Walk the Train Trail at Gillette Castle State Park

[@donnamuir9049]

I love this part of the train trail tour. After spending a good portion of my Sunday afternoon viewing and enjoying most all of the "Friends of Gillette Castle" tours, it was indeed a pleasure to see, and hear, this great man clearly enjoying himself while riding the rails around his property. Thank you for including this film as part of the Train Trail experience.

[@BrickByBrick2]

Lol was here when this was filmed

[@danthechevymanc6b475]

It would be great to restore the tracks and have a replica of the train on there giving rides. I rode that train at lake compound when I was a kid. I loved that train. Lake compounce kept a few of the train cars and made them into a counter in their gift shop.

[@friendsofgillettecastle1941]

It’s a nice sentiment, and you are definitely not alone with that feeling. However, it’s not realistic or practical and it’s downright impossible. First of all, a miniature railroad doesn’t really fit under the typical operation of a state park, so it’s more suitable to keep the rail bed as walking trails. It would also be a logistical challenge that would just not be worth it. It wouldn’t make sense to replicate the engines. The park has both of them. The steam engine has been in storage since it came over from Lake Compounce. The electric engine was restored in 2007 and it’s on display in the Visitor Center. That restoration was $10,000 and a combination of years of fundraising by the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park. The purpose was to have as a display piece. That is all it is. There is nothing mechanically there on the inside anymore. To get both engines in working order would be an extensive project in and out itself. And then there is the idea of restoring the rail bed. First of all, that would involve placing 3 miles of tracks. The engine house is gone, so a new building would have to be constructed to holding the engines. The wall leading up to Grand Central Station has been rebuilt and moved, so that would have to be changed in order to accommodate the trains. The park Entrance Road, goes right over where the tracks are used to go, so that would be another logistical/safety issue to consider. The big train bridge leading up to the tunnel has been closed for about a decade. The footing is not structurally sound and recently, a tree fell right through it. To repair that bridge alone would be a six-figure capital project. The original railroad turnaround is not accessible from the rail bed. The edge of the hill eroded and that area is not possible. There are other considerations as well such as the cost of finding proper staff to run it and maintain it. The insurance cost would be tremendous. There’s a other factors like the idea of safety issues of having a railroad operating through a park where people are walking, noise issues, etc.

[@danthechevymanc6b475]

@@friendsofgillettecastle1941 It can be done, it would certainly be a challenge though. CT especially our current governor unfortunately doesn't care about historical sites and tourist attractions. We pay outrageously high taxes and the money just disappears. It never goes back into the community. If you could get a few grants from the state and launch a huge crowd funding campaign with the local news promoting it you could raise the funds to do it. Imagine how many more people would visit there if they could get a train ride. Obviously, insurance would be expensive and you would have to make some minor changes to the train and cars to make it safer but it certainly can be done. There just doesn't seem to be any ambition. The best alternative is to keep it as a walking path with lots of signs and photos explaining what there. Maybe even doing walking tours like in the video. However, I've heard from people that have been out there more recently that even the walking area has not been maintained and mostly blocked off to the public. I enjoy taking the castle tour and would have taken my girlfriend this year if it wasn't for covid restrictions. Hopefully, we can go next year. it seems that only the castle is being maintained. I only visit the castle once in a while. If there was a ride i'd be there several times a year. I really hope something can be done. I'm worried the state will shut down the park and abandon it.

[@friendsofgillettecastle1941]

@@danthechevymanc6b475 I do hope that you have a chance to visit the park soon and see for yourself. If you are interested in helping, The Friends of Gillette is actively working on projects at the park. If you are interested in learning more about the organization, you can visit the website, www.gillettecastlefriends.org The Friends of Gillette has a small core group of people and has been progressing, trying to take on more projects, programming and get funding. Most recently, we got a charitable grant for $17,500 to put on the holiday program in 2018. Believe me, your tax dollars are being put to good use. Due to the passport to the parks program that started in 2018, parks have a consistent revenue stream every year and are able to provide complete services and staffing for the system. That is something that they did not always have. Budget cuts and 2016 and 2017 severely limited the park. The state definitely cares about the park. You don’t have to worry about that. The state bonding commission gave the park $1.99 million for capital projects. Phase 1 was the reconstruction of the retaining wall around the castle and that was finished last year. Phase 2 was restoring and repairing the canopy of the port Cochere at the front entrance of the castle. That should be finished within the next week or two. Phase 3 will be the resurfacing of the terrace. You also have to understand how the system works. There are 110 state parks, 32 forests and countless other recreation areas, wildlife management areas, boat launches etc. in the state park system. The Gillette castle state park unit alone covers about a dozen properties. Please include Devils Hopyard, Gardner Lake, Selden Island, sunrise, Machimoodus etc. - all with their own unique needs. To serve all of those properties, there is one full-time supervisor, One full-time maintainer and about another dozen seasonal maintainers. They do a damn good job! There are another dozen seasonals between the castle in the office. The castle is operating with tours this season. Unfortunately, that is a skeleton crew for all of the work that needs to be done. One full-time maintainer passed away just before Christmas and the department is actively working to fill the position, but the process takes several months. Both the park officials and the friends group have their priority list of things that need to be done. Unfortunately, a railroad is not part of that. There are many more pressing issues to tackle. It’s just the nature of the situation. If you want to get involved or learn more about it, I definitely recommend getting involved with the friends group.

[@danthechevymanc6b475]

@@friendsofgillettecastle1941 Thanks for the info. I'll look into seeing if I can help

[@MrRailroadrunner]

I have to ask, while the electric locomotive is well documented, I see no mention or photos of the steam engine present day? What condition is it in and is it in storage?

[@friendsofgillettecastle1941]

It is currently in storage. From my understanding, the condition is not great. Rumor is that they used some parts from that engine in the restoration of the electric engine- though that is no confirmed.

[@BrickByBrick2]

This reminds me of Skyrim also