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The town of Strasburg in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is a railroader’s heaven. You have the famous Strasburg Railroad, the oldest short line railroad in the United States. You have the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania right across the street with the large collections of locomotives and rolling stock. You have the Choo Choo Barn that holds a large model train display depicting Lancaster County. You can spend a night at the Red Caboose Motel where you stay in a real caboose. In the town itself, you have the Iron Horse restaurant. With all of that, you are probably wondering what else could be in Strasburg. One place that you cannot overlook is the National Toy Train Museum.
In case you are wondering, this is not one of those toy train museums where you have this small train display. This is a museum that has a very big collection of toy trains. From the very moment you enter the building that is built to resemble an old train depot, you are greeted by walls and walls of trains from Lionel to Bachmann to American Flyer from the early years to the present day. Yes, there is that many trains. Along with the shelves full of trains are, what everyone wants to see, the model train displays of every single scale. You can also see videos of the trains as they roll through the displays and visit the National Toy Train Library, which has a very extensive collection of books, catalogs, postcards and much more. As mentioned, this is not your normal train museum.
The National Toy Train Museum is located at 300 Paradise Lane in Ronks, Pennsylvania next to the Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant just north of Pennsylvania Route 741. They are open from 10:00am to 5:00pm on most days, and admission is only $7.00 for adults. You can get more information at www.nttmuseum.org.
If you ever want to meet people who play with trains, the National Toy Train Museum has people who have many trains to play with.
The U.S. state of Virginia is a state loaded with historic cities and towns and historic sites. From Alexandria to Williamsburg and Jamestown to Mount Vernon to Montpelier and Monticello to the historic battlefields of Richmond and Manassas. It is one of the most visited of the United States of America. Many people do not think about the state being a place of hot springs. In the western region of the state is a town called Hot Springs. Although the local Native Americas originally discovered the springs, it was later found by three men who were surveying the land during the French and Indian War. They later bought the land and moved their families here. They built and wooden hotel here in 1766. Today, the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa continues to welcome visitor from around the world. From a small homestead hotel to a massive resort with the spring and golf courses that produced golfer Samuel Snead, the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa is an amazing place to relax and enjoy.
Some of you are saying, “Wow! This place is amazing. This is one incredible place. It sure beats a night at your normal hotel. The hot springs must be very relaxing. There is a very big problem. What is the big problem? There is no railroad here. Therefore, you will not see me resorting to this place.”
So, you refuse to come here because there is no railroad here. Why would someone who loves railroad want to visit a place where there is no railroad?
As you arrive at the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa, you will see a brick structure with its iconic brick tower. You will see a great view of the surrounding mountains and golf courses. What you will not see is a railroad. You will not see a railroad bed or even a caboose. The nearest railroad line to the resort is in the town of Covington, which is nineteen miles south of here, and the nearest Amtrak station is in the town of Clifton Forge which is thirty miles away and in White Sulphur Springs in the U.S. state of West Virginia. So why would you want to visit here?
A resort that was opened in 1766 that is still open today obviously had numerous owners. In 1881, a prominent lawyer named M. E. Ingalls came to the town of Hot Springs from Cincinnati, Ohio. Why was he here? He was doing research for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The railway was looking to bring a spur railroad line to the resort. Mr. Ingalls and other investors to include a man named J. P. Morgan, bought the resort, and the railroad line was built. The railroad brought many people to the resort. A newer hotel was built. The railroad served the resort until people began using the automobile. The railroad was discontinued, and the tracks were taken up.
Some of you are saying, “The tracks are gone, and there is no signs of the train here.”
Actually, you are wrong. The original train platform remains, and where the terminal tracks are located is now a small field. Much of the old railroad bed is on private property, but the main railroad line where the spur ran from is still in service and is now owned by CSX Transportation. The old train platform can be seen from U.S. Route 220.
As you can see, one of the finest places to relax was once served by the railroad. You can take a tour of the hotel. The tours are free, and you do not have to stay here to take the tour. You are also free to walk the grounds but be warned. You will be tempted to spend a night here.
