The Elkhorn City Railroad 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

Elkhorn City Elkhorn City is a home rule-class city in Pike County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 982 at the 2010 census. The city is located in proximity to the Breaks Interstate Park. History Elkhorn City was first settled by William ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. The museum was established in 1990 and is dedicated to educating the public on the history of railroads in Kentucky's Eastern Mountain Coal Fields region. It also documents the history of the local timber and coal industries and local

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

History

The museum was founded by Edward "Chick" Spradlin; a retired railroad employee. Most of Spradlin's 40-year career was spent in

railyard which was the northern terminus of the Clinchfield Railroad before it closed in 1981. Wanting to preserve the history of the railroad in the area he a few other former railroad employees started collecting artifacts and opened the museum in 1990 in a former Coal company office that was donated to the museum. In 1999 Chick died and management of the museum was transferred to the Elkhorn City Heritage Council. An organization created to preserve the history of the Elkhorn City area. The museum is still staffed by volunteers; most of whom are former railroad employees. In 2016 a water line break caused the main building to flood. This ruined many of the museum's pieces and caused it to temporarily close. A plan to renovate the museum was implemented in 2019. In 2020 the museum temporarily closed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and reopened by 2022.

Exhibits

More than 1,000 pieces of railroad memorabilia are on display, including two cabooses,

velocipedes A velocipede () is a human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle. The term was probably first coined by Karl von Drais in French as ''vélocipède'' for the French translation of ...

, motor cars, antique uniforms and equipment. Also on display are exhibits detailing the completion of the Clinchfield Railroad which was considered an engineering marvel at the time. All items and exhibits have been donated to the museum. Most of which were abandoned by the railroad when it closed and salvaged by members of the community. During the winter months when the museum is closed some displays are moved to the library and occasionally to area schools. The museum is also a stop on CSX's annual Santa train. A

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

-themed train that distributes toys, food, and clothing in the

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n region every November.

References

{{authority control Railroad museums in Kentucky Museums in Pike County, Kentucky 1990 establishments in Kentucky Museums established in 1990