Railroad Museum of New England facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Railroad Museum of New England |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Terminus | Thomaston, Connecticut |
| Commercial operations | |
| Built by | Naugatuck Railroad |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Owned by | RMNE |
| Operated by | Naugatuck Railroad |
| Reporting mark | NAUG |
| Length | 20 mi (32 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1849 |
| Preservation history | |
| Headquarters | Thomaston, Connecticut |
| Website | |
| [1] | |
The Railroad Museum of New England (RMNE) is a cool place in Thomaston, Connecticut, where you can learn all about trains! It's like a giant playground for train lovers. The museum has a special company called the Naugatuck Railroad. This company runs fun train rides for visitors and also moves cargo on the tracks between Waterville and Torrington.
The museum got its current name, Railroad Museum of New England, in 1987. Before that, it was known as the Connecticut Valley Railroad Museum, which started way back in the 1960s. RMNE has one of the biggest collections of old, preserved trains in all of New England.
Contents
History of the Railroad Museum
How the Museum Started
The story of the museum began with a group called the Connecticut Valley Railroad Association (CVRA) in the late 1960s. These volunteers loved trains and organized special steam train trips around Connecticut. They even helped open the Valley Railroad in Essex, Connecticut, in 1971.
The volunteers worked closely with the Valley Railroad. This gave their growing collection of old trains a permanent home. In return, the volunteers helped keep the Valley Railroad's trains running and in good shape.
Through the 1980s, the collection grew even bigger. More old trains were added, fixed up, and sometimes even used on the Valley Railroad. But by the end of the 1980s, the volunteers realized they needed their own space. They wanted to keep collecting and preserving trains, and for that, they needed their own museum home.
Finding a New Home for the Trains (1993-1996)
The volunteers really wanted to stay in Connecticut. It was a good central spot for most of them. They looked at a few places.
One idea was an old train yard in Danbury, Connecticut. It had a special spinning platform for trains (a turntable) and old engine sheds. It also had active train tracks and passenger service. But the museum decided against it because they couldn't be sure they'd be able to run regular train rides there. Running these trips was super important for the museum to survive. Instead, the Danbury Railway Museum opened there in 1994.
Another place they thought about was an old train yard in Willimantic, Connecticut. This spot had lots of room, but most of the original train buildings were gone. There were active train tracks nearby, but the museum couldn't get permission to run their own trips there. So, the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum was started there in 1995.
The Naugatuck Railroad Comes Back to Life (1996-Present)
In early 1995, the Railroad Museum of New England got an exciting chance. They were offered the opportunity to use an old train line from Waterbury to Torrington. This line was owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT).
So, in June 1995, RMNE created a "new" Naugatuck Railroad Company. This was exactly 150 years after the original Naugatuck Railroad started in 1845! They worked hard with CDOT to get the new railroad ready to open in 1996.
All their efforts paid off in September 1996. The new Naugatuck Railroad started running fun tourist trains. These trains traveled about 19.6 miles on the same tracks that first opened for service in September 1849.
The main office for the railroad is at the Thomaston station. This station was built in 1881 and was last used by passengers in 1958. It was empty for many years and was even damaged by fire in 1993. In 1996, the museum took over the station. With help from a local bank, they replaced the roof in 1997. Volunteers have been working steadily to fix up the building and make it look like it did in the mid-1900s. The station also has cool displays about railroad history. There's even a special track outside where historic trains are displayed.
You can take tourist train rides several days a week from May to December, starting from the Thomaston Station. The entire railroad line is about 20 miles long. The trips go between Waterbury and Torrington.
The railroad also has a special shop in Waterbury, Connecticut, where they fix and store trains.
They run special event trains during the fall and winter months, which are very popular!
The Railroad Museum of New England has a huge collection of over 60 full-sized historic trains and other railroad equipment. Many of these trains come from famous New England railroads like the New Haven, Boston & Maine, Maine Central, Rutland, and Bangor & Aroostook. The museum also has smaller items, like old train signals and railroad records.
Volunteers and employees of the Naugatuck Railroad work together. They operate the trains and keep the locomotives (the engines that pull the trains) and other rolling stock (the cars) in great condition.
Train Collection
The museum has many different types of trains! Here are some of the cool ones you might see.
Steam Locomotives
These are the classic trains that run on steam!
| NAUG # | Image | Style | Built | Builder | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103 |  |
2-6-2 | 1925 | BLW | Restoration | This train was built in 1925. It was used on the Valley Railroad in 1971 and pulled their very first train! It was moved to Thomaston in 2009. Good news: it's being fixed up to run again! |
| 1246 |  |
4-6-2 | 1946 | MLW | Stored | This train used to belong to Steamtown, U.S.A. It's often used as a display during the museum's holiday train rides. |
Diesel Locomotives
These trains run on diesel fuel.
