Volunteers from the Railroad Museum of New England prepped Flagg Coal Co. 75 for a few trial runs on Thursday, and showing her off to the local press. If you want your chance to ride behind steam on the Naugatuck Railroad, get your tickets today!
Celebrate the Railroad History of New England
Paul Murnane - WCBS 880
THOMASTON, CT (WCBS 880) -- In Connecticut's Litchfield Hills, you may stop, look, and listen as a little bit of history comes down the track. Hell's waiting room has nothing on the smoking heat in the cab on #75. "This is the machine that built America," says Howard Pincus with the Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston. Pincus says the 40-ton machine toiled on the tracks around foundries and coal mines in its 80 years. This weekend and next, it's pulling passenger coaches.
Museum volunteer Randy Paterson makes three generations in his family in the business. Paterson says, "My father and my grandfather have always said this is not, not reall the life. I think they're keeping a good secret from me." Running a grand machine like this, he says, you watch your fire, steam pressure, water, everything - and you keep her happy.
LISTEN: Paul Murnane reports from Thomaston
Flagg Coal 75 alongside the Plume & Atwood complex in Thomaston, Ct.Photos by Howard Pincus
