Hello all ---
After being here five years, I finally have earned my third week of vacation. Since much of my other two weeks is eaten up at either Christmas or Thanksgiving with the in-laws, this is an opportunity to get out and see some of our fellow operations and museums --- and expose my children to some of the attractions that fueled my own fire when I was their age.
Given the fact I have two little ones (1 1/2 and soon to be 5 years) and my better half, and that we both agree that doing the Frostburg trip is a given on the Western Maryland Scenic, given the current climate in Cumberland (my wife loved this trip as much as I the only time we've done it), I'm wondering what I might be able to accomplish in addition to this on a trip to Maryland/ PA/ WV from our fair State of Michigan, say, oh, 7-10 days or so.
I guess what I'm asking is this --- how feasible is it to group, say, places like WMSR, B&O museum, Strasburg, RRMofPA, and EBT in this kind of time frame? In terms of "doability, are there pairings that make more sense for those that have done this type of thing? As I say, WMSR is the only one we know for sure that's a "must".
Believe it or not, it was at the suggestion of my better half to throw this at you guys to see what suggestions you may have --- god I love that gal. In addition, is there things out there that I'm diregarding or forgetting that you feel storngly about, say, oh, particularly kid-friendly environments, or "must-see" new exhibits I can get great ideas from?

Many thanks ahead of time --

TJ Gaffney

PM me with your phone number TJ; answers are probably too complicated to type.

PM-Man
Some sites that come to mind are Cass, Durbin and Greenbrier,Potomac Eagle, Western Maryland,Strasburg and the B&O Museum. All of these can take up to a full day depending on what you want to do at each.
other Museum sites that you might like are the O.Winston Link Museum in Ronaoke VA, The North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer NC and the US Army Transportation Museum in Ft Eustis VA just outside of Norfolk VA. As a side note, if you make it to Norfolk VA you can drop down to Virginia Beach too.
There are many other places that are very interesting in all the states you mentioned. if you had 4 weeks straight you still wouldnt get to all of them.
Enjoy your Vacation
Andrew Martin

Hello TJ

Of course I'd suggest Scranton as a stop. Steamtown will have a few exhibits and such for their museum's tenth aniversary. If you should make it up this way, please drop me a line, we can set you up with enough activity to make it worth your trip. The Scranton area does well with historical/cultural sites, having a coal mine tour, heritage museum, iron furnaces, interurban ride all within a stone's throw.

Of course (shameless plug alert), The DL Railroad will be doing its thing 7 days a week so if you want to see the only C-636 in action in North America c'mon up.

Dave Crosby

PM-Man,

If you take your kids to the Strasburg, PA area; then you should try to stay at the Red Caboose Motel, where you stay in retired Pennsylvania RR cabooses.

It is not fancy, but kids love it and my wife and I had a good time there.

When in Strasburg, don't forget the National Toy Train Collectors Museum that you can walk to from the motel. Several different gauges of model trains and the kids will love.

Also for the the real steam THomas the Tank Engine ex Brookly Eastern District Terminal RR lives at the Strasburg RR.

Strasburg 90 ex Great Western Sugar is about the only 2-10-0 you will ever ride behind. And dig those wooden cars!

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a blast!

Hope you have fun!

Ted Miles

WMSR and EBT are close enough together that you could plan to stay in one place for multiple days and travel to each location as "day trips". Strasburg is a destination unto itself for a full day. You could probably stop at the B&O en route traveling between WMSR/EBT and your accomodation at Strasburg. I'd suggest an overnight in/around Strasburg. A colleague at work also took his sons (4 and 6) to Dutch Wonderland and the huge miniature golf course in Lancaster. There are some pretzel factories in the Lancaster area as well - pretty fun for kids of all ages if you know what I mean.

Wesley

Living in the Tidewater area, there are a great many places to visit in the region for those with an interest in history. Places within an hour or two of Ft Eustis

Colonial Connections -- Williamsburg
http://www.colonialconnections.com/index.html

Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center
http://www.historyisfun.org/
---There is a very pleasant park and parkway that connect these two together with Williamsburg almost in the middle of the drive. ---

The Mariners' Museum - Newport News, Virginia
http://www.mariner.org/
---Home of the recovered parts of the USS Monitor. The premiere maritime museum, the marine painting collection is without equal.---

Virginia Air & Space Center
http://www.vasc.org/
---IMAX theater and cool aircraft/space stuff---

Approximate one block to the east of the Virginia Air & Space Center is the U.S. Head Quarters of the Cousteau Society.
http://www.cousteau.org/

Virginia Living Museum
http://www.valivingmuseum.org/
---Very Good natural history museum - great for all ages.---


A little further afield:

The Eastern Shore Railroad's Car Float Operation between Cape Charles and Norfolk Virginia
http://www.nrhs.com/spot/eastern_shore_rr/index.html

Welcome to Chincoteague Island Virginia
http://www.chincoteague.com/
---Home of the pony "Misty of Chincoteague"---

Wright Brothers National Memorial (National Park Service)
http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/
---Located in the Outer Banks Resort Area---

Virginia Marine Science Museum
http://vmsm.com/index.shtml
---Take a journey of water through Virginia's marine environment and catch a glimpse into a world seldom seen by many! ---

MacArthur Memorial
http://www.macarthurmemorial.org/
---Memorial to the famed general of WWII and Korea---

NAUTICUS
http://www.nauticus.org/
---The National Maritime Center located on the downtown waterfront in Norfolk, Virginia. Home to the Battleship Wisconsin, Nauticus is an exciting 120,000 square-foot science and technology center exploring the power of the sea.---

Lightship "Portsmouth"
http://members.aol.com/valights/portsmth1.htm

Tidewater Virginia is also home to the N&S Port Locke yard and has a significant presence by CSX. The Chesapeake & Albemarle RR is a 77 mile short line traveling south out of Norfolk in to rural North Carolina. Both the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth have walking tours of the historic buildings in both cities.

