Mad River & NKP

Gazette Intern

When Bellevue residents think about trains, it is usually with a sigh as they wait at the crossings. One way to change these thoughts about trains is to visit the Mad River & NKP Train Museum.

The museum opened in 1976 by the Madriver & Nickel Plate Society to showcase Bellevue's connection to railroad history.

The Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum preserves the names of two old railroad lines that are part of the region's lore.

The Mad River Railroad, which dates back to the 1830s, ran from Sandusky to the Dayton area.

The Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, the first railroad built and operated in Ohio, broke ground at what is now Sandusky's Battery Park in 1835. The Mad River Museum has a wooden replica of the railroad's original engine.

The museum's name also remembers the Nickel Plate Railroad, which was built in 1881 along the south shore of the Great Lakes -- connecting Buffalo, New York and Chicago. It later merged with what is now Norfolk Southern.

The museum contains many different trains such as a mail car, dinning car, freezer car, a dome car, a coal freighter, multiple cabooses, and different engines. Visitors can climb onto the bunks in the passenger cabins or ring the bell atop the steam engine.

This museum truly has something of interest for everyone. With such diverse displays as an NKP baseball uniform to railroad china, silver, lanterns, tools, and a life-sized replica of the first engine in Bellevue (which was also the first engine west of the Alleghenies with a whistle) - it's a delightful way to spend an afternoon.

Cars and engines are open to the public, giving everyone a feeling of going on a trip while in a coach or the first dome car ever built. Have a seat in the dining car, close your eyes, and visualize the crisp white linens and fresh flowers. Take a deep breath and the fragrance of freshly baked bread, a slow roasted prime rib and fresh apple pie seems as real as if you were actually having dinner in the diner.

Next, climb up in the engineer's seat or check out the Railway Post Office car. Have you ever wondered what cabooses were like? This is your chance to visit a hands-on museum. See how perishable food items were shipped in ice refrigerator cars and learn about a steam engine that has no way of making its own steam. A Troop Sleeper is a car many servicemen rode during World War II while being shipped around the US, usually headed for a sad destination. Walk through one, bunks are ready- Army blankets in place.

History can come alive if you just open your eyes and ears and look around you. Ask one of the guides questions about artifacts, if that particular person doesn't know, they'll try to find out. The museum exists to honor the lives of former railroaders and to preserve their history for future generations. The collection of railroad equipment and memorabilia to be found at the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum is quite extensive. Make it a top priority on your "to-do" list. Bring the younger generation and teach them some of the most interesting and historical facets of railroading and how the railroads helped develop our country and specifically Ohio.

A first hand look always makes things easier to understand, watch as your child or grandchild sits in the engineer's seat and pretends to be in charge. Experience the wonderment they feel when they climb up in a caboose. Perhaps Daddy, Grandpa, Uncle Joe or maybe even Mommy are, or have been railroaders. Let them share the experience. Ask our friendly and knowledgeable guides questions, have them explain how the mail was picked up "on the fly" in the Railway Post Office car or how signals and messages were relayed to train crews before the days of radios and cell phones.

Visitors can either walk around the museum at their leisure or ask for a guided tour. There is no set schedule of tours, but Roland Hirsch, a Madriver volunteer, believes it helps give visitors a better experience.

"I always ask people if they want me to give them a tour. I know a lot of the history of the rails and different cars," said Hirsch.

The museum is run mostly through volunteers who work admissions, help paint, and keep up the landscaping.

The Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum is a great place to take the family. "The kids love to walk through the cars," said Hirsch. "It's really an impressive sight."

Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $4 for children. Children under three are admitted free. The museum is open daily from 12-4 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day. For more information or to call to schedule a tour call 419-483-2222.