The C&O Railroad (Chesapeake & Ohio) is the reason Clifton Forge exists. It was an important stop on the rail line and the place where the company serviced its equipment.
The museum features indoor and outdoor exhibits, including this large engine, on loan from the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke.
I love the look of train tracks as they head off to parts unknown.
This is the depot. I believe this is a reincarnation of the original 1900 passenger station.
Trains are really big (understatement of the year).
This is the depot inside. There was not a lot of room and notice the wood stove for heat. The modern version has a heat pump, thank goodness.
An old map depicting the C&O routes.
This is the back of the depot. The other tower structure housed telecommunications, which back in the day would have been telegraph operators and signal men.
We had an informative fellow give us a tour of the place. He's on the left; my most excellent husband is on the right.
The 614, also on loan to the museum, was an effort by the owners of The Greenbrier to get folks from DC to the resort.
The logo up close.
What an amazing machine.
The wheels were about as high as I am tall, which is to say, more than five feet.
The train is open for inspection during the tours. The tour cost $8 per person.
A shot down the side of the train.
This is the inside of the steam engine. The hole is the firebox.
The story of the 614 steam engine.
My husband the real-life fireman sat in the fireman's seat on the engine.
Inside the firebox.
Gauges and things the engineer had to watch.
The baggage car.
The dining car, all decked out for the holidays.
My husband and our tour guide.
This sign was in the museum. It is my new favorite sign.
A very nice model train rain around the center of the museum. It depicted the Clifton Forge area and other depot stops.
The model train as it chugged along.
There were many varying sizes of model trains, all of them actual working products, in the museum. Information about the railroad lined the walls.
The original Clifton Forge stop.
We had a good time visiting this museum. It is quite a little jewel to have here in the mountains.
oh we'll have to go see that! clifton forge is such a cute little town. we like to eat at that tavern right on the main road, can't think of the name, somthing tavern lol...i enjoyed the tour you gave and interesting sign!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! I hadn't heard of this museum before. Thanks for telling us about it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun day trip. I love traveling by train and was excited when our former governor attempted to re-establish service from Madison to Milwaukee and Chicago . . . and then the first thing the current Idiot-in-Charge did was derail the train and along with it thousands of jobs--the irony being that he ran on a jobs platform.
ReplyDeleteawesome shots. i love trains so much. fun!! need to check this one out for sure. ( :
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