by your loss and that you are not going to marry your lifelong friend, but I was told by many that he was a great soldier. I hope that you will always remember him for his sacrifice.”
She jumped up and hugged the conductor.
“He told me that the train ride was his favorite part of his journey. I enjoyed him as a passenger.” The conductor added. “I must go now.” The conductor stepped onto the train, and the train pulled away.
“You’re a great lady to watch trains with.” Davy smiled at Jessica.
Jessica hugged Davy. “I am enjoying watching trains with you.”
On this Memorial Day, let us remember the men and women who went to fight in battle and did not return home. We enjoy watching trains because they stood in the way of those who did not want us to watch trains.
The U.S. state of Maine is the largest of the New England States, the states that make up the northeastern region of the lower 48 states. The state is famed for its wild open wilderness, its coastline, its lighthouses, and, for you seafood lovers, its lobster rolls. One thing that the state is not known for is its railroads of which there are many in the state. In the city of Portland, which is the most populated city in the state. It is here where you will find the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum.
What is the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum?
Some of you are saying, “Well, duh! It is a narrow gauge railroad company in the state of Maine that has a museum.”
Yes. It is a narrow gauge railroad company in Maine, but why would you want to visit this railroad?
Let us first ask what a narrow gauge railroad is. Yes, it is a railroad with a narrow gauge, but what do we mean by narrow gauge?
As you see trains today, they are what you called a standard gauge railroad. On a standard gauge railroad, the rails are four feet and eight and one-half inches apart. In the early days of railroading, there was what was called a narrow gauge railroad where the rails were three feet apart. Although the narrow gauge railroads were cheaper to fund and faster to build, they could not carry the weight that a standard railroad could carry. Today, narrow gauge railroads only exist as tourist railroads like the East Broad Top Railroad in Rockhill, Pennsylvania and the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad that runs between the U.S. states of New Mexico and Colorado.
The state of Maine had many narrow gauge railroads where the tracks were two feet apart. Like other narrow gauge railroads, they went into decline. While some of the railroad equipment was destroyed, some of the equipment was spared. Some of this equipment was bought by a man named Ellis D. Atwood. It is the equipment that was owned by Ellis D. Atwood that ended up at the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company which began operation in 1992.
What is special about the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum?
Let us first begin with the route itself. The original route was a standard gauge built by the Saint Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad in 1846. In 1853, the Saint Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad leased the section going to the city of Portland, Maine to the Grand Trunk Railway. Even though the Grand Trunk Railway was nationalized into the Canadian National Railway, it was still referred to by the locals as the ‘Grand Trunk’ line. It is this very route that the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad follows today.
As you arrive at the train station, you find yourself within a short distance from the harbor. You enter the train station, which does not look like your average train station, but it houses a small museum and the gift shop, and it is here where you buy your ticket.
You did not come here to see the harbor or the gift shop. You came to ride the train.
Yes, you see a narrow gauge railroad line, but before it was the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, it was a standard gauge railroad. The train comes, and you get aboard. The train pulls away from the station. You have been on many railroads that follow rivers and pass by big lakes. With the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, its entire route, following a route originally laid out by the Canadian National Railroad, you get a view of Casco Bay. Yes, you see a large body of water along the entire route. The ride ends at a place where you can see an old turning drawbridge where the railroad crossed the bay. (Only the drawbridge remains as the rest of the bridge has been demolished.) It is a short ride, but it is definitely a ride that you will enjoy.
The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum is located 65 Thames Street in Portland, Maine. The train runs seasonally between May and October with Christmas trains in late November and December. The train is wheelchair accessible. Please note that they do not have their own parking. Parking is only available on the street or at nearby parking facilities. You can read more into the history of the railroad, get tickets and directions, and get more information at https://mainenarrowgauge.org/.
The state of Maine has natural beauty. It has lots of coastline and lighthouses. You can enjoy the lobster rolls. Most important of all, it has many railroads, and you will enjoy your ride on the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum.