The Omni Homestead Resort and Spa is owned by Omni Hotels that own hotels and resorts around the world. It is located at 7696 Sam Snead Highway (U.S. Route 220) in Hot Springs, Virginia. You can read more into the history of this resort to include the 1901 fire that burned down the hotel and book a room by going to https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/homestead-virginia?utm_source=yextlisting&utm_medium=organic.
Come and spend some time at the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa. Enjoy the springs. Enjoy a night in a nice room. Enjoy a great meal at one of their restaurants. Enjoy a place where the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway once brought passengers to.
The U.S. state of Indiana has the nickname of being the ‘Hoosier State’. How does the state get that name? There is no real known answer to the question, but there is a theory being that Indiana is not one of those states that comes first to many people’s mind that the word ‘Hoosier’ comes from the phrase ‘who’s there’. The definition is simply a resident of the state of Indiana. Many travel experts would tell you that there is nothing to the state of Indiana. Sadly, they are mistaken not knowing that the state is the home of one of sports hallowed grounds known by many racing fans as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which hosts the Indianapolis 500, the greatest Indy Car race in the world. The southern part of the state in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolis, and horse racing fans are fully aware of another hallowed ground known as Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, the longest continuously running sporting event in the world, and it is part of what is known as ‘The Triple Crown’. It is also a big basketball state, and South Bend is home to the University of Notre Dame, a university famous for its football team. Then you have the city of Indianapolis has the second largest number of monuments of any city in the world? (Washington D.C. is number one.) The three longest routes in the United States (U.S. 6, U.S. 20, and U.S. 30) all pass through Indiana, and the longest interstate route (Interstate 90) passes through Indiana. If that is not enough, the city of Elkhart is called the Recreational Vehicle Capital of the World. How? Many recreational vehicles are manufactured here, and it is the home of the RV Hall of Fame.
With all of this in a U.S. state that many people consider a boring state, you have the town of Santa Claus. Yes, there is a Santa Claus. That is Santa Claus, Indiana. Located in the southwestern region of the state, it is a town built around the man himself. Well, it was not originally called Santa Claus but Santa Fe, but there was another Santa Fe in the state. The name was then changed to Santa Claus, and it has kept this name since. What is here? Well, you have an amusement park called Holiday World, and then you have the Santa Claus Museum and Village. The Santa Claus Museum and Village featured some of the original structures of the original post office where you can mail a letter to Santa, a church from 1880 that has its original furnishings, and a statue of the man himself. If you believe in Santa Claus, you will enjoy the Santa Claus Museum and Village.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice. There is a Santa Claus after all. Well, there is a town called Santa Claus in Indiana. The man himself would be proud. There is a very big problem. This town and this museum and village is about Santa Claus. There is no railroad here. Therefore, I will not be going down Santa Claus Lane or visit this town.”
So, you are not going to pay a visit to the town of Santa Claus, Indiana or the Santa Claus Museum and Village because it is not a railroad site. It is not a railroad museum, and, as far as it is known, there has never been a railroad in this town. Why would you want to visit the Santa Claus Museum and Village?
As you arrive at the Santa Claus Museum and Village, you will see the museum building. You will see the original post office. You will see a church that was built in 1880. You will see a tall statue of Santa Claus. What you will not see is an old train station, a locomotive, or a caboose.
Some of you are saying, “See. There is no railroad here. Therefore, I have no reason to visit this place.”
This is called the Santa Claus Museum and Village. You see the village. Now you enter the museum. The very first thing you see is the gift shop. Of course, you have a gift shop. Then you enter into the various rooms where you see the history of the town. Then you see the model trains. Yes, the Christmas holiday has long been associated with model trains particularly around the Christmas tree, and they are on display here at the museum. From the model trains on display to the model train displays.
Are you still refusing to visit this museum? If you enjoy model trains to include the old Lionel Trains, the Santa Claus Museum and Village is a must see. You may not see the man himself, but you still will have a good time.
