RailNews

U.S. Army Transportation Museum to Run Holiday Trains

The military museum teams up with CSX and Western Maryland Scenic to offer excursions for the first time in years.

U.S. Army Transportation Museum to Run Holiday Trains

By Railfan & Railroad Staff

FORT EUSTIS, Va. — The U.S. Army Transportation Museum is teaming up with CSX Transportation and Western Maryland Scenic Railroad to offer holiday excursions for military members and their families this weekend on the Fort Eustis Military Railroad. 

The Fort Eustis Military Railroad dates back to the 1950s and has about 30 miles of track. Fort Eustis is also home to the U.S. Army Transportation Museum, which includes a number of rail-related exhibits and displays. The rides, scheduled for December 11 and 12 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., will be offered free of charge to Department of Defense ID cardholders. Each trip is expected to last 45 minutes.

Officials said that if the trips are a success they may become an annual tradition. WMSR is helping by providing passenger equipment for the excursions and those cars were being moved by CSX. 

The transportation museum has been a part of Fort Eustis since the 1950s and its been at its present location since the 1970s. The museum features a rail yard with a number of U.S. Army Railroad locomotives and cars, including an Alco RS-1 and 2-8-0 steam locomotive. One of the highlights of the museum’s collection is the Berlin Duty Train, which from West Berlin to Frankfurt behind the “Iron Curtain” during the Cold War. The museum is open to the public. For more information, visit the museum’s website

This article was posted on: December 8, 2021