Monroe's Rails Trails Tour

On Saturday, May 31 the Monroe Historical Society is offering a look back to the Golden Age of Railroading for its annual spring glimpse into the past and is offering the newly revamped Rails Trails Tour.

 The Rails Trails Tour covers the sites of four old wooden railway stations once vital to the rhythm of life in Monroe-Stepney and Stevenson Depots, and will also include Pepper Crossing and a stop off at Hammertown Road, known simply as Monroe Station.

Participants will board a motorcoach that will depart from the Monroe Senior Center on 235 Cutler's Farm Rd. in Monroe at 10 a.m. Box lunches will be for sale as there is a noon stopover for lunch in Wolfe Park.  There is also a ten-minute screening of the Great Train Robbery produced by Thomas Edison Studios in 1903 that will be shown before the motor coach departs and after it returns.  This is the first commercially viable movie with sequential scenes. 

The tour will include two morning stops and two stops in the afternoon and the motorcoach will head out rain or shine.  Due to safety considerations, no private automobiles, motorcycles or bicycles are permitted on the tour. A special highlight of each tour will be the illustrated presentations at each site by railway historians: John Babina, Bob Belletzkie and Monroe's town historian, Ed Coffey.

Displays will show how the steam engine was the lifeline for distributing farm products that drove the Monroe economy in the 1840s.  At this time, the rail lines were the primary link to the outside world with its jobs and high schools in Bridgeport. The rail line also gave Monroe's merchants access to goods and brought the farmers supplies like seed, fertilizer, feed and agricultural machinery. 

With the advent of the automobile, by the 1930s passenger service was virtually discontinued. At the same time trucks became a more dedicated alternative for transporting the needs of business although limited use of the tracks for commerce continued until recent years.

The cost of the Rails Trails Tour is $10 for members, $15 for non-members, discounted to $5 for seniors and students. Tickets are available at the Monroe Senior Center and the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library. Space is limited.  Additional information is available from Marven Moss at mmoss36@yahoo.com

Steamin with Sadie at the Railroad Museum of New England

This June, Steamin' With Sadie will be the star attraction at the Railroad Museum of New England's Thomaston Station as restored Lehigh Valley Coal Company Engine #126 leads weekend trips over our scenic railroad between June 8 through 23, including Father's Day Weekend. Sadie, an 0-6-0 coal-fired steam engine and big sister to Hank the Tank, will be pulling their vintage train cars on hour-long trips along the Naugatuck River. For more information http://www.rmne.org.  For area information www.litchfieldhills.com.

All trips are on Saturdays and Sundays for three weekends beginning June 8 at 10 AM, 12 PM and 2 PM, boarding at historic 1881 Thomaston Station. They will also have extra displays, story book readings, live music and activities for kids of all ages at the Station. Tickets are Adults $20 and Children $15 (ages 3 – 12), age 2 and under are free. Purchase tickets online or call (860) 283-7245 to purchase from their agent. This is a special event you will not want to miss!

Between the 1830s and 1960, steam locomotives carried passengers and freight to every corner of America. They became part of our national history, a symbol of mobility and change. Over the years, steam locomotives became larger and more efficient. But technology advances after World War II changed the face of railroading forever. By 1948, steam engines were gone from the Naugatuck Valley, replaced by modern diesel locomotives on the New Haven Railroad from Bridgeport to Winsted, ending an important era in modern industrial history.

Lehigh Valley Coal Company #126 is a 40 ton coal-fired steam locomotive built by Vulcan Iron Works and put in service in 1931. It worked in Pennsylvania coal mines and was purchased by father and son team John and Barney Gramling from Indiana in 1993. Gramling Locomotive Works fully restored #126 to operating condition, completing it June 2011. Since then, #126 has traveled as far as Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and now to Connecticut as a living, breathing Ambassador of Steam.

About the Railroad Museum of New England

The Railroad Museum of New England is a not for profit historical and educational organization and an all-volunteer organization. We are located in historic 1881 Thomaston Station at 242 East Main St., Thomaston, CT. Our mission is to tell the story of the region's rich railroad heritage through our educational exhibits and operation of the Naugatuck Railroad. The museum concept is more than artifacts; it's also the story of the region and the development of society around the railroad. We offer an entertaining and scenic train ride along the Naugatuck River with vintage locomotives and restored passenger cars, also featuring displays of freight equipment and cabooses.