Talking Transportation: The Museum That Owns a Railroad

Happy 30th birthday to the largest railroad museum in Connecticut, the Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston.

It was in 1996 that the museum, which now has almost 100 rail cars in its collection, made its first passenger runs. To celebrate there will be special excursion runs Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27, filled with happy rail fans.

What makes this railroad museum so different is that it owns a freight railroad, the Naugatuck Railroad, the proceeds from which help fund the museum and its extensive restoration efforts.

“The ‘Naugy’ began running in 1849,” said president and railroad veteran Howard Pincus, who also serves as chairman of the board for the Museum. “The railroad played a major role in the development of industry in the Naugatuck Valley.”

Though the railroad’s tracks are now owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Naugy operates its trains over them, hauling construction debris and occasional freight as a short-line railroad connecting with CSX and Norfolk Southern.

“The CDOT Office of Rail has been a wonderful partner,” claimed Pincus, “especially on infrastructure repairs like bridges.”

Pincus says it’s a long haul up a steep grade to run any railroad let alone one funding a museum. Restoration of a single freight car can cost up to $40,000. Repairing the old Thomaston train station has already cost the Museum more than $100,000.

“It’s insanely expensive,” said Pincus, “especially to do it right.”

And it’s the artistry of the restoration work that sets the museum apart, even compared to the rail cars in the fine collections of the Danbury and Essex railroads.

The museum has its own restoration shops with six full-time artisans, many of them in their 20s. “I want to make sure there’s some continuity (in our mission),” said Pincus. “I’m absolutely thrilled when I walk in that shop and see young people doing such amazing (restoration) work.”

Like the 26-year-old, self-taught metal fabricator and welder who rebuilt an old Canadian National passenger coach “down to iron oxide and thin air” and two weeks later rolled it out of the shop “looking like it just came from the Canadian Car and Foundry in Montreal,” said the proud Pincus.

As with any non-profit, the museum couldn’t function without a dedicated cadre of volunteers who do everything from catalog their archives to serve as train hosts. So popular is the Thomaston site that volunteers journey from as far away as Long Island for the chance to lay hands on this living memorabilia.

Shop tours will be available for museum members with tour guides to manage the enthusiasm of the “foamers” (a pejorative term used by railroad people to describe rabid rail fans who they believe may actually foam at the mouth when seeing old trains).

Both rail excursions will include “rare mileage”… the first time a passenger train has rolled over some of these tracks in many, many years. But the stars of the trips will be the equipment, including old Canadian passenger coaches and a GE U23 freshly painted to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

The only question is, where will they mount the birthday candles.