Railway Museum To Co-Host Three Spring Events In One Weekend
Railway Museum To Co-Host Three Spring Events In One Weekend
DANBURY â Danbury Railway Museum will present Metro-North Commuter Railroadâs âRailroad Rodeoâ on Saturday, May 1, and then host Spring Railfair 2004 and The Second Annual Big Train Show on Sunday, May 2.
On May 1 the museum will host Railroad Rodeo for the first time the event is being held off Metro-Northâs property. MN Railroad engineers, conductors, welders, machinists, and track maintenance workers will compete against each other in their respective categories of skill.
The competition runs are 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $9 for adults, and $7 for children ages 5 to 12.
Having outgrown the space available at the museum, the train show will return to WCSUâs Bill Williams Gymnasium. Vendors will have over 100 tables of railroad collectibles, gifts, models and books for sale. Operating model layouts will also be on display and food will be available.
Free parking will be available at the WCSU parking garage on White Street and a free shuttle bus will run between the parking garage, the train show and RailFair.
RailFair 2004 will take place at the museum â 120 White Street in Danbury â while the train show will be taking place at the nearby Western Connecticut State University midtown campus. Both activities will open at 10 am; the train show will close at 3 pm, while the RailFair will remain open until 5 pm.
Visitors to RailFair will have an opportunity to learn all about railroading through activities scheduled throughout the day. The museumâs Rail Yard Local will be operating, with caboose rides and locomotive cab rides also available. The recently-restored New Haven RR Rail Diesel Car (RDC) #32 will also be operating.
Additional activities and displays include the 1907 B&M steam locomotive #1455, where visitors can learn all about how a steam locomotive works; other newly-arrived equipment; track car (âspeederâ) rides, which will take visitors to a ride on the only operating turntable in Connecticut; the under-construction N-scale display of the Danbury railyard circa 1955; model railroad clinics, a gift shop, food, and more.
A special two-day admission is being offered, at $16 for adults and $12 for children.
Combined Sunday admission is $10 for adults, and $7 children for ages 5 to 12. Tickets for the train show only are $5 adults (kids 12 and under are free).
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 www.danbury.org/drm or call 778-8337.