Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad, Boston and Maine Railroad, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, New York, Philadelphiaa and Buffalo, St. Louis Southwestern Railroad and Soo Line dining car china.
New York and Hartford Railroad dining car china as well as that of other railroads.
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and St. Louis Southwestern dining car china, known as the Cotton Belt Railroad.
Boston and Albany Railroad and Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad (known as the Monon Railroad) dining car china.
Boston & Maine Railroad, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, New York, Philadelphia and Buffalo Railroad and the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad dining car china.
New York Central Railroad dining car china.
Wabash Railroad dining car china.
Southern Pacific Mission and Southern Pacific dining car china.
A steam locomotive bell.
Various railroad china.
Union Pacific dining car china.
Chair from Pullman Car Ladies' Lounge.
Chicago and North Western clock.
Pullman dining car china.
Santa Fe Railroad dining car china.
Union Pacific partial railroad calendar.
PRR and CPRR water pitchers.
Pennsylvanian Railroad dining car china.
A model rocking train.
Chicago and Illinois Midland partial railroad calander.
Northern Pacific dining car china.
Colorado Midland Railway, Texas Midland Railroad and Western Pacific Railroad dining car china.
Fred Harvey dining car china.
Santa Fe dining car china.
Railroad pitchers.
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad dining car china.
Chicago and Alton Railroad, Unitah Railway and Lowell, Dracut Horse Railroad dining car china.
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad dining car china.
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, Ohio River Company and Oregon Railway & Navigation Company dining car china.
Great Northern Railroad dining car china.
Delaware and Hudson and other railroad's dining car china.
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad dining car china.
Maine Central Railroad dining car china.
Maine Central Railroad and Norfolk and Western dining car china.
Denver and Rio Grande Western dining car china.
Denver and Rio Grande Western, Gulf Mobile and Ohio and Amtrak dining car china.
Florida East Coast and Seaboard Airlines dining car china.
Missouri Pacific dining car china.
Missouri Pacific and other railway's dining car china.
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Mitropa, various International Railroads and London and Northwestern Railway dining car china.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad dining car china.
Various Compotes.
Canadian Pacific Railway and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway dining car china.
Canadian Pacific Railway dining car china.
Canadian Pacific Hotels ice bucket.
Canadian Pacific Railway dining car china.
Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway dining car china.
Pennsylvania Railroad partial railroad calender and dining car chairs.
Southern Railway dining car china.
Atlanta and West Point Railway dining car china.
Florida East Coast dining car china.
Florida East Coast and Atlantic Coast Lines dining car china.
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific dining car china.
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific and Alaska Railroad dining car china.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western dining car china.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, Lehigh Valley Transit and Lehigh Valley Railway dining car china.
Date nails display.
Erie Railway dining car china.
Pittsburgh and West Virgina Railway, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Erie Railway, Cadillac and Lake Erie Railway and other railways' dining car china.
Pennsylvania Railroad dining car chairs.
Various celery dishes.
Steam locomotive bell.
What a phenomenal collection of dining car china there is here.
Canadian National dining car china.
A British Columbia Electric Railway cup and saucer.
Lanterns, painting and oil cans.
Railway emblems.
The Canadian Pacific Dominion train board.
Station Manager's desk.
The Sousa poster.
Newel Post collection.
Track One from North Western station.
Ticket Office and Track Two from Chicago Union Station.
Kansas City Southern dining car china and uniform buttons.
A Nazi Era Lamp.
European railway pictures.
Pan Am Airlines emblem.
Locomotive Power Northern Express.
Scenic Railway of the World poster.
The Art of Dining on the Rails book.
Chicago and North Western dining car china.
After an fantastic tour, we took another path to the Railroad Garden on the way to our next destination, the Renaissance Rose Garden.
On the way there we stopped at the Amphitheater and Stage.
The Amphitheater and Stage. Next we went to the Renaissance Garden.
The Renaissance Garden. Next we headed to the Bio Swale.
On the way to the Bio Swale.
The Bio Swale is a natural way to clean water that flows into Lake Michigan. Next we will ride the train but first we had to get there.
On the way there we saw the grape vines for making wines. We arrived at the train.
Dairyland Express HistoryAll Aboard! The Dairyland Express first pulled into the farm in June 2010. The 16-inch gauge amusement park train powered by a Wisconsin gas engine has three cars to accommodate 18 adults or 36 children. Built in the 1950s, the train required more than a year of restoration beginning with a new engine and finishing with a green and gold paint job. The color scheme is in honor of the Green Bay Packers, of course, but also in remembrance of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad that once spanned from Chicago through Wisconsin. Mr. Christopher has wonderful memories of riding that train to visit his grandparents in Manitowish, Wisconsin. The track this train once ran on is one mile west of the Farm property. The train track was laid within two weeks by a team of college summer workers lead by Alex Beams, a 16-inch gauge train expert. Passengers can ride the train on a quarter-mile loop that wends its way through scenic surroundings. Highlights include a waterfall, spruce haven, train station, depot and a 92-foot tunnel, which houses the train when not in use. The Pigeon River Valley Railroad is named after the river valley in which it resides.
Our rideElizabeth and I photographed the train.
The complete train set.
The diesel engine that pulls the train. Now sit back and enjoy a ride on the Dairyland Express at the Christopher Farms and Gardens.
On the way there we came to a pond. They did not have a plain turkey sandwich for me so I could only have potato chips and water with no cookie. I was not a happy camper.
During lunch, it poured down rain turning the path we took into a river. After that shower had past by us, Elizabeth and I walked back to the train station to show you a few more railroad related things.
The banners for the Dairyland Express.
Railroad board for the Dairyland Express.
Bell from a Santa Fe steam engine.
A fire alarm station.
Old time letter box.
A town clock.
The Grafton Road station with my loving wife under her umbrella. We went into the Greenhouse and Conservatory and I went to use the bathroom after everyone had done so, I walked back and took a seat then Elizabeth and I used our umbrella to get everyone who needed it back into the Landscape Barn to listen to a question and answer session with Mr. Christopher.
Mr. Christopher answered every question that our group asked. After that very interesting talk, we decided to break up the group and I went to the Flag and Telescope on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.
The prairie on the way to the Flag and Telescope.
The eagle display at the base of the flag pole.
The United States Flag, at this moment standing limp.
The view looking south down the west shoreline of Lake Michigan.
The views looking out into Lake Michigan.
The view looking north at the peninsula to our north. I then used the telescope to get a much better view of the peninsula and points further north and was very glad I came here. Next we would take the bear path.
More of the prairie vegetation in this zone of the property. Next we moved into the woods.
A bull in a pen before we got to the woods.
A grizzly bear statue.
Interesting bear bench.
We came next to Goldilocks Cabin.
Bear climbing out of the tree statue.
A grizzly bear tearing up a Green Bay Packers jersey.
Two more bear statues along our walking path.
Another interesting bear bench.
We walked by this pond on the way back to the bus. It had been a very special visit to Christopher Farms and Gardens and what an incredible place this is. Upon return to the bus, Elizabeth checked me and all the other members off on her manifest and we rode the bus together back to Milwaukee. I made the trip page, went to the membership meeting and found out where next year's convention would be, Buena Park, California from May 16th to 21st, 2022. I worked on the story then we went to dinner at Jersey Mike's before continuing with stories and the usual e-mail and Internet things before we called it an early night.
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