April 8, 2021 | Carillon Historical Park
DAYTON, OHIO – Carillon Historical Park announced today the construction of the Carillon Park Railroad; a nearly mile-long, 3’ narrow gauge rail network, equipped with a replica 1851 locomotive, capable of carrying 120 guests on a narrated circle tour of Carillon Historical Park’s exhibit buildings. The privately funded $9 million project will feature two loading stations, passage through the newly reconstructed stable, a 100’ long triple-cell ConSpan bridge, two open-air coaches, and rare views of Carillon Park. Excavations will begin this spring, and museum officials plan to have the attraction open by the end of 2022.
The Carillon Park Railroad is a major component of their campus-wide masterplan, and builds upon a concept conceived by Carillon Park founder Edward Deeds to include a large scale mid-19th century locomotive among the original exhibits. A miniature model, commissioned by Deeds in the 1940s serves as an inspiration for the endeavor. “It is a real pleasure to implement and expand upon a project that our founder was excited about”, said Carillon Park President Brady Kress. “Achieving this milestone will provide a welcome form of guest transportation around the Park, and will be one more way of sharing unique regional stories throughout our historic campus.”
Throughout construction, Carillon Park will remain open and the exhibit buildings will be available for guests to enjoy. “We are also intentionally prolonging this construction project to work around the nesting habits of the resident American Bald Eagles on our campus. With almost non-stop construction over the past 5 years, they seem to enjoy the show below.” said Kress. The new railroad will not replace, but rather complement the much smaller Rail & Steam Society trains operated since 1984 by dedicated volunteers on special days during the year.
Carillon Historical Park | 1000 Carillon Blvd. Dayton Ohio 45409 | daytonhistory.org
Carillon Historical Park is Site #4 on the Aviation Trail.