The U.S. state of Maryland is a state that is famous for many things. It has the Chesapeake Bay which splits the state in two parts. Baltimore, the state’s largest city, is famous for the National Anthem of the United States of America, known as the ‘Star Spangled Banner’, which was written by Francis Scott Key as he was a prisoner of war as he watched the British Navy bombard Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 only to see the flag still waving. Baltimore is where the oldest Catholic Church in the nation, and it was here where the first railroad began operation in the Western Hemisphere. In College Park, the home of the University of Maryland, is also the home of College Park Airport, the oldest continuous operating airport in the world. You have Annapolis, the state capital, the home of the Naval Academy and the only capitol dome made with wood and has no marble or stone like most capitols. The state of Maryland is loaded with historic sites, and it has small towns. One of these small towns is the town of Berlin. Located on the Delmarva Peninsula near the coastline, the town is considered as one of the best small towns in the nation. The movie ‘Runaway Bride’ starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts was filmed here, and Seabiscuit, a famous racehorse who won the Triple Crown (meaning that he won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes in the same year), was raised in a barn in the area. (The barn is now on a golf course and houses a restaurant.) One thing you will not see in this town is the Berlin Wall, but you will find the Calvin B. Taylor House. What is the Calvin B. Taylor House? Yes, it was the home of Calvin B. Taylor who was the second owner of the home. After Calvin B. Taylor’s ownership, the house was divided into apartments. It was saved from demolition, restored, and made into a museum which is seasonally open for tours.
Who is Calvin B. Taylor? That is a good question. Calvin B. Taylor made a big influence on the town of Berlin. He was an educator and a lawyer, and he was the founder of the Calvin B. Taylor Banking Company in the town of Berlin. Today, his home is a museum that tells the story of the town of Berlin. If you want to learn more about an amazing small town, you must visit the Calvin B. Taylor Museum.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice. Every time I think about Berlin, I think about Germany and the Berlin Wall. I would not think about a small town in Maryland. As for the Calvin B. Taylor House, well, it is nice to see that he was a great man who did great things for the town. There is a very big problem. Calvin B. Taylor is not a railroad man and has nothing to do with the railroad, and the Calvin B. Taylor House is not a railroad museum. Therefore, I will not be running away to the town of Berlin, Maryland to visit this house.”
Calvin B. Taylor was not a railroad man, and the Calvin B. Taylor House is not a railroad museum. Why visit the Calvin B. Taylor House in Berlin, Maryland?
What is now the Calvin B. Taylor House was built in 1832. Before it was called the Calvin B. Taylor House, the home had former owners. One of the former owners is a man named Robert J. Henry. Who is Robert J. Henry?
When you visit the town of Berlin, Maryland, you see a charming small town with historic buildings. Although a railroad line passes through the town, the town has never been a big railroad town nor does the town have a big history of the railroad.
So what is the big deal?
In the early days of railroading, the railroad served many cities and towns. Robert J. Henry was the man who was instrumental in bringing the railroad to the town of Berlin. Being on a large peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, you wonder if anybody rode the train here.
Well, they did. Where did they come from, and where did they go?
The town had a train station that was called Berlin Union Station. Why the name Union Station? It was located at a junction of another railroad line. People came from Baltimore by way of a ferry that went across the Chesapeake Bay between Baltimore Harbor and Love Point, a point on the east side of the bay near where the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Others came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and rode a train down the peninsula. The Baltimore, Chesapeake, and Atlantic Coast Railroad and the Baltimore and Eastern Railroad had passenger service to the town. Today, the train station is long gone, and there is no passenger railroad service on the Delmarva Peninsula. Only freight service by Norfolk Southern and smaller railroads today. Today, you can ride a rail bike along the tracks through the town.
Some of you are saying, “It is nice that the man who brought the railroad to the town once owned the house, but that is not a reason to visit.”
Why visit the Calvin B. Taylor House? The home is left in the way it is as the second owner, Calvin B. Tayler, left it as he added additions to the home. With a tour of the house, there is an exhibit gallery that displays artifacts and items from the town of Berlin. There is a small exhibit on the old train station to include a sign from the station, the only surviving part of the station, and pictures of the train station. There are also old train schedules on display.
You see. You do have a reason to visit the Calvin B. Taylor House. While you are here, you will find other reasons to walk around the town and maybe visit the Mermaid Museum and the Old Atlantic Hotel where many of the railroad passengers spent the night.
