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 fun place to visit in Willimantic, Connecticut. It's a museum all about trains and railroad history! It was started in 1995 by people who love trains and are part of the National Railway Historical Society.
The museum has a special building called the Columbia Roundhouse. It's a copy of an old train building. Inside, you can see many cool exhibits. These include an old train station from Chaplin. There are also twelve diesel-electric trains and four steam locomotives. A walking and biking path, the Air Line Trail, runs right next to the museum. This trail follows the path of the old Connecticut Eastern railroad. The roundhouse also has a huge 60-foot Armstrong turntable. This is a spinning platform used to turn trains around!
Contents
Cool Buildings at the Museum
The museum has several old railroad buildings. They were moved here to be saved and shared.
The Columbia Junction Roundhouse
The first Columbia Junction roundhouse was built a long time ago in 1892. It was taken down in the 1930s. In 1991, the museum cleared the old site. Then, in 1995, the museum officially opened.
The museum got money in 1998 to rebuild the roundhouse. They used the original foundation as a base. The outside walls were finished in 2000. A special event was held on June 10, 2001, to celebrate. The big doors were put on the next year.
Today, the roundhouse is home to some of the museum's historic trains. A large, 60-foot turntable was bought in 1994. It was moved to the museum and put in place by volunteers. This turntable is operated by hand!
The Willimantic Section House
A section house was a building where railroad workers kept their tools. These workers were called "maintainers." They were in charge of keeping a certain part of the train tracks in good shape. This particular section house used to be in Willimantic. It was moved to the museum in 1992. Volunteers fixed it up the next year. Now, they use it to store their own tools.
The Groton Freight House
This building was once a freight house in Groton, Connecticut. Freight houses were used to store goods that were being shipped by train. This one was no longer needed by Amtrak, a modern train company. Amtrak gave the building to the museum in 1998. It was moved in 1999 and fixed up by volunteers.
The Chaplin Station
This building was first used as a train station in 1872. It served a small community near Chaplin, Connecticut. It wasn't built as a station at first. It might have been a tin shop! Later, it became a train station.
In 1901, a bigger station was built. The old station was bought by the station master. He moved it to his backyard. Later, his family gave the station to the museum. It was moved to its new home in 1995.
The Versailles Operator's Shanty
This small building was called a shanty. It was where a telegraph operator worked. This person would send messages using a telegraph. They would relay orders from a "dispatcher" to train crews. A dispatcher is someone who controls train movements.
This shanty was located in Versailles, Connecticut. When the telegraph station closed, a railroad employee bought it. He moved it to his property. In 2000, he donated it to the museum. Now, it's used as the ticket booth and information center!
Trains and Equipment
The museum has many cool pieces of railroad equipment. These trains and cars have a special connection to the history of this area.
- 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 E 44-ton No. 0800
- Baldwin Locomotive Works 0-4-0 No. 10
- New Haven baggage car No. 3841
- New Haven coach No. 4414
- New Haven coach 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
