Croswell Tours visiting the Historic Railpark in Bowling Green, KY

Hello, again! My name is Tony and I am one of the many tour escorts for Croswell. The past several months I have been “chompin’ at the bit” to get back out and see some of the wonderful places the U.S. has to offer. Recently I was fortunate enough to travel with 25 new friends on the Secret Bunker Tour to West Virginia (see the travel blog post “Back on the Road!). This time, I was off to Bowling Green, Kentucky to see three of my favorite things…trains, planes, and, um, FAST automobiles! Oh, there’s a sinkhole in there, too.

I have already been out on a tour with all the safety precautions in place – I knew what to expect. The seats on the bus were, of course, spread way out. There was so much legroom you could barely touch the footrest in front of you. I knew I would be sanitizing commonly touched surfaces and seats while on tour. But the cost of a few extra duties, and wearing a face mask, is a small price I am gladly willing to pay to tour through the beautiful Bluegrass State!

Situated near the heart of Bowling Green, Kentucky was our first stop – the Historic Railpark and Train Museum. As we pulled onto the parking lot, we came face-to-face with the railroad depot built (again) in the 1920’s – a time of swing dancing and flapper girls. The fascinating Louisville & Nashville depot has roots reaching back to a time before the civil war. It was originally burned by the Confederate Army as they withdrew from Bowling Green and rebuilt by the Union Army. Then knocked down and rebuilt in the 1920’s because it needed updates due to an increase in rail travel at the time.

Inside the depot is a railroad museum and, of course, a gift shop. The museum was filled with cool and sometimes quirky memorabilia from the golden age of rail travel – everything from lanterns used by conductors to the symbols etched by hobos to pass on the message about a “friendly lady that will feed you” or “a mean person.” They also had an awesome model train display…one just like my uncle and grandpa had when I was growing up! Well, almost; this one was bigger than my dining room at home. ☺

Parked out back on tracks that, during its heyday, probably carried train loads of tobacco, strawberries, and passengers were several renovated train cars. We all got to climb on board and visit each of the cars with our tour guide. The first car on the list was a mail car used to collect mail by swinging a metal hook out and “catching” bags of mail without stopping. Once the mail was sorted and re-bagged, the bags of mail were actually kicked off the train at the right depot – you didn’t want to mail your Aunt Ruth a glass ballerina for her birthday, for sure!

After seeing how the mail was collected, sorted, and booted from the train, we all ventured forward to the onboard workhorse…the locomotive. We got to sit in the driver’s seat and pull the levers, flip the switches, and spin the valves. I suddenly found myself daydreaming about what it would be like to drive such a massive and powerful beast past a patchwork of fields filled with tobacco and strawberries and pulling into little whistle-stops along the way.

We then moved back through the mail car and into the passenger cars such as the lounge, the dining car, and the Pullman sleeper cars. We also stuck our heads into the kitchen, which was so narrow that the cooks had to perform a delicate ballet just to do their jobs. The sleeper cars really blew my mind, though. When you first look, the little room didn’t look like much, but there were beds that just seemed to appear. The Pullmen, sort of a ‘train butler,’ would use his special key and pull beds out of the walls and even from the ceiling. I just had to giggle because a room the size of a walk-in refrigerator could instantly sleep six people with a few turns of a magic key.

We were all amazed by the stroll through the ages of rail history, but as some good things come to an end, other good things are right around the corner. Chuck, our talented motorcoach chauffer, pulled our trusty steed up to the curb and we all climbed aboard. We were off to the hotel to check in, grab a bite to eat, and freshen up a bit before heading back out. Our next destination – Chaney’s Farm! Chaney’s is a well-known dairy farm in the region. They produce fresh milk and make their own ice cream – from vanilla to rocky road. And I tell you what, the ice cream is so good your tongue will slap your face to get another bite! We were all treated to a scoop of ice cream made right there on site. We had the opportunity to watch an outdoor “moo-vie” after we finished our treat, but there was a little “liquid moonlight” and everyone decided it would be better to head back to the hotel for a little r & r. Despite the misty drizzle, we all enjoyed the delicious ice cream…a great conclusion to an exciting day. We were all certainly ready for a good night’s sleep.

The next morning started with a little breakfast and then off we went to the Aviation Heritage Park. Arranged in a circle were several military aircraft, including a UH-1 Huey and a Grumman Panther F9F. All the aircraft were in such beautiful condition I almost expected to see a pilot run out and take one on a mission. I could just imagine the jets looping and diving in combat and the Huey speeding along above the treetops in some far away land.

The next place for us to explore was the National Corvette Museum, the highlight of our trip. I’m not sure, though, if I was more excited to see the beautiful examples of car engineering or the sinkhole. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. In February 2014, a portion of the museum was swallowed by a sinkhole along with eight pristine, one-of-a-kind Corvettes…including the one millionth ‘Vette. Two of them have been restored, but there are still six that remain in the same condition as the day they were pulled out of the thirty-foot-deep chasm – still caked with red dirt.

I just can’t put into words how amazing it was to leisurely stroll through such a wide range of beautiful – and fast – cars. Exhibits showing the clay design prototypes and the models built for wind tunnel tests were especially fascinating. Plus, there were so many custom cars that any motorhead or speed freak would be on cloud nine!

After spending a couple hours perusing the collection of speedsters, we were treated to a tasty box lunch in the museum. The seating was arranged in a way that we could both enjoy each other’s company and practice social distancing. The tour director spent some time telling us stories about the infamous sinkhole and the restoration of the cars, which truly brought the tragedy to life.

The next thing I knew, me and sixteen of my new friends were heading north on I-71 with skillful Chuck at the wheel. That night after getting home, I dreamt I was on a train, being rocked gently to sleep by its light sway and the soft clickety-clack, clickety-clack as it made its way down the track. Wow, another amazing trip with incredible folks. I really love my job!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles