Date: Saturday, October 17th
Pre-registration is required
Cost = $35.00
Please note the departure station is about 80 minutes from the hotel.
Participants will meet in hotel lobby near the convention registration desk at 8:30 AM: leave hotel at 8:45 AM
Website: https://essexsteamtrain.com/
Essex Steam Train & Riverboat’s 2 1/2-hour train and riverboat journey begins at the historic 1892 Essex Station for a 12-mile, narrated round-trip into the heart of the unspoiled Connecticut River Valley. The steam locomotive pulls vintage coaches through the quintessential New England towns of Deep River and Chester. A natural highlight is the undeveloped Selden Neck State Park, accessible only by boat. Essex Steam Train offers unique access to several coves and preserves, immersing passengers in an on-board eco-excursion. The train travels near the tidal wetlands of Pratt Cove and Chester Creek — bountiful, natural habitats for birds including Cormorants, Ducks, Swans, Greenland Geese, Blue Heron, Egrets, and Red-winged Blackbirds. In February and March, the majestic Bald Eagle is the star of the show when it migrates south to the Connecticut River Valley from Canada and Maine.
Date: Friday, October 16th 10:00 am.
Cost = $32.00
Participants will meet in hotel lobby near the convention registration desk at 9:00 AM
Website: https://www.osv.org/
Old Sturbridge Village, the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, depicts a rural New England town of the early 19th century. The Village is designed to approximate the look and feel of a historic landscape and includes more than 40 historic buildings, such as houses, working farms, meetinghouses, a district school, country store, water-powered mills, professional and trade shops – all situated along the Quinebaug River on the homeland of the Nipmuc peoples.
We will have a one hour guided tour starting at the Visitor Center and move through the museum on dirt roads and pathways. Wayfinding and interpretive signage is positioned strategically throughout the museum. You will then be on your own to explore more of the museum at your leisure.
Date: Friday, October 16th 10:30am – 12:30pm.
Cost: $13.00 for Adults — $11.00 for Seniors (62+)
Learn more about the Connecticut Trolley Museum by visiting their website: https://www.ct-trolley.org/
Visitors experience living history at the nation’s oldest incorporated organization dedicated to the preservation of the trolley era, riding in vintage electric streetcars on a 3.2 mile round trip portion of the Rockville Branch of the Hartford & Springfield Street Railway Company.
Date: Friday, October 16th 1:30pm – 4:00pm
Cost: $5.00
Participants visiting this museum may arrive any time after 1:30 PM using the ticket already purchased and provided in the registration package
Check out their full collection of railroad locomotives and rolling stock on their website: http://cteastrailroad.org/
The Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum is located on the original site of the Columbia Junction Freight Yard. Their collection includes locomotives and rolling stock, as well as vintage railroad buildings and a six-stall roundhouse reconstructed on the original foundation.
Attendees will receive a guided tour of the museum and kids of all ages can operate a replica 1850’s-style pump car along a section of rail that once was part of the New Haven Railroad’s “Air Line”.
Future plans include extending track from the museum site to the Bridge Street entrance, reconstructing structures such as water towers on their original foundations, and erecting a Railroad Station/Visitor Center.
