railroad museum of new england

During the Fall, we decided to take the foliage ride. We paid about $75 for three tickets. The ride was basically about 2-3 miles and allowed for foliage viewing and then a stop at a pumpkin patch to select a pumpkin. While there was "some" good scenery of rivers and some foliage -there was equal or more viewing of the back of buildings, junk yards and garbage. The pumpkin patch consisted of a small clearing with $3 dollar small pumpkins that were just placed randomly in the clearing. You would have thought my wife learned her lesson -but, she decided to buy tickets for the Christmas Lights -"Northern Lights" ride. So, once again, we got on the train for the 2-3 mile ride. The train speeds for about a mile and stops -where a Santa Claus gets on the train. Then, the train goes about 2 miles an hour, creeping down the track as Santa sits and talks to each child on the train. This is nice and they have "elves" that attempt to entertain the kids while they wait for Santa or after they have talked with Santa. But, the reality is that you are on the train for about 90 minutes, travel only about 3 miles at a snail's pace, see Santa for about 2 minutes and there are very few lights to see outside the train. Overall, i think it is a good novelty train ride -but, don't expect to see a lot of scenery or for it to really keep the attention of younger kids. Also note, there is no bathroom on the train - so, make sure you visit the restroom prior to departure. Also, there are only a few trains to visit in the museum yard and there are only a handful of exhibits in the museum hall. So, if you want a Nostalgic Train Ride and don't really care what kind of scenery you see, you might enjoy it. I don't think we'll return.

So glad you visited with your family during our Fall Foliage season and on the Train Ride to the Pumpkin Patch. Our volunteers have a great time making history come alive, especially with visitors like you. Hope to see you again.

Thanks for visiting us and taking the time for sharing your experience in this review.

Thanks for your kind words and for venturing out on a rainy day! We've been lucky this summer with great weather on days we run our trains, but there is still lots to see even when the weather is iffy. You've helped make that point for us. You and your grandson are welcome back anytime!

We're glad that you and your family enjoyed your visit. You came on a day when it's "just the scenic train ride", but hope you will also check out our special events with more coming up - October's Train Rides to the Pumpkin Patch and our Santa Express and Northern Lights Limited for the Holiday season. More events are being planned for 2015.

Thanks for your helpful & thorough review Sioux64. We appreciate that visitors like you will help turn our hidden gem into a much sought after destination. Making history come alive is fun for our volunteers and nice to see it works for those seeking authenticity and quality of service when they take the day off to travel and find something that's different and fun.

So glad you enjoyed your visit. We have a lot of fun putting on this special event and especially want kids (of all ages) to see our railroad history come alive when they visit. It's what keeps our volunteers and museum members happy as well, seeing the smiles on those kids faces.

Isn't it nice to get out of the car and see some scenery from a vintage train ride?! So glad you stopped by and maybe next time you can wave to our volunteer train crew as they bring the engine by in the run-around.

Thanks for your helpful review. We are very proud of our beautiful and grand 1881 Thomaston Train Station where all of our 60-80 minute scenic train rides are boarded. We hope you will return for a visit during October fall foliage or in December when Santa is the star attraction on all our weekend train rides.

The "Pumpkin Patch" train was so bad it was actually funny. About half the "scenery" consisted of abandoned warehouses and junkyards. After about a half an hour, the train stops and the locomotive is moved to the other end of the train. You then get to see the "scenery" a second time in reverse. The pumpkin patch is a stop along the way where the children get to pick a small pumpkin from the clearing along side the tracks where the pumpkins were scattered on the ground. The views were non existent, no scenic vistas, no great fall foliage. We had fun with our children and grandchildren, but not at all what we expected. Clean bathrooms in the station, but no facilities on the train. Not so great considering they cater to families with young children. The only food or beverage service at the train site is a hot dog stand that also sells reasonably priced popcorn and bottled water. Very slow moving line.

We're so glad to hear you had a good time at our Steamin' With Sadie event, GMTeacher! We definitely plan this so our passengers get to participate and see up close the power of a live coal-fired steam engine. Our goal is to make history come alive for families, kids, seniors, tourists, new visitors to CT AND railfans. Steam Trains, the machine that built America! Please come back and ride with us again!

A nice family trip, colorful in the fall, a nice view when the train stops near the Thomaston Dam and you can look down over Rt. 8 make sure you have a camera,

I have been here on several occasions..one for their Christmas train and once for an old steam train exhibit. On both occasions I truly enjoyed the atmosphere...its a welcome step back in time...bring the kids!

you first start out in an old train station with a small museum showcasing local items from the past, then you board the train and head South along the Naugatuck river into the northern reaches of Waterbury, an old industrial city, then you reverse direction passing through Thomaston again on your way to the Thomaston Flood Control dam, offering wonderful southern views of the Naugatuck river valley. Definitely worth the trip!

Nice way to spend a couple of hours if you are in the area. Recommended during Fall Season for the foliage. Conductor was very informative and friendly. Good views of the Naugatuck River.