| NAUG # | Image | Style | Built | Builder | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 25-ton | 1952 | GE | Display | This small engine was acquired in 2002. You can see it on display at Thomaston Station. | |
| 140 | RS-3 | 1951 | ALCO | Parts | This engine is used for parts to help fix other trains. | |
| 0401 | FA-1 | 1947 | ALCO | Out of Service | This train ran on the New Haven Railroad. It was the first ALCO cab-type diesel engine to be saved in the United States! It arrived at the museum's new home in 2008. | |
| 529 | RS-3 | 1950 | ALCO | Restoration | This was the very first New Haven Railroad engine to be saved! It returned to service in 1985 and was painted in its classic New Haven colors. It pulled the first train on the new Naugatuck Railroad in 1996. | |
| 557 | RS-3 | 1953 | ALCO | Out of Service | Built in 1953, this engine was sold to the museum in 1995 and moved to the Naugatuck Railroad in 1996. | |
| 686 | GP9 | 1959 | EMD | Operational | These two engines were built in 1959. They arrived at the Naugatuck Railroad in 2019. Engine #686 was fixed up and started running in late 2019. | |
| 859 |
 |
GP9 | 1959 | EMD | Operational | Engine #859 was also fixed up and started running in 2022. |
| 1109 |  |
SW1 | 1939 | EMD | Display | This engine used to be Boston and Maine #1109. It's now on display at Thomaston Station. |
| 1508 | RS-3 | 1954 | ALCO | Out of Service | ||
| 1732 | GP9 | 1957 | EMD | Out of Service | Built in 1957, this engine was bought by the museum in 1997. It was repainted in 1998 to look like a Boston & Maine train. | |
| 2019 | FL9 | 1960 | EMD | Out of Service | This engine was built for the New Haven Railroad. It arrived at the Naugatuck Railroad in 2002 and was given to the museum in 2009. | |
| 2033 | FL9 | 1960 | EMD | Out of Service | This was the very last FL9 engine ever built! It was acquired by the museum in 2002. | |
| 2201 | B23-7 | 1978 | GE | Out of Service | This engine was bought in November 2020 for spare parts. | |
| 2203 | U23B | 1977 | GE | Operational | This was the last U23B engine ever built! It was acquired by the Naugatuck Railroad in 2002. It's mostly used for moving cargo but sometimes helps with passenger trains. | |
| 2525 | U25B | 1965 | GE | Out of Service | This was the very last engine built for the New Haven Railroad! It was saved by the museum in 1982 and moved to the new property in Waterbury. | |
| 8537 | B39-8 | 1987 | GE | Out of Service | This engine is currently leased by the museum. |
Passenger Cars
These are the cars where people ride!
| NAUG # | Image | Type | Built | Builder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 260 | Combine/First Class | 1893 | Wagner | This car was built in 1893 and later changed into a "combine" car. It was used for first-class rides on the Naugatuck Railroad. | |
| 575 | Lounge | 1956 | Budd | These three cars were built in 1956 and 1964. They were used on a famous train called the El Capitan between Chicago and Los Angeles. The museum got these three special cars in January 2025. | |
| 580 | Lounge | 1956 | Budd | ||
| 736 | Transition Coach | 1964 | Budd | ||
| 1001 | Premium Coach/Lounge | 1980 | Budd | This car was built in 1980. It was once a special car for the governor of Connecticut! It's now used as a premium coach and lounge car on the Naugatuck Railroad. | |
| 3659 | Open Air/Crew Car | 1945 | Pullman | This car was built in 1945. It was given to the museum in 1976 and has been restored twice, most recently in 2019. | |
| 4952 | 1920 | CC&F | Built for the Canadian National Railway, this car was donated to the museum in the 1990s and arrived in 1996. It is currently out of service. | ||
| 4980 | Coach | 1924 | CC&F | Built for the Canadian National Railway, this car was donated to the museum in the 1990s and arrived in 1997. It's used on passenger trips. | |
| 5046 |  |
Coach | 1923 | CC&F | Built for the Canadian National Railway, this car arrived in 1996. In 2023, it was repainted to look like a Canadian National Railway train and is used on passenger trips. |
| 5084 | Coach/Counter | 1924 | CC&F | This car was acquired in 2024 and started service on holiday trips that same year. It even has a counter for serving drinks! | |
| 5089 | Lounge | 1927 | NSC | Built for the Canadian National Railway, this car arrived in 1998. It was rebuilt into a lounge car in 2021 and repainted in 2022. It's now a first-class lounge car for passenger trips. | |
| 5114 | Coach | 1927 | NSC | Built for the Canadian National Railway, this car arrived in 1997. It was restored in 2013 and is used on passenger trips. | |
| 5805 | Lounge | 1923 | CC&F | Built for the Canadian National Railway, this car arrived in 1997. It's currently being restored. | |
| 6606 | 1923 | CC&F | Built for the Canadian National Railway, this car arrived in 1996. It is currently out of service. |
Cool Recent Restorations
The museum's team is always busy fixing up old trains!
- In 2024, the museum made an old snowplow, MEC Snowplow #70, look new again. This plow was used by the Maine Central Railroad and later by the Green Mountain Railroad before coming to RMNE in 1996.
- Also in 2024, an old "State of Maine" potato car, #2569, was restored. This car used to carry potatoes!
Images for kids
-
Two pieces of former Boston and Maine Railroad equipment – caboose C-472 and locomotive 1109 – at Thomaston in 2020