Ed -- (Taking after Bob Y <G>)

In a 7-10 day period, you can certainly hit the highlights of Pennsylvania and Maryland with time to do some kid-friendly things as well. The East Broad Top is weekends only, as is WK&S, but Strasburg, Steamtown, the B&O Museum and WMSR are all open during the week. If you have any interest in trolleys, National Capital Museum near DC and Rockhill at the EBT are also quite nice. For an excellent "slice of life" museum, drop by the Maryland & Pennsylvania group's village at Muddy Creek Forks, PA.

As a former & possible future employee, I could not in good conscience refrain from posting a plug for Cass...

It's a scenic ride second to none, lots of operating steam working hard on the grades, and (usually) a locomotive invented by a Michigander. Plus you can ride the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley and the Tygart Valley Flyer, both nearby, at Cheat Bridge and Elkins respectively. I've made the run from Cass up to Cumberland, Altoona, EBT, and Strasburg myself, and it is very doable. I'm sure adding B&O before or after Strasburg wouldn't be much of a stretch....you could even throw an Acela ride in from Philadelphia. Strasburg, B&O, New Hope & Ivyland, Pine Creek, and Wilmington & Western are all good daytrips from Philly. Steamtown's a little further off, but it isn't too far off of I-80, maybe for your return trip.

Do you plan on traveling soon, or later in the summer?
Happy travels,
David A. Vago

Make sure to have some Birch Beer and Tastykakes while in Pa.! And I would suggest you ride the Northeast Corridor, maybe even the Acela. And try to drive through the Delaware Water Gap, and imagine grey and maroon F-3s and Trainmasters on the old DL&W across the river.

If traveling through the Harrisburg area between any of the destinations already mentioned (i.e., EBT and Strasburg via Pa. Turnpike), Rockville Bridge just north of the city is a spectacular, scenic, and easily reached site where you will see 40-50 trains a day. For an outlander, the bridge approach on the east side of the Susquehanna River via Front Street is a little more easily reached; you just pull over onto the berm. The west side takes some turn-here, turn-there type of directions but if you want them, e-mail me at cupper[at]att[dot]net. M&H RR is about 10 miles south of the city and it's a nice ride but, as has been posted on this list, just don't go expecting steam. Other railroad and preservation-related, but not tourist-railroad-related, sites are Enola Yard (near Rockville), Harrisburg's restored 1887 Amtrak station with GG1 on display, and, just north of the station, the ex-PRR Harris Tower, now under restoration by Harrisburg Chapter NRHS (open only when someone's working there, usually on weekends).

If looking for kid-friendly fare, near M&H, and on the way to Lancaster/Strasburg, is Hershey's Chocolate World, which is a free 20-minute indoor ride explaining how chocolate is made, with lots of music, videos, etc., and a tasting area/ice cream/chocolate shop at the end. It includes a large-scale model with moving switcher and cars depicting Norfolk Southern's ex-RDG siding serving the chocolate factory. Chocolate World is not part of Hersheypark, a huge amusement/theme park right next door. Hersheypark does have a steam-powered amusement-park railroad but certainly not worth the $27+ all-day gate admission just to see that alone. Be aware that you do NOT have to pay to park at Chocolate World within a certain time limit, but parking for the amusement park is paid, so if you're thinking of going there, make sure you get to the right parking lot.
Dan Cupper
Harrisburg, Pa.

Please us in mind if you would like to see parts of UP 4013, 3715, 842, NYC 6023, GTW 6316, Rutland 85, PRR 837, 6163, 6197, and about four hundred other relatives. The New Hope & Ivyland is very interesting and only about 10 miles from our site. You might even recognize one of the employees that should be working there in a part time job. Go to the Western Maryland by all means as it is a great run up the mountain. This could be the last year for "normal" operation. Hope to see you this summer!!!

Dear TJ

If you are going to Cumberland via I-79 & I-68 (the only way to get there from the west) you will go right by the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Stop in and see us. Be sure to get a look at our new carbarn and see how rolling stock should be protected. You will understand why it is nicknamed the "Blimp Hangar".

While in Baltimore, the Baltimore Streetcar Museum is only about 3 miles from the B&O Museum, and is worth a visit. However, it is only open on weekends.

If you are not going to be at either museum during hours that it is open, it is sometimes possible to arrange a special tour for a museum person by calling in advance. It depends whether or not there are people working at the museum that day.

TJ,

One note - call ahead on some of this stuff. A few years ago I decided to swing by Fort Eustis - a fair amount of out of the way mileage - it rained HARD all the way - and upon arrival we find it is not open. UGH! (The Fort was, just not the transportation exhibits and static museum.) Anyhow, depending on the time of year, a lot of places are not open 7 days per week.

Bob Kutella

Strasburg 90 ex Great Western Sugar is about the only 2-10-0 you will ever ride behind. And dig those wooden cars!

Ted Miles[/quote]


Ted, you should know better. Frisco 1630 2-10-0 has been running at IRM in Union IL for maybe the better part of 30 years. Down this season for maintenance, but certainly a very respectable 2-10-0. And the possibility of running her in previous years with our Take-The-Throttle program. Saw a lot of wide grins on sooty faced folks after that experience.

Bob Kutella