Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society brings back fundraising event to the C&O Railway Heritage Center, second year since the pandemic

In addition, the two-day event will also include:

• C&OHS O-scale layout team will be present showcasing large-scale model trains. They will be running the museum’s model layout of the C&O Railway’s route and showcasing equipment representative of the 1940s through the Chessie System era.
• The museum will feature a new railroad photo exhibit on the C&O Railway’s premier passenger train, The George Washington.
• N-Scale Layout and hands-on demonstrations at the Heritage Center train depot by C&OHS member and crowd favorite Dale Perry. Come see a variety of specially-imported Kato passenger sets running including Amtrak throughout the day and hear industry information first hand as Dale demonstrates his catalog of N-scale equipment. Great for visitors of all ages.
• Operation Lifesaver will be exhibiting their crucial message for citizens of all ages regarding railroad safety and security.

Brandy Dudley, who has worked for the C&O Historical Society for a long time, said, “After the success of making this annual event take place only at our C&O Railway Heritage Center museum after the pandemic, we are happy to be able to put together an even better lineup of vendors and attractions, all in one convenient place.” When we use our Heritage Center for the George Washington Rail Expo, we can also show off our interpretive exhibits and our collection of historic C&O rolling stock.

Ms. Dudley is especially excited about the opening of a new exhibit at the indoor Freight House museum of the Heritage Center. This is because she has put a lot of work into it. She has been working for a few months to set up a permanent display of the C&O Historical Society’s collection of railroad uniforms. Just in time for the George Washington Rail Expo, the new uniform display will be finished in the Freight House.

Ms. Dudley said, “The Society collection includes a beautiful collection of preserved railroad uniforms from different jobs throughout the railroad’s history. After talking to the man who gave us one of them, our officers and I decided to buy display mannequins for the uniforms I thought would look best on display. In the weeks leading up to the Expo, I cleaned and ironed the uniforms for display and carefully put them on mannequins so that people could see them. In addition to uniforms from the C&O Historical Society’s physical archive, retired CSX Rail Agent Glenn Thompson gave one of the uniforms to the museum.

Ms. Dudley went out of her way to thank people like Mr. Thomas who gave these old things to the C&OHS.

Mark Totten, the president of the C&OHS, also thanked the people who have given the non-profit organization things like old railroad uniforms. “We have a wonderful collection of uniforms from the history of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and some of them may be the only ones left,” he said. Many of these pieces have never been seen by the public before. With this new exhibit, we’re happy to bring these gifts full circle and show the people and families who gave them that we value them. I’m also very thankful to Brandy, who was the driving force behind putting these artifacts on display in the right way.

The C&O Historical Society is adding another layer of depth to the George Washington Rail Expo. C&OHS President Totten says this shows their commitment to the non-profit organization’s mission to preserve and share the history of the C&O Railway. Craig Laing, a C&OHS member, gave a successful talk about modeling at last year’s Expo. As a result, the restored dining car Gadsby’s Tavern will be used again for seminar-style talks on a wide range of historical topics for Expo attendees.

C&OHS President Totten said, “This year’s lineup of speakers on our restored dining car from 1922 shows the educational side of our mission. We have sessions that should be interesting to people interested in the history of transportation, model railroaders, and the general public. Totten also said, “Our guests can attend the seminars at no extra cost.”

The lineup of scheduled presentations on board Gadsby’s Tavern:

• Saturday, February 18, 2023
  • Time: 11:00 AM
    Title:  Taking Amtrak to School – 1973-1976
    Presenter:  Jesse Smith
    Description: From 1973-’76, I rode Amtrak back and forth across the old C&O, commuting for holidays to and from college from Washington, D.C. to Charleston, WV. This show marks some of the best times and scenes of the C&O Railway during that period.
  • Time: 2:00 PM
    Title:  Stories, Laws and Lessons
    Presenters:  Glenn Thompson, Josh Cease, and John Perry
    Description: Glenn Thompson (Retired CSX Rail Agent), Josh Cease (Supervisory Special Agent at CSX Railroad), and John Perry (Operation Life Saver) share first-hand stories about the ups and downs of railroading, especially what it takes to keep the system safe and moving forward at all times.
• Sunday, February 19, 2023
  • Time: 12:30 PM
    Title:  Modeling: Concrete Sidewalks from Styrene
    Presenter:  Rick Gartrell
    
  • Time: 2:30 PM
    Title:  Modeling: A Lesson in Selective Compression

The C&O Railway Heritage Center is open from 10 am to 4 pm, Tuesday through Sunday, at 705 Main Street in Clifton Forge, Virginia. On facebook.com/candoheritage, you can find information about the museum.

At archives.cohs.org, you can find the C&OHS archive database. The organization, which has been around for 54 years, has a Facebook page at @cohs.org and an Instagram account at @ChessiesRoad.