History

One of the earliest railroads that ran through Bellevue in 1839 was the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad.  See the History of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad and the first engineer of the "Sandusky", Thomas Hogg. (See a Picture and Obituary of Thomas Hogg.) The Mad River & NKP Railroad Society, a non-profit organization, chose this as part of their name when they formed. In 1976 they opened the museum as a lasting bicentennial project. Henry Flagler, who built the Florida East Coast Railroad once lived on the property where the museum is now located. TSCX COLLECTION The private collection of Ted & Sarah Church of Erie, PA is an interesting addition to our museum. The collection is displayed in former Troop Sleepers 9210, 9211, 9212 which were used by the U.S. Army during the war. Within these cars you will see wall and floor cases and pictures lining both sides of the cars. In the wall cases are displays of torches, buttons, badges, locks, silverware and many hand tools with historical interest. The floor cases hold china and linens and much more. MUSEUM TOURS Hanging along the walls are numerous lanterns and light fixtures from as early as 1890. A large drawing from 1880 shows the Old Union Station on the lake front in Cleveland while another drawing shows the corporate history of the LS&MS Ry. ARTIFACTS ... such as uniforms, timetables, lanterns, china, locks and much more continue to grow each year thanks to the many donations from the people interested in preserving the history of the railroading.

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