Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum facts for kids
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The roundhouse at the museum.
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| Established | 1995 |
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| Location | Willimantic, Connecticut |
| Type | Railroad museum |
| Accreditation | National Railway Historical Society |
| Key holdings | EMD FL9 from New Haven Railroad |
| Collections | Steam locomotive, diesel-electric trains, 2 train stations, and a replica roundhouse |
| Collection size | 28 |
| Visitors | 1,000 (2015) |
| Public transit access | Windham Region Transit District |
| Nearest parking | Nearby Bridge St. (CT 32) |
The Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum is a super cool place in Willimantic, Connecticut where you can explore old trains and learn about railroad history! It's located right on Route 32. This museum was started by people who loved trains and were part of the Connecticut Eastern Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
The museum is home to an awesome building called the Columbia Roundhouse. It's a copy of an old train building and was finished in 2000. Inside, you'll find many cool things, like an old train station from Chaplin, Connecticut. There are also twelve diesel-electric trains and four amazing steam locomotives. The Air Line Trail, a popular walking and biking path, runs right next to the museum. This trail follows the path of the old Connecticut Eastern railroad, which is what the museum is named after! The roundhouse also has a special spinning platform called a 60-foot Armstrong turntable. This turntable helps move trains around.
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Cool Buildings at the Museum
The museum has several historic buildings that were moved here to be saved and shared with visitors. Each one tells a part of railroad history.
The Columbia Junction Roundhouse
The original Columbia Junction roundhouse was built way back in 1892. It was taken down in the 1930s. In 1991, the area was cleared, and the museum officially started in 1995. The museum was able to rebuild the roundhouse thanks to a special grant of $400,000. This money also helped improve the museum grounds and bring in important services like electricity.
The outside walls of the new roundhouse were built in 2000. They used the original building's foundation as a base. A special ceremony was held on June 10, 2001, to celebrate the start of the building. The big doors for the roundhouse were put up the next year.
Today, the roundhouse is where some of the museum's amazing collection of historic trains are kept. A 60-foot turntable, which is operated by hand, was bought from Edaville Railroad in 1994. Volunteers at the museum moved it to the site and put it together.
The Willimantic Section House
A section house was a small building used to store tools and equipment. These tools were used by workers who maintained a specific "section" of train track. This particular section house used to belong to the New Haven Railroad and was located in Willimantic. It was moved to the museum in 1992. The building was fixed up the next year. Now, museum volunteers use it to store their tools.
The Groton Freight House
This old freight house also belonged to the New Haven Railroad. It was once located in Groton, Connecticut, right next to the main train line. The company Amtrak owned the property where it stood and no longer needed the building. Amtrak generously gave the building to the museum in 1998. It was moved to the museum in 1999 and volunteers worked hard to restore it.
The Chaplin Station
This building first became a train station in 1872. It was used by the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad to serve a small community called Clarks Corner, near Chaplin, Connecticut. The building was actually built as a shop, maybe a tin shop, before it became a train station. The Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad later became part of the New Haven Railroad by 1898.
A bigger station was built in 1901, so the old building was no longer needed as a station. The station master bought the old building and moved it to his backyard. Later, his family donated the station to the museum. It was moved to its current spot at the museum in 1995.
The Versailles Operator's Shanty
This small building, called a shanty, was where a telegraph operator worked. Their job was to send messages between the train dispatcher and the train crews. This shanty was located in Versailles, Connecticut and was used by the New Haven Railroad.
When the telegraph station closed, an employee bought the shanty and moved it to his own property. It was later donated to the museum and moved there in 2000. Today, this little shanty is used as the museum's ticket booth and information center.
Trains and Equipment at the Museum
The museum is home to many different pieces of railroad equipment. Each one has a special connection to the history of trains in this region. Here are some of the cool trains and cars you might see:
- New Haven EMD FL9 No. 2057
- Metro-North Railroad Budd SPV-2000 No. 293
- Pfizer Corp. EMD SW-8 No. 2
- Northeast Utilities General Electric 25-ton
- New Haven Terminal GE 45-ton No. 0413
- Central Vermont Railway Alco S-4 No. 8081
- CERM GE 44-ton No. 0800
- Baldwin Locomotive Works 0-4-0 No. 10 (a type of steam engine)
- New Haven baggage car No. 3841
- New Haven coach No. 4414
- New Haven coaches No. 8673 and No. 8695
- Central Vermont Railway boxcar No. 43022
- Grand Trunk Western Railway boxcar No. 515747
- Central Vermont Railway flatcar No. 4287
- Central Vermont Railway caboose No. 4052
See also
