Ever heard of it?  I hadn’t, and it’s right here in Richmond, with free admission to boot.  Train lovers unite and head to the Manchester Bridge!

We were hankering for something to do as a “family” on Saturday morning, so I decided to be resourceful and did some Googling with much success.  Lo and behold I came upon the Old Dominion Railway Museum right here in good ole Richmond.  Run by die-hard volunteers, it is located next to the former Southern Railway passenger station inside a real honest-to-goodness train, an old express rail car.  Pretty cool for you train-a-holics out there.

Very close to Shockoe Slip, this historical railway museum is located in Richmond right across the river on the south side of the Manchester Bridge at 102 Hull Street.  It also happens to be adjacent to the Richmond Flood Wall and Planet Zero.  (I had no idea that Hull Street started there at the 14th Street/Manchester Bridge.)  The folks running it are the same train lovers who run the Santa Trains and fall excursions in Dillwyn out in Buckingham County.  We are big fans of these big-hearted volunteers, having been on three such rides and loved every minute of it!

The tireless volunteers are currently tackling the humungous task of renovating the adjacent Hull Street Station with long range plans for it to house the railway museum, library, and their impressive model train collections.

The museum is open on Saturday from 11-4 and Sundays from 1-4.  As I said admission is free, my favorite flavor.  For more information please call 233-6237 or check the website at http://www.odcnrhs.org and click on “museum.“  This labor of love is well worth the trip.

LibbY