A Note From Steve:
At first we thought we would get more from the Paterson Museum about their train collection, but kind of ran into a brick wall.
So we decided a few months ago to rededicate this page to the Wilmington & Western Railroad in Delaware.
The trains (there are two to choose from) operate rain or shine, so while we were there the No. 98 steam engine (shown on this page) chugged through fog and damp.
My brother has a little boy who has lots of friends, so for the kids' enjoyment there was also a passenger car and caboose attached. Everyone watch the process as the three units got hooked up. The two pictures on our railroad home page were also taken that day.
Wilmington & Western has been in continuous operation for over 120 years. After the line no longer served its purpose as a freight operation, it was purchased in 1982 and kept up by a team of dedicated railroad fans. It is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
As we were told by one of the volunteers, the line is sometimes the only means of public transport in the immediate area! Everyone knows when the train is coming. Many folks waved from their cars or back porches as we passed.
We traveled along the track to a wooded area for a picnic and some photo ops. Right when it was starting to get cold we all piled on to return to Greenbank Station. We watched the 98 take water from the tower, said one last goodbye to the operators, and set off for home.
For more on chartering either of their engines, call the volunteers of Wilmington & Western at 302-998-1930 or write to the railroad at PO Box 5787, Wilmington, DE 19808. They have various holiday and historic themes for their special events throughout the year.
Last updated April 2, 1997.
Our site last updated 07/15/2008 Print out our order form (PDF), query about an existing order with an email Fax us at 1-800-261-0906 (US only)! The Picture Palace, PO Box 281, Caldwell, NJ 07006.
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