The Calvin B. Taylor House is located in the town of Berlin, Maryland at 208 N. Main Street (Maryland Route 818) just north of the town center and one mile south of U.S. Route 50. It is open seasonally from April to October on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Only street parking is available. Due to the age of the home, it is not wheelchair accessible. You can read more into the history of the house and checkout the events at https://www.taylorhousemuseum.org/.
Now you have a reason to visit the Calvin B. Taylor House in Berlin, Maryland. It is a great place to runaway to.
The city of Saint Louis in the U.S. state of Missouri, a city located on the Mississippi River, is commonly known as the ‘Gateway to the West’. The city’s most famous landmark, the Gateway Arch, is a monument to those who went west to seek opportunities. It is here in this city that you will find the National Museum of Transportation.
What is the National Museum of Transportation? Well, of course, it is a museum of transportation from automobiles to planes to boats, but the majority of what you will see here is trains. As you enter the museum parking lot, you must cross a set of railroad tracks. This is just the beginning.
You park your car and walk to the Visitor Center where a Wabash Railroad Caboose sits outside. You enter the museum, and you see automobiles on display. Yes, it is a transportation museum. As you walk around, you see a model train display, and you see model trains encased in glass.
Be warned. You have not seen anything yet.
Remember when you crossed the railroad tracks as you entered the parking lot? Well, you can take a ride on the miniature train that circles that parking lot. You see aircraft on display and a tanker truck. As you take a ride, the narrator tells you of each locomotive, mining equipment, and rolling stock you pass by.
In case you are wondering, there is much more to see.
You walk through the Earl C. Lindberg Automotive Center seeing the old cars, and then you see an old train station. On the outside, you see a model train display. On the inside, you see models of locomotives and rolling stock to include a model of the ‘General’, a steam locomotive that was part of a chase in the U.S. state of Georgia during the American Civil War.
Now you think that you have seen a lot of trains so far. At this point, you have not seen much.
Why should you visit the National Museum of Transportation? Ladies and gentlemen, this museum boasts a large collection of railroad rolling stock. No, it is not just from the railroads that are particulate to the Saint Louis region. You have rolling stock from the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the Georgia Railroad, the Northern Pacific Railway, the Burlington Route, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Union Pacific Railroad, the Norfolk and Western Railway to include Locomotive Number 2156, a locomotive that was originally at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia, and the Santa Fe Railroad just to name a few. The collection includes locomotives, boxcars, passenger cars, trolleys, and other rolling stock.
The National Museum of Transportation is located at 2933 Barrett Station Road in Saint Louis, Missouri. It is open year round, but the miniature train only runs seasonally. The entire museum is wheelchair accessible. You can get more information about admission, hours, and events at https://tnmot.org/.
The city of Saint Louis, Missouri is the Gateway to the West, and it is the home of a great museum known as the National Museum of Transportation. Let us say that it is a gateway to transportation in the nation.
The U.S. state of New York is known as the Empire State. Why? Most people would think that it is because of the World Famous Empire State Building located in New York City, but the name was actually coined by George Washington, a General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War because of the role the U.S. state played in the war to include the Battle of Saratoga which was the turning point of the War, and the name stuck as New York City remains the financial capital of the world, and, in the early years of the twentieth century, was called the Gateway to North America with the influx of immigrants entering the city. Most people think about New York City as it is the most populated city in the United States of America and is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, but there are other famous cities in the state like Rochester and Buffalo where, in the suburbs, you will find one of the most famous waterfalls in the world, Niagara Falls. The state has many great small villages. One of this villages is Maybrook. Located in the southeast region of the state about seventy miles north of New York City, the small village of Maybrook is a small, charming village that makes the state of New York special.
Some of you are saying, “I love New York. There is so much great history and nature area in the state. I enjoy the skyline of New York City with the high rise buildings to include the Empire State Building. I love Niagara Falls. There is so much in this state. As for Maybrook, there is really nothing to see there. Therefore, I will not be visiting this village of Maybrook.”
So, you do not see a reason to visit the small village of Maybrook. What is special about this small village?
