C&O Railway Heritage Center Open Sundays Throughout 2021 Shopping Season
CLIFTON FORGE — The C&O Railway Heritage Center is now open to visitors for an expanded number of days in 2021.
To give travelers and locals a better opportunity to visit the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia, the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society, the non-profit organization that operates the Heritage Center museum and gift shop, has added Sunday to its previous Tuesday-Saturday operational days that have been in place over the last several years.
Now ready for the holiday shopping season after spending the year stocking its gift shop shelves amid global supply-chain challenges, the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society will keep the new Tuesday-Sunday schedule throughout the holiday season, making the museum and its Depot Gift Shop accessible for visitors and holiday shoppers six days per week.
Commenting on the non-profit organization’s decision to expand their C&O Railway Heritage Center’s number of opened days, C&O Historical Society President Mark Totten stated, “Following the pandemic’s impact on travel, and the necessary limitations on indoor destinations, we wanted to give the public additional options for making our museum a destination in 2021 as people safely returned to planning trips, either locally or from long distances.”
The C&O Railway Heritage Center’s expanded days of operation create an opportunity to visit Clifton Forge on Amtrak’s passenger trains No. 50 and No. 51, known collectively as the Cardinal. From a western departure point, passengers taking Amtrak Cardinal No. 50 can enjoy a day trip along the Kanawha River Valley, New River Gorge, Greenbrier River Valley, and the Alleghany Mountains and visit Clifton Forge on the ground for several hours, returning by Amtrak Cardinal No. 51 to their cities of departure the same day.
By booking this round trip from either Huntington or Charleston to Clifton Forge and returning, travelers not only get a unique shopping and museum experience but one of the most scenic rail trips in the eastern United States For West Virginia travelers wishing to make single-day trips to Clifton Forge, information is available at the Amtrak Station located at 350 MacCorkle Avenue SE, Charleston, W.Va., 25314 (Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) or online at www.amtrak.com/cardinal-train.
In addition to an updated gift shop, throughout its expansive grounds, the C&O Railway Heritage Center features indoor and outdoor exhibits that explore the transportation history of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which initially connected the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River, crossing West Virginia in the process. Within the indoor Freight House museum, exhibits include models of C&O Railway equipment throughout the years, artifacts, and displays on specific topics such as the Chesapeake & Ohio School of
Nursing and the C&O Railway in World War II. Outside on the museum grounds are larger artifacts and replica C&O Railway buildings that have been constructed to highlight different functions of the railroad in an interpretive setting.
Also found on the Heritage Center grounds is the C&O Historical Society’s rail yard that includes vintage railroad locomotives and rolling stock, such as the 1948-built C&O J3a 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 614, the 1922-built dining car Gadsby’s Tavern, and the 1971-built C&O SD40 diesel locomotive No. 7534, which was restored and donated to the C&O Historical Society by CSX Transportation.
Many of the vintage pieces of railroad equipment at the museum can be boarded by the public, giving visitors an up-close glimpse into C&O Railway transportation history.
While not currently available for viewing, several other large artifacts are undergoing restoration and will be open for public viewing when completed. The railroad equipment that has been restored to a specific time period and historical exhibits that have been constructed provide an intimate re-creation of American railroading.
The C&O Railway Heritage Center is now open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 705 Main Street, Clifton Forge, a short walk from the Clifton Forge Amtrak station. Updates and additional information can be found on Facebook under @CandOHeritage.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.