The Kentucky Railway Museum owes its beginnings to a small group of local rail enthusiasts who gathered together in 1948 to form a local chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The first locomotive received from the Kentucky Railway Museum was a gift from Graham H. Smith, Jr. The new train, named the Ace, made its maiden voyage from Chicago to Bowling Green, Kentucky. This was the very first trip east from Chicago to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Over the next ten years, many more model trains of various routes were added to the collection. Today, this collection boasts over one thousand locomotives and one hundred and twenty passenger cars.
The most popular section of the railway museum is the layout of the historic engine carriages. Many of these have been restored to near perfection and include a working model of each engine. Passengers can sit in the cars and enjoy viewing the actual workings of the engines. Each morning at the end of each day, the travellers can tour the layout as a group, using hand lifts to see the different sections of the fleet. Some of the impressive locomotives that are part of this collection include the John Pilsworth and the Belmont.
The layout also includes a section that demonstrates the growth and development of the various locomotives that served the region. In addition, visitors can see the cutting of the initial paddle wheels that started the building process for all of these great trains. A growing number of people are discovering that steam locomotives are an interesting type of model train, which allows them to learn about the heritage of the railway industry while having fun. There is a wide variety of layouts that allow visitors to move between the pre-world war I days of wooden trains and the modern era, including the Ace and the Lionel.
Visitors can enjoy many other aspects of railway culture when they take advantage of the welcome aboard experience. The trains come with working doors, which means that passengers can get into and out of the train before it departs for its journey. This allows for a real feel for what it was like for passengers when they left the train station to head to their destinations. This is just one reason that the railway museum is so popular. They welcome aboard experience will continue to grow as the years pass.
At the close of the exhibition, there will be some very special commemorative products for sale to commemorate the success of the showcase. One of these commemorative items is the’railways of Bermuda & May Islands’ expo badge. It features the signature Bermuda and May Islands logo, which is printed on the badge in the correct order.
All railway enthusiasts, of all ages, will enjoy taking part in this exciting and educational activity. Young children will enjoy helping to design and build the track, and adults will relish the opportunity to see steam engines in action. No matter who is attending the railway museum, or what level of experience you have, you will leave knowing more about the history of steam rail travel than you ever thought possible. The Bermuda steam railway expo is one that every railway enthusiast should make the effort to attend. You will leave with many great memories of an exciting day at the railway museum.