As you exit Interstate 84 and drive south on New York Route 208, you come upon a caboose from the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. I know. There are many lonely cabooses on display across the country, but this is not your average lonely caboose. What makes the village of Maybrook so important? It was here where the largest railroad yard in the state of New York where the town saw the largest number of trains, about fifty two trains a day, during the height of World War II which had to move quickly to supply the troops. Sadly, the yard nor the Maybrook Railroad Line no longer exists. The old railroad line crossed the Hudson River going towards Connecticut. The bridge, called the Walkway over the Hudson, is now a pedestrian bridge where you can get exceptional view of the Hudson River.
Some of you are saying, “Well then. If the railroad yard is no longer there, there is no reason to visit Maybrook.”
Ladies and gentlemen, there is more to the story.
Drive one mile south on New York Route 208 into the village of Maybrook, and you will see the Government Center. Yes, it is where the government of the village of Maybrook meets, but there is also another important place here. What is this important place?
Welcome to the Maybrook Railroad Museum. When you arrive, you will not see a locomotive or a caboose or any kind of rolling stock. Why visit the museum? As a place where the largest railroad yard in eastern America was once located, the small museum tells the story of how this small village played a big role in the railroad history of the United States of America. Although you cannot see the actual railroad yard itself, you can see pictures and artifacts and books of the railroad yard. Yes, it is a small museum, but there is much railroad history inside, and for a little excitement, there is a model train that runs road above you.
The Maybrook Railroad Museum is owned by the Maybrook Railroad Historical Society, and it is operated by volunteers, and they are open to anyone who is willing to volunteer. It is located inside the Maybrook Government Center located at 111 Schipps Lane just off of New York Route 208 and a short drive south of Interstate 84. It is open seasonally from the first Sunday after Easter April to the Last Sunday in October from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Admission is free, but they gladly accept any donation to keep the museum open for many generations to come. Parking is on site, and the museum is wheelchair accessible. You can read more about the Village of Maybrook and it role in the region at https://www.villageofmaybrook.com/.
Maybrook, New York is a small village with a big railroad past. The Maybrook Railroad Museum preserves and honors that past. You love New York, and you will love the Maybrook Railroad Museum.
How many of you have heard of the small town of Prince located in the southern region of the U.S. state of West Virginia? Unless you live in that region or work for the National Park Service or are a railroad historian, you most likely have never heard of this town. It is a suburb of Beckley that is on the New River inside the New River Gorge which is famous for its beauty and an engineering marvel, the New River Gorge Bridge.
Some of you are saying, “I bet that the town is named after some prince in a foreign country.”
Sadly, you are wrong. That town is named for William Prince, who happened to be a settler in the region and was never part of any royal family.
What is this town known for? Well, it is mostly a ghost town like the nearby town of Thurmond. Like Thurmond, it is a railroad town as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (now CSX Transportation) passes through. Like Thurmond, the town has three amazing features. The first is the New River. The second is the surrounding natural beauty. The third is the train station. Both towns are known for their train stations. The train station in Prince has a special history.
What is special about the train station in Prince, West Virginia?
The train station in Prince, West Virginia serves as the Amtrak station for the city of Beckley as the city does not have its own train station.
There is more to the story. The railroad line was originally built by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway serving the region’s coal industry by transporting coal from the mines of West Virginia to the ships in the harbor of Norfolk in the U.S. state of Virginia. The town of Prince, West Virginia did not have a rail yard. What put the town on the railroad map? It is on a junction of two railroad lines with the main line going into the gorge and the other line going to the southern region of the state, but what put the town on the railroad map was the train station.
Well, many towns were put on the map by their train station, but what makes the town of Prince, West Virginia special?
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway had a plan to build modern train stations on their railroad lines between Charleston, West Virginia and Norfolk, Virginia. As you look at the train station, it looks old with the old C&O symbol on the side. When the station was built, it was very modern. Of all of the planned stations, this was the only station to be built. Yes, you are looking at the only planned station by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to be built on the line.
Today, the train station retains its original look. It is the main building in the town.
The next time you think about the town of Prince, West Virginia, think about a town surrounded by natural beauty that had railroad royalty.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 