Wilmington and Western Railroad, Wilmington, DE - Wilmington, Delaware Old Time Rail Takes Visitors Back in Time on Living Train Museum


Wilmington and Western Railroad, Wilmington, DE, is hosted by the Greenbank Station in Greenbank Park on Route 41 North near Prices Corner. It is just to the north of Route 2.

It is a museum that commemorates rail history and is also an operating railroad with a vintage steam engine that celebrated a century of hauling passenger cars in May of 2009.

In 1982, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. It is the oldest tourist steam railroad in the state of Delaware.

In 2007, this operating monument reopened after 4 years of track repairs due to various storms. Among them was Hurricane Floyd that had damaged infrastructure in the Red Clay Valley. It is in this valley that the train pulls its antique passenger cars and caboose.

The train is well loved by the population of the state. As Delaware has no National Parks or major memorials, the Governor held a write in for the image on a new Delaware Quarter to be minted by the federal Government and while not on the balloting, this attraction won as a write in candidate.

The Wilmington and Western Railroad, Wilmington, DE, is run by Red Clay Valley Incorporated, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting railroad history, particularly in the Red Clay Valley. An all volunteer staff, some of whom are retired rail workers themselves, do everything from stoking the coal to selling the tickets at the Greenbank Station in order to keep the museum running on track.

Much of the land traversed by this museum in motion is wilderness and farming area of the Red Clay Valley, which helps lend the journey a sense of riding back into the past. The shorter ride is a 90 minute round trip powered by steam or diesel engines with a 30 minute break at the Mt. Cuba Picnic Grove.

The lengthier excursion runs the full length of track into Hockessin where there is a 20 minute layover before the return leg of the journey. This ride takes 2 and 1/2 hours and has a higher fare than the shorter voyage. Only children under 2 years of age are admitted free of charge.

Wilmington and Western Railroad, Wilmington, DE, holds various special events around holidays as well as occasional evening dinner buffet rides. For such events on the train it is advisable to purchase tickets in advance in case the seats fill up. These trips have their own fares, some of which include discounts for honored riders such as fathers on Father's Day when dads ride for half fare.

Historic Engine 98 and the Greenbank station are rented out for charter trips and events.

Free parking can be found at the station and the nearby Greenbank Mill.

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