The Santa Claus Museum and Village is located at 69 Indiana State Route 245 just south of Indiana Route 162 and minutes from Holiday World, Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 231. Parking is on site. Admission museum is free, but they will gladly accept donations. The museum is open year round, but the hours do vary throughout the year. You can get more information about the museum and village at https://santaclausmuseum.org/.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Well, there is the Santa Claus Museum and Village in Santa Claus, Indiana. You can visit any time of the year. You will have a jolly old time.
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.
The railroad did not begin in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, but the state has many great railroad sites. The state is also famous for its railroad towns. One of these towns is Strasburg, a suburb of Lancaster. The Strasburg Railroad is the oldest continuously operating standard gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, and this railroad has been giving railroad excursions through the Amish countryside for many years, and it is one of the most popular train rides in the entire world. As many enjoy the Strasburg Railroad, it overshadows another great attraction that is just one thousand feet away.
Welcome to the Choo Choo Barn. What is the Choo Choo Barn?
Some of you are saying, “Well, duh! It is a barn, but instead of housing farm animals, it houses choo choo’s.”
Well, you are partially right. It does not house full sized choo choo’s like the ones you see at the nearby Strasburg Railroad and Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, but it is the home of a model train display.
Some of you are saying, “Yeah! I know. It is one of those model train displays where a model train goes around and around and around a small circle. It is just another boring model train display.”
If you enjoy boring model train displays, then you will be very disappointed when you visit the Choo Choo Barn. How great is the Choo Choo Barn?
You may have heard of Northlandz in the town of Flemington in the U.S. state of New Jersey, home of the largest model train display in the world, and you can still visit Northlandz today. Then you have places like Roadside America in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania and EnterTrainment Junction in the West Chester Township, a suburb of Cincinnati in the U.S. state of Ohio, two other large model train displays that are sadly defunct. All three of these train displays was the dream of one man.
How does the Choo Choo Barn compare? It began as a dad giving a gift to his son. It began in a basement of a house. Like many great train displays, it outgrew the basement. It was then relocated to an old maintenance barn, and the Choo Choo Barn came to be as it was opened to the public for millions to enjoy, and it remained under family ownership until 2023 by a man named Gary Russell.
As you enter the room, you see the 1,700 square foot model train display before you. You see a big village with handmade structures. No kits were used in this display. You are mesmerized by the many trains as they go around and around and around. You see a construction crew doing road construction. You can take a peek at the zoo. You can go to the circus You can gaze at the waterfalls. Yes, it is real water going over the falls. As you tour the display, you might want to take in a baseball game.
Through the years, the Choo Choo Barn grew from being a model train display to a gift shop to a small shopping center with model train stores. It went from being the Choo Choo Barn to Choo Choo Barn: Traintown, U.S.A. They also have the Choo Choo Barn Foundation which is a non-profit foundation which acquired the Rocky Springs Carousel. They do have future plans of moving to a new location in the Strasburg area and expanding their attraction while trying to attract younger people to the joys of model railroading.
The Choo Choo Barn: Traintown, U.S.A. is located at 226 Gap Road (Pennsylvania Route 741) in Strasburg, Pennsylvania just a short distance from the Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It is open every day (closed on certain holidays) from 10:00am to 5:00pm. It is suggested that you give yourself an hour to visit the model train display. It is all on one level making it easy for those in wheelchairs. Parking is on site. You can get information on admission and read more into the history of Choo Choo Barn at https://choochoobarn.com/.
The next time you are in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, ride the Strasburg Railroad. Tour the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. See the great model train display at the Choo Choo Barn. Oh, they do have animals. You will see the animals along with the many model trains.
The 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.
The U.S. state of West Virginia is a state known for its natural beauty and its mountains. The state has many state parks. One of those state parks is Valley Falls State Park near the city of Fairmont. The park is mainly famous for its waterfalls, but it has many hiking trails as well. A visit to Valley Falls State Park is a place you will cherish.
Some of you are saying, “Wow! This must be a beautiful place. I enjoy seeing waterfalls. There is a big problem. This park has no connection with the railroad. Therefore, this park is not a place I will fall for visiting.”
