Christmastime In Connecticut. VALE 97 (2-8-0, Alco, 1923) is a staple of the Christmas season at the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, the most prodigious of seasonal tourist train operators i... (more)

This General Electric 80 Ton diesel was built in July 1940 by General Electric as United States Navy 65-00430, working in San Diego CA. In the 1960s it was sold to Pfizer, which renumbered it 2 a... (more)

Valley Railroad #40 leads a train north out of Essex.

Essex Steam Train & Riverboat operates a 2½-hour train and riverboat tour, and 1 hour train only journeys begining at the historic 1892 Essex Station. The trips are a 12-mile, narrated round-trip... (more)

Valley Railroad's 80-Ton 0901 in the Essex Yard.

Venerable Valley Railroad #97 has the honors on the first North Pole Express as it rumbles through Old Deep River Road

Two Valley Railroad "North Pole Express" trains get ready for departure from Essex, CT 12/17/2022.

In times past, heritage steam railroads in the USA closed up shop at the end of Oct... (more)

VALE #2, a Porter 0-6-0, sits with a holiday decorated string of cars.

The cold Connecticut night cloaks many amazing creatures. The most coveted to me is the flanged-wheel steam machine. Its haunting cry, even miles away, pierces with chills my soul. Man's first mac... (more)

One of the Connecticut Valley Railroad's New Haven-inspired GE 80 tonners is seen parked at the yard in Essex.

What is better than a steam locomotive? Two steam locomotives!

Here we see fresh off a rebuild, No. 97, departing Essex Station with its section of The North Pole Express. No. 3025 waits it... (more)

One last run. On the last day of steam operations for 2020, Valley Railroad Mikado #40 makes one last charge to North Chester with her final trip of the year. Here, she is seen working upg... (more)

Age is relative. While the P40DC is one of the older engines operating on Amtrak today (AMTK 822, Phase III), at the Valley Railroad it is one of the youngest ever to grace these rails. Seen on Su... (more)

Simmering - The Valley Railroad's three operating steam locomotives simmer near the Essex, Connecticut shops after a full evening of pulling sold-out North Pole Express trains. The three a... (more)

This looks like a string of abandoned equipment, but in fact it's the opposite. A year before Connecticut's Valley Railroad began operation on a former New Haven branchline, organizers had gathere... (more)