The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum is a

railroad museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives (steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic equ ...

located in Lenox,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States, that offers historical exhibits. The museum was founded in 1984 as a not-for-profit organization. During the 1980s and 2003-2011 it offered tourist train rides between Lenox and Stockbridge on the

Housatonic Railroad The Housatonic Railroad ( ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, and ...

right-of-way. In 2016 the museum began tourist train service in

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the ...

Initial train service

In 1984 the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum began operating passenger excursions between Lee and Great Barrington, over tracks owned by the Housatonic Railroad. Due to deteriorating track conditions, passenger operations were suspended in 1989. The excursion trains returned in 2003, based at the restored station in Lenox, with regular schedules to Lee and Stockbridge. Special events are sometimes held in conjunction with railroad operations. In 2011, the Housatonic Railroad announced it would not be renewing its agreement with the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum which allowed the operation of excursion trains on its tracks. Colin Pease, spokesperson for HRRC, said, "The Housatonic Railroad has determined that the continued operation of the Berkshire Scenic Railway on Housatonic-owned tracks is no longer possible." Pease could not give a reason as to why the relationship suddenly changed.

Hoosac Valley Train

In 2014, the museum received a $200,000 state grant to move its excursion train operations and begin Hoosac Valley Service tourist train rides between Adams and North Adams. The Town of Adams spent $500,000 renovating a former car wash into a railroad station.

MassDOT The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...

is purchasing this portion of the Adams Branch from private railroads. In November 2015 the City of North Adams completed an agreement to lease land for a temporary passenger platform for the Hoosac Valley line. The museum announced that rail service would begin in May 2016, and that one-hour round trip rides would be offered every weekend through the summer, departing from North Adams.

References

External links

Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum
{{authority control Museums established in 1984 Railroad museums in Massachusetts Heritage railroads in Massachusetts Museums in Lenox, Massachusetts