Why visit Valley Falls State Park? It has very beautiful waterfalls. There is beauty surrounding you. Why visit Valley Falls State Park?
You enter the park, and you drive down to the main parking lot. You park your car, and you make your way to the waterfalls, but you cross a bridge. What are you crossing? You are crossing a railroad line.
Some of you are saying, “Yeah, but there are many railroad lines that pass through parks and towns but have no history with the parks or towns.”
You do have a point. So, what is special about Valley Falls State Park?
Well, you arrive at the waterfalls, and you are amazed at its beauty. As you walk around, you notice some ruins. What was here?
What you are seeing is the ruins of a sawmill and a grist mill. The water was used to power these mills. The property was acquired by a trader in the 1830’s, and he built the mills on the site. A town was erected around the mills, and it was named Valley Falls after, of course, the waterfalls. Although the mills were the centerpiece of the town, something that arrived in 1853 caused the town to boom. What came to the town?
In 1853, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was built between the town of Grafton to the east and the city of Wheeling located in what is called the Northern Panhandle of the state, and the railroad passed right past the mills. Sadly, in 1886, the town was destroyed by fire and floods. The town was never rebuilt although the grist mill itself remained in operation until 1905.
Today, you can see the waterfalls, but you can also see the same railroad line that served the town, but, today, CSX trains pass by the falls. How great would it be to enjoy the waterfalls and be rewarded by a passing train?
Valley Falls State Park is located at 720 Valley Falls Road southeast of the city of Fairmont, West Virginia off of West Virginia Route 310. The park is open year round from 7:00am to sunset, but please note that the park will close due to snow and ice. (If you are adventurous, they do allow you to walk through the park on snowy and icy days. You just have to park at the entrance and hike in.) Please note that the walk to the falls is on uneven terrain, which may be difficult for wheelchairs, but much of the falls are viewable from the parking area. Please also note that the railroad line is an active line. (No trespassing on the railroad tracks.)
Valley Falls State Park was once the site of a bustling town made possible by the railroad. Today, the only thing that is bustling is the waterfall and the surrounding natural beauty. Visit Valley Falls State Park. You may find it hard to leave.
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.
Then you have the small town of Mount Sterling. How many of you have ever heard of Mount Sterling, Kentucky? A small town that is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) east of the city of Lexington, it is named after a small burial mound. The town itself is small, but it does have the Adena Trail, a short, paved mile long trail that runs through the town south of the main historic district. The town is small, but it is a special town to visit.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice. Small towns are really special. I am sure that the town of Mount Sterling is a special town. There is a very big problem. Mount Sterling is not a railroad town. Therefore, I find no special reason to visit this town.”
You are right. Mount Sterling, Kentucky is not a railroad town, and the town has no history with the railroad. Why visit Mount Sterling, Kentucky?
Like many small towns in the United States of America, Mount Sterling, Kentucky has something special. It has the downtown historic district where you have shops, cafes, historic architecture, and art. Just south of the historic district, as mentioned, is a paved trail known as the Adena Trail. It looks like a nice trail. You decide to take a walk around. The trail follows a small creek. You then notice a structure next to the trail. As you walk closer, you see that it looks like a train station. Wait a minute. This town has never been a railroad town. Why is this train station here?
The town of Mount Sterling, Kentucky has never been a railroad town, but that did not keep the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway from passing through here. The Adena trail was built on the old railroad bed. It is about a mile long so walking the entire trail is easy. As for the old train station, it was built in 1910 by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway as a passenger and freight depot.
As the railroad decline, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was forced to abandon lesser used railroad lines. Mount Sterling, Kentucky was a victim of the decline. Railroad service ceased to the town, and the railroad tracks were eventually removed.
Today, the old train station remains, and it is on the National Register of Historical Places. As for the Adena Trail, it is a paved trail that it easily accessible for wheelchairs. The train station and Adena Trail is located at the intersection of S. Maysville Street and Railroad Street about a few blocks from U.S. Routes 60 and 460 and Kentucky Route 11.
The next time you here about the town of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, think about a special town where the railroad once served.
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.
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.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 