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Golden spike driven during Lewes’ Train Day

Railroad and bridge association preserving 150-year history of local rail lines
Looking through a window of the restored 1917 Pennsylvania Railroad caboose, one can see the replica of the Lewes Junction Railroad Station. The railroad was the star of the day, as the Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association celebrated National Train Day May 10 at Lewes library and Stango Park. RON MACARTHUR PHOTOS
Ron MacArthur
May 15, 2024

It wasn’t Promontory Summit in Utah, but the Lewes Junction and Railroad and Bridge Association did its own re-creation of the historic event linking the first transcontinental railroad by driving its own golden spike on the tracks in Stango Park May 11 to commemorate National Train Day.

May 10 was the 155th anniversary of the event linking the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads in 1869. It was also the third event hosted by the association at the Lewes library. The event featured tours of the restored 1917 caboose, talks on future plans for the association, historic railroad photographs, a talk on the history of Lewes Junction Railroad, railroad-themed books in the library, a chance to view the replica Lewes Junction Railroad Station and free admission to the Lewes History Museum.

Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, presented a General Assembly proclamation to the association.

The association has been busy; it has led a successful effort to save the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal’s 1916 railroad swing bridge; negotiated use of a preserved 210-foot section of track to create a railroad history museum in Lewes on the grounds of Stango Park; purchased, restored and placed on the track a 1917 Pennsylvania Railroad caboose, the last caboose to travel the Lewes rails; and received a donation of a 1913 Pennsylvania Railroad steam locomotive and tender, which will be restored and placed on the track next to the caboose. 

Last week, members of the association moved the locomotive from Yorklyn to the Wimington and Western Railroad shop in Wilmington, where it will undergo restoration. The $500,000 project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Volunteers will lead the effort with assistance from contractors.

The railroad bridge is on display at the end of American Legion Road off Savannah Road.

For more information, go to lewesjunctionrr.org.

 

 

 

 

Association board member Tracy Mulvaney points the way to Train Day activities at Lewes library.
Thanks to efforts of association volunteers, a 1917 Pennsylvania caboose has been restored and is on display. It was part of the last train to Lewes Dec. 15, 2017, as the rail line was decommissioned and is now part of the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail.
The interior of the 1917 caboose has been meticulously restored by association volunteers.
Reese and Kate Bishop of Lewes get their first look inside the 1917 caboose.
The restored 1917 caboose joins with other historical icons in Lewes such as the Lightship Overfalls, which are both red.
Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, presents a proclamation to association President Randy Voith during a Train Day ceremony.
Association board member David Ludlow sets the golden spike near where two other spikes have been driven from previous Train Day festivities.
Nectar owner Lisa McDonald won a contest and had the honor to have the first hit on the golden spike.
Lisa McDonald gets down low to make sure she hits the spike on the 210-foot section of track in Stango Park.
Reese Bishop of Lewes is the youngest person to drive the golden spike.
Maureen Bishop of Lewes says she couldn’t let an opportunity like taking a hit on the spike pass her by.
The replica Lewes Junction Railroad Train Station was funded by Schell Brothers and is now part of the association’s outdoor exhibit adjacent to Lewes library.
David Ludow, association director and driving force in the organization, talks about the history of the driving of the first golden spike May 10, 1869, in Utah to complete the county’s first rail line linking east and west.
Andrew Mavretich, visiting with his family from Virginia, prepares to take a shot at the golden spike.

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