Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum

05/03/2026

04/21/2026

A hundred years ago, the U.S. had a nationwide network of short-line railroads that connected most urban and rural communities. By the 1940s, most of it had been dismantled ... by the barons of the auto and oil industries, in cooperation with the crooks on Capitol Hill in D.C.

MMS Tip Jar: paypal.me/marginalmennonites

04/19/2026

2026 Schedule:
Opening Day is Saturday May 2
Railroad Day is September 5th
Trick or Trains is October 31st
Last day of the 2026 Season is October 31st

Hours:
Saturdays 10:00 to 4:00

Regular Admission:
Adults (over 12) $10
Kids (8-12) $5
Children (under 8) $Free

Ride Days:
May 2nd (Opening Day)
June 20th
July 4th
August 15th
September 5th (Railroad Day)
October 31st (Train or Treat)
Train runs from 11:00-3:00
Train leaves from Chaplin Station
Ride is included in your admission for the day.

04/19/2026

Just a reminder, the Moving Day Photographer Event is next Saturday. April 25, 2026, 10am-3pm

If you havent purchased a ticket and are interested in attending we still have 3 spots left, Tickets are $30 per person. Please e-mail [email protected] for ticket requests.

Moving Day is coming to the Railroad Museum...

April 25, 2026
10am-3pm
$30 per person

No not that type of moving day, we are rearranging exhibits in the Roundhouse and are opening the doors to a limited number of people as a Photographer Event.

The number of tickets are being limited, as we are moving heavy equipment, and want to keep everyone safe.
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Edit: 3/19@3:31pm

Ticket sales will be limited to 20 people.

Please e-mail [email protected] for ticket requests.

01/28/2026

MBTA recently painted one of their F40 Locomotives as a New York, New Haven & Hartford RR Heritage unit. It was recently delivered to the Middleborough Yard, and will soon to be put into service alongside a Boston & Maine RR painted sister unit.

On 1/28/2026 MBTA's newest heritage unit left the "Area 52" shops enroute to Middleboro, MA. There the MBTA will eventually pick it up, bring it to Boston, a...

12/06/2025

The Lyman Viaduct in Colchester, Connecticut, around the 1870s and 2025. The viaduct was constructed in 1873, and it was a wrought iron railroad bridge that spanned 1,112 feet across a ravine in western Colchester. At the base of the ravine, 137 feet below the bridge, is Dickinson Creek, a small tributary of the Salmon River.

The viaduct was part of the Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad, which was built in the 1870s and was intended to be a more direct route between New Haven and Boston. The line was later acquired by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and in the early 20th century it was upgraded to allow for heavier trains. Rather than rebuilding the Lyman Viaduct, the railroad buried it with sand and cinder in 1912-1913. The old iron viaduct was left intact beneath the artificial embankment, and it remained in use until this portion of the rail line was abandoned in 1965.

The railroad right-of-way has since been converted into a rail trail, as shown in the bottom photo. The original 1873 iron viaduct is still here, buried beneath the sand and rocks, and there are a few areas where parts of the bridge are exposed above the surface. It is a rare surviving example of an iron railroad bridge from this period, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The best way to visit the viaduct is to park in the parking lot on Bull Hill Road and then walk about a quarter mile west along the trail.

Historic image attributed to photographer Albert M. McKenney. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

11/12/2025

Next to the Putnam Train Station, Putnam, Ct

Peek into a re-creation of the Alden kids' cozy hideout and see artifacts from Warner’s life.

A must for fans of classic children’s books! 🚂

📸 credit: Gertrude Chandler Warner Museum

11/12/2025

Even Better with Music

11/12/2025

10/27/2025

The Chaos of one of the photo-lines from the 21st Annual CERM Night Photo Shoot, last night, arraigned by Thomas Nanos