Little River Railroad to celebrate 50th anniversary

HILLSDALE — In April, the Little River Railroad is celebrating its 50th anniversary of sharing the railroad experience with hundreds of families.

The Railroad, which has become a staple in the tri-state region, regularly makes trips to Hillsdale, Quincy, and other towns in the area.

“Railroads are very nostalgic for most people,” said Travis Bloom, the vice president of Little River Railroad. “Kids love them. Older people love them.”

On April 21, the Railroad plans to celebrate its anniversary with a train ride featuring all the Railroad’s cars.

“We are going to put both of our steam engines on the train, which is called a double head. This is the first time we’ve had the two engines together since 2016 or 2017. So, it has been awhile since we have done anything like this,” Travis said.

He added that what the Railroad provides is very unique.

“We don’t have passenger trains everywhere that you can get on anymore,” Travis said. “Plus, we do operate steam locomotives, which, in the entire country, there are only about 150 of them that operate.”

The Little River Railroad has been a part of the Bloom family for decades now, since Travis’ dad first started it in 1974.

“I’m involved by default,” Travis said. “It was my father, Terry Bloom, that started the Little River Railroad.”

Terry is the owner of the steam engine the Little River Railroad and was the one who first incorporated the company as a nonprofit.

“My dad grew up like a lot of kids in the 50s—liking trains. He had a little model train set and was just fascinated by trains,” Travis said.

While on a family trip, Terry saw a rusted steam locomotive on the side of the road and knew he had to have it.

“So, at 22 years old, he bought a steam locomotive that was located about four or five hours away,” Travis said. “He had no place to run it and nothing to do so they loaded it up, put it on a flat car, and hauled it by rail to his hometown of Brookville, Ohio. Then, he spent the next two and a half years tearing it down and putting it back together and restoring it.”

The first trip the locomotive took was in the spring of 1975, running out of Angola, Indiana.

“It has been running ever since,” Travis said.

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While it was first based in Indiana, it has since moved to Michigan.

“We’ve been in Coldwater since 2005, so this is by far the longest we’ve ever been in one place,” Travis said. “It’s an exciting year for us as this is our 20th summer running out of Coldwater and it’s our 50th anniversary as well.”

Travis said he’s had a unique experience in that trains have always been a part of his life.

“When you grow up with something, to us it’s kind of just normal,” he said. “It’s given me a lot of knowledge on something that not many people know about.”

It has also helped Travis in his professional career, as he also works full time for the Indiana Northeastern railroad.

He also now gets to share his love of trains with the whole community through the Little River Railroad.

“We have many families who come back every year to do a certain event,” he said. “We have one family that’s been coming back for almost 15 years to run a caboose on our Christmas trips.”

Travis said the Railroad wouldn’t be possible without the help of all the volunteers it takes to run the trains and the support of all the surrounding communities.

“We couldn’t ask for better partners,” he said of the surrounding towns. “The response from Hillsdale has been wonderful and we are blessed in that respect that the towns we visit are very supportive.”

Keeping the railroad running hasn’t been without its challenges though.

“Every year presents new challenges,” he said. “As time goes on, the harder it gets to keep going, but we keep trying. That’s all we can do.”

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He said the best way the community can support the Railroad is through participating in events and buying ticks.

“We are funded primarily through our ticket sales,” Travis said. “So, supporting us means coming in and riding with us or making a donation.”

For more information about the Little River Railroad or to buy tickets, visit littleriverrailroad.com.

— Elyse Apel is a correspondent for The Hillsdale Daily News. She can be reached by email at ehawkins@hillsdale.edu.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Little River Railroad to celebrate 50th anniversary