By David Fortier

Steve Casey, Bristol native and railroad enthusiast, met me at the Railroad Museum of New England, in Thomaston, recently, to talk about the museum and his history with trains. In this Bristol Edition Podcast, Casey covers his responsibilities with the museum, shares the contagious allure with trains that runs through the Casey family. and promotes some of the train tours–yes, trains run, seasonally, on the weekends between Waterbury and Torrington,

At one point in the podcast, Casey recalled one of his first train rides, as a pre-schooler. On a trip to Waterbury, dressed in his engineer outfit, Casey looked on wide-eyed as the conductor asked his mother if he could help the engineer drive the train. And he did.

Casey is the president of the railroad museum, located in Thomaston in a crisply painted and smartly renovated, vintage station, which stands on a property along the rails, as an operating station should, and has on its grounds a number of train cars, including switcher cars, passenger cars, flatbeds, cabooses, and tankers. The station building houses various displays and an old-time ticket booth.

The trains run seasonally. For a list of tours and to schedule one, see the scheduling page on the RMNE website. The Wikipedia page on the Railroad Museum of New England provides more history. The museum is open Thursday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Website: rmne.org
• Phone: (860) 283-7245
• Address: 242 E Main St, Thomaston, CT 06787