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Visitors to the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat can board vintage rail cars pulled by an authentic steam locomotive. (Steven Frischling for The Boston Globe) |
ESSEX, Conn. -- The tall man bent toward the young boy whose eyes devoured his crisp uniform and black cap with its shiny badge. Slowly the man drew from his pocket a gold watch on a chain; he held it out to the boy, who fingered it tentatively, breaking into a broad smile. It might have been a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting.
The enduring fascination of children for trains is at the heart of the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat ride, the only such combination excursion still running in the country, according to Bob Wuchert, operations manager and conductor.
Wuchert can't remember a time when he wasn't interested in trains. He grew up in Wallingford, and his relatives traveled to work by train. On weekends, he and his family took the train to New York for recreation.
But he never had one of those models so often pictured in holiday scenes. "I wasn't into train sets," Wuchert said. "I was after the real thing."
A historian, Wuchert has published three books on the New Haven R ailroad (formally, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Co.) . He began his association with the Valley Railroad Co., which operates the Essex steam train and riverboat, as a volunteer eight years ago. His favorite part of the job, he said, is sharing the history of the railroad and being an ambassador for the region.
At the 1892 Essex Station visitors board vintage rail cars pulled by an authentic steam locomotive. The train meanders through the countryside to Deep River Landing, where passengers can disembark and take an optional tour on the Connecticut River aboard the Becky Thatcher riverboat.
On a sunny afternoon in May, excitement was in the air as passengers waited to board the train. Bells clanged and the steam engine hissed. We got on the parlor car, an original Pullman car built for the Yankee Clipper, which in the 1920s could make the trip from Boston to New York in four hours. All the cars on that train were named after clipper ships; we were riding in the Great Republic. Furnished with comfortable, deep green upholstered barrel swivel chairs, the parlor car offers a bit more comfort than the regular cars with padded, reversing seats.
We heard the clipped "All Aboard!" -- the conductor's voice rising on "aboard" -- the bell, and the foghorn-like whistle, and the train lumbered out of the station.
Moving at about 9 miles per hour and rocking gently from side to side, the train passed tidal marshes filled with wild rice, which attracts great blue herons, swans, ducks, geese, cormorants, egrets, and eagles. We passed marinas filled with boats still shrink-wrapped awaiting warmer weather. A narrator described the mechanics of the train and the vistas.
At Deep River, we left the train to board the Becky Thatcher. The 70-foot Mississippi-style riverboat was built in 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It has three decks and two diesel engines. Originally, it had a paddle wheel, which has since been removed.
We cruised by Selden Island, the state's largest island, with its abandoned granite quarries. We slowed for the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, a waterborne continuation of Connecticut Route 148 that carries passengers and cars between the two towns.
We floated by Gillette Castle, the medieval-looking granite-over-steel structure actor William Gillette, best known for his portrayals of Sherlock Holmes, built between 1914 and 1919 on 160 acres; the six-story 1876 Goodspeed Opera House, the largest wooden structure on the Connecticut River; and the East Haddam swing bridge, which opens by pivoting on its granite base.
After the riverboat ride, we took the train back to Essex Station and checked out River Valley Junction, a museum in the historic Witch Hazel Bottling Plant. Along with train memorabilia, the museum offers interactive exhibits highlighting other local attractions, such as the Ivoryton Playhouse (a chest of costumes to dress up in) and the Florence Griswold Museum (a game that creates art when participants successively embellish an initial sketch).
In addition to sightseeing tours, the Essex Steam Train offers a variety of special events. The elegant dinner train operates in two vintage cars: The Meriden, with burgundy swags at the windows, stenciling, and globe lamps, providing an Art Deco effect; and the Wallingford, in gold, beige, and green, with a beautiful leaded glass partition. Both offer a 2 1/2-hour train ride and four-course dinner prepared on board.
The highlight of the season is the annual visit of the original Thomas, which continues to be a huge draw for boys and girls, Wuchert said. This year's event will be Nov. 3-4 and 10-11, and tickets are going fast.
If you go. . .
Essex Steam Train & Riverboat
1 Railroad Ave., Essex, Conn.
860-767-0103, 800-377-3987
essexsteamtrain.com
Sightseeing tours May 5-Oct. 28; Day Out With Thomas Nov. 3-4 and 10-11; holiday schedule Nov. 23-Dec. 23. Train and riverboat, adults $26, children (ages 2-11) $13. Train only, adults $17, children $9; add $5 for parlor car. Dinner train, $70 per person, excludes drinks and gratuity. Special fares for holiday events and Day Out With Thomas.
Directions: Essex is 121 miles from Boston. Take Interstate 95 south through Rhode Island to exit 69 in Connecticut. Follow Route 9 north to exit 3. Turn left at the end of the ramp, and the depot is less than a quarter mile on the left.
Ellen Albanese can be reached at ealbanese@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
