Danbury Railway Day Will Also Celebrate NYC&HR Caboose’s 100th Anniversary

DANBURY — Danbury Railway Museum will host the 3rd annual Danbury Railroad Day on Saturday, August 8, from 10 am to 5 pm.

The museum is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its New York Central & Hudson River Railroad wooden caboose this year. With this in mind, there will be free short trips in a vintage caboose pulled by a nearly 60-year old locomotive, with locomotive cab rides also available.

The caboose train will stop at the old New Haven RR turntable where visitors will ride the only powered operating turntable in Connecticut, built circa 1914. Visitors will learn all about the significant role that cabooses once played in moving America’s freight, and why they’ve been replaced.

As a special educational treat, periodically during the day demonstrations of coupling and uncoupling train cars will take place, with some audience participation.

In the historic railyard, guests will also find walk-through exhibits, “hit-and-miss” engine and blacksmithing/forge demonstrations, an operating large scale garden railroad, and a vast assortment of train cars and locomotives, many that ran in Danbury during its railroading heyday.

A current restoration project — the old water tank pumphouse originally situated near the Danbury Fairground Mall — will be open for inspection.

Inside the museum building, visitors can explore railroad history exhibits, operating electric train layouts, static model displays of the station and railyard, many one-of-a-kind artifacts of railroading history, a wonderful gift shop, a coloring table and temporary tattoos for the kids, and many other items of interest.

A new exhibit, “FoleyFotos,” featuring some of Dan Foley’s favorite photographic works, is being shown at the museum through November 4. 

Museum admission is $6, $5 for seniors, $4 for ages 3-13, and free for younger children and museum members. 

Danbury Railway Museum is a non-profit organization, staffed solely by volunteers, and is dedicated to the preservation of, and education about, railroad history. The museum is in the restored 1903 Danbury Station and rail yard at 120 White Street.

For further information, visit danbury.org/drm, send email to info@danburyrail.org, or call 778-8337.