Tag: Trains

The Kentucky Railway Museum, New Haven, Kentucky

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Kentucky is a state known as the Bluegrass State.  Many people know about Kentucky Fried Chicken which was started by a man named Harland Sanders, commonly known as Colonel Sanders, even though he started in a restaurant in the state, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken was opened in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The state is known for its horses, and it has the continuously running sporting event in the world, the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, which is a horse race that is the first race of the Triple Crown.  The state is known for its bourbon, of which there are plenty of bourbon distilleries in the state mainly around the Frankfort and Lexington areas.  You may have heard of My Old Kentucky Home.  It is a real house in Bardstown.  In the city of Bowling Green, you will find the National Corvette Hall of Fame.  Along with Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is run, the city of Louisville is known for the Louisville Slugger bat factory where many baseball bats are made and sold, and you can tour the factory and buy a bat of your own.  You have Mammoth Cave, the largest known cave system in the world.  Very few people think of the railroads in Kentucky as there of plenty of great railroad sites in the state.

Welcome to the 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.

The Hagerstown Police Department, Hagerstown, Maryland

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Maryland is one of the original thirteen states.  It was in this state where the National Anthem of the United States of America was written near Fort McHenry.  The oldest Catholic Church is in this state.  The oldest continuously operating airport in the world, College Park Airport, in located in the state.  The capitol building in Annapolis is the only capitol building in the nation where the capitol dome is completely made with wood.  It is where you will find the largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, in the nation.  As for the railroad, the first railroad began in Maryland, and you can still ride the first mile and a half of railroad at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore.  The oldest railroad bridge in the nation as well as the oldest railroad aqueduct in the nation are in the state and still used today by the Chessie Seaboard System (CSX).  The oldest surviving train station in the nation is in Ellicott City and is open as a museum.

Then you have the city of Hagerstown.  Located in the western region of the state, it is a city that is at a crossroads.  The National Road (present day U.S. Route 40) passes through here as well as U.S. Route 11, and it is where Interstates 70 and 81 meet.  In the city of Hagerstown, you have the Hagerstown Police Department.  What is special about the Hagerstown Police Department?  Well, it is like any other police department in the nation, but they do have one exception.  What is special about the Hagerstown Police Department?  We must look to their headquarters.  Yes, some cities have a fancy elaborate headquarters for their police, but Hagerstown is different.  How?  It was not always the headquarters of the Hagerstown Police Department.

Before it was the Hagerstown Police Department Headquarters, it was a train station for the Western Maryland Railway.  The structure you see today was not the original train station for Hagerstown.  The current structure was built on the site of the original train station.  When passenger serviced ceased to Hagerstown, the building was spared and bought by the city of Hagerstown and became the headquarters of the police department.

The Hagerstown Police Department Headquarters is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 40.  Along with the station, there are a few monuments to the police and to the railroad on the grounds.

The Reading Railroad Heritage Museum, Hamburg, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

What was the Reading Railroad?

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

Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the correct answer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Tale of Two Trains

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Once upon a time, there was a small town that was also its own country called Livingtown.  The town was on a high bluff that was on an island in the middle of the Living Sea.  The only access to this town/country was a railroad line with two long bridges on each side.  The one railroad bridge went into the nation of Condemnburg.  The other railroad bridge went to the national of Freedomia.  The trains came together at Union Station.

One day, a family was at the edge of one of the bluffs having a picnic.  They looked at the bluffs, and they saw that the bluffs were eroding into the sea, and they were eroding fast.  They immediately went to the king and told him what was happening.  The king gathered everyone together at the square.

“People of Livingtown, the cliffs around this bluff island are beginning to erode away.  In a matter of days, the island will be no more.  Every one of you must gather all of your things and go to Union Station to leave the island.”

Everyone did as the king demanded and gathered their things and brought them to Union Station.  Two trains arrived.  The one man stepped off from the locomotive and went in from of the people.  “Hello.  My name is David Dictate.  My train is going to Condemnburg.  You need to get on my train.  Why?  Because in Condemnburg, you never need to make decisions or choices.  Why?  Because I make your choices for you.  I always know what is best for you.  Therefore, I will never make a bad choice for you.”

Three men stepped off of the other train.  “Ladies and gentlemen of Livingtown.  My name of Franklin Free.  My train is going to Freedomia.  In my country, you can choose what is best for you.  We the leaders of Freedomia believe that you can make better decisions for yourselves that the nation’s leaders can.  In Freedomia, you have freedom.”

“Come on!”  David Dictate was furious.  “You do not want freedom.  If you have freedom, you have to make the decisions and choices yourselves.  In Condemnburg, we the leaders do that for you.  You do not have to anything in my country because we do it for you.”

The people boarded each train along with their possessions.  The train to Condemnburg left the station.  The train crossed the sea and entered into the nation of Condemnburg.  The people were then put in chains.  “What is happening?”

Their possessions were thrown off of the train into a fire.

“You do not need stuff.”  David Dictate spoke.  You will keep these chains on.  If anybody complains, you will be executed.”

The train to Freedomia left the station.  They crossed the bridge and entered into the country.  They arrived in the city of Independence City.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Independence City, the capital of Freedomia.  As you deboard the train, there will be people at the station who will help you with where to live, and we have plenty of places to eat here.  Where you want to live and want to eat is up to you.  I hope that you enjoy our nation.”

The people deboarded the train.  They were enjoying life in Freedomia.

Every year, many countries around the world celebrate their Independence Day.  In the United States of America, July 4th is set aside as Independence Day.  It was on this day in 1776 where a few men signed a document called the Declaration of Independence in a small building in the city of Philadelphia in the then British colony of Pennsylvania.  This document made a declaration of independence to what would become the United States of America.  What began as thirteen colonies in 1776 grew to fifty states 249 years later.  I would like to wish everyone a HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

The White Oak Rail Trail, Oak Hill, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Casey Jones Village and Museum, Jackson, Tennessee

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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

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

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

There is also an old baggage car and a caboose.

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

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

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

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

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

Heritage Station, Huntington, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Historic Railpark and Museum, Bowling Green, Kentucky

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Kentucky is a state known as the Bluegrass State.  Many people know about Kentucky Fried Chicken which was started by a man named Harland Sanders, commonly known as Colonel Sanders, even though he started in a restaurant in the state, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken was opened in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The state is known for its horses, and it has the continuously running sporting event in the world, the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, which is a horse race that is the first race of the Triple Crown.  The state is known for its bourbon, of which there are plenty of bourbon distilleries in the state mainly around the Frankfort and Lexington areas.  You may have heard of My Old Kentucky Home.  It is a real house in Bardstown.  In the city of Bowling Green, you will find the National Corvette Hall of Fame.  Along with Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is run, the city of Louisville is known for the Louisville Slugger bat factory where many baseball bats are made and sold, and you can tour the factory and buy a bat of your own.  You have Mammoth Cave, the largest known cave system in the world.  Very few people think of the railroads in Kentucky as there of plenty of great railroad sites in the state.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Memory of This Day

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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 Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum, Portland, Maine

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

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.