To Shiny Rails

On our way to the Grand Tetons, we stumbled upon this very nice depot/museum in Centennial, WY just east of Medicine Bow. It’s called the Nici Self Historical Museum. The depot dates back to 1907. There are a number of other buildings on the property that you can also explore and contain lots of artifacts. The Museum was formed in the 1970s and is named after Berniece “Nici” Self who was one of the founding members.

What do they call this railcar? And what does it haul? I spotted it in Springfield, MO today. Send answers to webmaster@jf2.com.

We enjoyed the 90-minute round trip on the Branson Scenic Railway this morning. Cool, all-Budd, GE-powered train that runs from Branson along the Turkey Creek into Arkansas and back.

If you’ve never been to Union Station in Kansas City, MO, you should visit next time you get a chance. It’s a great example of redeveloping a magnificent piece of history into a healthy going concern. In addition to the little Amtrak corner way off to the side, there are restaurants and attractions of all kinds. On this winter Thursday there were tons of people enjoying the facilities! We’ve been here several times with the kids for things like Science City, City Theatre, and the Planetarium, but today was an adult visit where we focused on the Model Train Gallery and Pierpont’s at Union Station, a restaurant in an old Harvey House location!

Took a ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad today, which in this case was a birthday gift fulfilled. We happened to hit Wild West Days at the railroad, and you can imagine what that means with gunfire, women of all manner of repute, and the occasional train robbery. A friend from California, Jeff Badger, used to work at the Georgetown Loop Railroad, but has since moved back to California and is currently heading up the Pacific Coast Railroad Company (here’s a 12-minute video about the PCRR). All today’s photos at the Georgetown Loop Railroad are here.

When in Baltimore, don’t miss this gem. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum has an incredible history of locomotives in full-scale! My photos for the day start here. Fun fact: on May 24, 1844, the first long-distance telegraph message was sent from Washington DC to this B&O rail station in Baltimore beginning with “What hath God wrought” (Numbers 23:23).