During our recent annual vacation in Maine, we made our second visit to the Railway Museum to entertain my five-year-old grandson. He was four when we first visited and doesn’t remember much about that visit.
The museum has a vintage train, powered by coal and steam, and two original train stations. The one you see here from the back, the Freeport Station was built in 1912 and moved in 1964, 39.2 miles from Freeport to Boothbay, over the Kennebec River.
Here you can see the steam powered engine and the carriage car.
View inside the carriage car. We sat in an open air car at the back, the better to enjoy the views. The chairs inside were small!
The second station, the Thorndike Station, is located halfway around the large circle of the narrow track on which the train takes its passengers for a ride. The station was built in 1871 for the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad.
Here you can see the steam-powered engine and the carriage car.
The circular track surrounds the village, which contains artifacts from Maine’s railroad history as well as historical structures from the 1800s and 1900s that were moved to the site. There is also a goat enclosure with two very friendly goats named Coal and Tender. See 16 on the map.
The Boothbay Town Hall is the oldest structure on the green, moved there in 1990. Built in 1847 for $700, it is a good example of Greek Revival style and has a magnificent open room with a gorgeous floor, still used for meetings.
The Spruce Point Chapel was built in 1923 and relocated to the museum in 1995.
The fire station houses the 1925 Cosmopolitan fire truck and a 1929 hook and ladder from Boothbay Harbor.
From Take Me 2 Maine
But by far, my favorite place to visit is the antique auto museum. There I found a 1930 Model A phaeton, which was the first car I owned (no, I’m not that old!) and it’s color is the same as my car. I’d love to have one again.
I could go on and on about the filling station, the blacksmith shop, the general store, etc. but I wanted to give you a taste of a really great place to visit. We were very happy that we managed to do our tour earlier than three tour buses and the day before a fall fair on the village green that had cars parked everywhere.
Tompkins Filling station, originally from East Boothbay From Take Me 2 Maine
Maine’s Merci car, from 1880. Presented in 1949 by the people of France to the people of Maine, this is one of 49 antique boxcars filled with gifts of gratitude for the donations of relief goods sent to France in 1948, “40 & 8” boxcars like this one were used to carry 40 men or 8 horses during WWI.
The village green.
I highly recommend that if you are in this area, you make a morning of it at this museum!
Love those buildings. And i do love a train. But was that really your first car? Mine was so boring and functional by comparison.
The ride was fun, especially since I grew up riding trains from time to time. That old car was something!
We’ve ridden several narrow gauge RRs here in NC, and I used to commute to Boston by train with my Dad occasionally when I was just a young whippersnapper.
What a marvellous place, Noelle! Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks, Olga. You can spend hours there and the train ride is fun!
Your experiences with your grandson brought back a flood of memories for me with my son when he was that age. He loved trains and fire stations, so he would have been in heaven visiting a place like this. He was so into fire engines that we used to visit the fire station whenever they had an Open House.
Sounds like some happy times. We have several old RRs here in North Carolina where you can ride. Our kids loved it.
I love those steps backward in time. Old rail depots are some of my favorites. Thanks for sharing, Noelle!
I was amazed that they could haul that station as far as they did, Jan!
Looks like a super-fun place to visit. I love the old cars and trains. I have very fond memories of riding the steam train from Durango to Silverton in Colorado.
I love the old railroads, too, and there are some here in NC you can ride. Thanks for stopping by.
I loved the tour, Noelle. We have a Merci Car here in Austin, which was given to the state of Texas by the French.
Glad you enjoyed it, John. The Merci Car is a great story.
A great place to visit!
Indeed, lots of fun for both kids and adults!
Sounds like a perfect visit with your grandson. One of my jobs (and yes, I’ve had many divergent ones) was working for a Landmark Society in the CA town where I lived, and they have a fabulous railroad museum where the trains came right up to the train depot and then supplies were put into boats to go across to San Francisco. It was fun working there. But no train rides – the trains are gone.
I’m sorry to hear the trains are gone! Kids love trains – Eli spent a lot of time climbing in and out of cars standing around the village. Thanks for stopping by – you’d have fun at this place!
I love a good choo choooo!!
Noelle, what an amazing place. And old cars too! I don’t know about your grandson, but I certainly was entertained. I love it. Hugs.
I could visit this place every year! I really want that car, but even though the owner priced it very low, I can’t afford it. But I am tempted.