The Valley Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Connecticut on tracks of the Connecticut Valley Railroad originally founded in 1868. It is best known for operating the Essex Steam Train and the Essex Clipper Dinner Train. The Essex Clipper Dinner Train is a 2.5-hour train ride that departs Essex Depot and offers scenic views of the Connecticut River along the way. On special weekends, the Friends of the Valley Railroad’s (FVRR) caboose is coupled to the train. The caboose, or cabin car as the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) referred to it, is owned by the non-profit Friends of the Valley Railroad and was named in honor of Ralph H. Gibson, a longtime member of the FVRR and, for many years, a conductor on the Valley Railroad. This particular car was originally built for the PRR, passed on to Penn-Central and subsequently to Conrail. Upon its retirement, Mr. and Mrs. William Stoddard of Palmer purchased MA it. and was donated to the FVRR.—Wikipedia and essexsteamtrain.com
The Valley Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Connecticut on tracks of the Connecticut Valley Railroad originally founded in 1868. It is best known for operating the Essex Steam Train and the Essex Clipper Dinner Train. The Essex Clipper Dinner Train is a 2.5-hour train ride that departs Essex Depot and offers scenic views of the Connecticut River along the way. The train brings passengers to the northern end of the operable line in Haddam. A seasonal four-course meal is prepared on-board and served in restored 1920s Pullman dining cars. Connecticut Valley Railroad’s #3025 is a China Railways SY class steam locomotive that was built in 1989 by the Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works for the Knox and Kane Railroad in Kane, Pennsylvania, where it spent its life until that railroad's demise. It was purchased by the Valley Railroad Company in 2008 and has since been completely rebuilt to resemble a New Haven Railroad J-1 Mikado and renumbered it NH #3025.—Wikipedia
