Toledo, Lake Erie and Western Railway and Museum says it's working on phase one of an effort to revive the train.
WATERVILLE, Ohio — A beloved piece of northwest Ohio’s history may soon be rolling again as the Bluebird passenger train, once a popular attraction during the 1970s, could be making a comeback.
Though its carriages are home to nothing more than dust and spiders, a group of dedicated volunteers from the Toledo, Lake Erie and Western Railway and Museum is working to breathe new life into the rails stretching from Grand Rapids to Waterville.
"It's definitely an opportunity to capture a part of the past that has long since dissipated with the use of the automobile and the fact that we're connected to the internet," Durrell Johnson with TLE&W said. "To think about how our parents and grandparents and great grandparents and the people that came before us actually were able to travel and move goods and services."
The Bluebird once ran both steam and diesel engines, offering a nostalgic travel experience for many locals, including nearby resident Connor Hotz.
"When I was younger, my parents and my friends and family used to take us on the train, and we would dress up during Halloween time and we would go down the train tracks just about a mile or so and back and forth," Hotz said.
For Johnson, the memories are still vivid.
“I rode the train when I was a kid with my grandmother and my mother, and I remember that day like it was yesterday," Johnson said. "The thing that really caught my attention was that we were steam powered at that time, so the smell of the coal smoke and the steam exhaust and being able to look down the center of the car and see the smoke box of the locomotive as it gently rocked going down the track, those are indelible memories for a for a small child."
Johnson said reviving the Bluebird won’t be easy or cheap.
“It’s very costly,” he said. “We rely on ticket sales from motorcar operations and the donations from members to complete these projects. It’s all volunteer time, and it's all volunteer materials and donations from members in the general public as well."
Crews are currently focused on phase one of the restoration, which includes repairing parts of the track near the Ludwig Road crossing.
When it’s ready, Hotz said he'll be ready to create new memories, taking his daughter on the train.
For now, the Bluebird sits still, but its whistle may soon echo once again through the countryside.
Johnson said if all goes well, the train could be running by this time next year. In the meantime, they're looking for passionate railroad volunteers to help.
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