Bluegrass Railroad and Museum facts for kids

The Bluegrass Railroad and Museum is a special place in Versailles, Kentucky, United States. It's both a museum about trains and a historic train ride.

You can take an 11-mile round trip train ride from Woodford County Park. The journey goes through beautiful horse farms in Kentucky all the way to Tyrone, Kentucky. The train stops at Young's High Bridge, where you can get off and see the bridge and the Kentucky River valley.

The railroad uses diesel locomotives, which are like the engines of the train. They have four engines that work and two that are just for display. They also have about 40 other train cars. All this equipment is kept in three different spots along the museum's 5.5 miles of track. You can see these pieces of equipment when you ride the train from Woodford County Park to Young's High Bridge.

About the Museum

The Bluegrass Railroad and Museum started in 1976. It was founded by some people from the Bluegrass Railroad Club, who were interested in model trains.

How the Museum Grew

The museum began collecting old train equipment from local railroads. At first, they stored the equipment in an old train yard in Lexington. This area is now part of the parking lot for Rupp Arena.

Later, the equipment was moved to a different spot near Eastern State Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. After that, it went to the Bluegrass Army Depot grounds in Avon, Kentucky.

In 1988, the museum found its permanent home. It moved to its current location on Highway 62, just outside Versailles, Kentucky. After a fire in 2006, a damaged house was fixed up. It became the museum's station and main building.

The Train Tracks

In 1987 and 1988, the museum got its own train tracks. They acquired five and a half miles of railroad line. This line runs from Versailles, Kentucky, to the Kentucky River. They also got nine and a half acres of land in Woodford County Park. This was the start of creating the museum site and the train ride.

History of the Rail Line

The train line was first built in the 1880s by the Louisville Southern Railroad. For a short time, the Monon Railroad leased it. Later, it became part of the Southern Railway.

While the Southern Railway operated the line, a small accident happened. This caused coal shipments to be delivered by trucks instead of trains. This made that part of the train line less useful.

Later, the Norfolk Southern Railway took over the line. After a few years, the part of the line between the Kentucky River and Versailles was going to be closed down. So, it was sold to the museum.

What Happened to Other Parts of the Line

The train line from the Kentucky River to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, was closed and sold in 2009. The rails on Young's High Bridge and into Lawrenceburg were quickly removed and sold for scrap metal.

Young's High Bridge itself was bought by a private group. They formed a company to turn the area into a tourist spot. A group called Vertigo Bungee, known for bungee jumping, has made Young's High Bridge a permanent bungee jumping platform. Today, Young's High Bridge is known as the highest permanent bridge jump in North America.

Meanwhile, the train line from Versailles to Lexington was first sold to the Lexington and Ohio Railroad. Now, it belongs to the R.J. Corman Railroad/Central Kentucky Lines.

See also

• List of heritage railroads in the United States