Railroad Museum of New England (RMNE)

The Railroad Museum of New England traces its lineage to the Connecticut Valley Railroad Association and its successor, the Connecticut Valley Railroad Museum, founded in the mid-1960s. The volunteer group ran steam excursions across Connecticut in the late 1960s and played a key part in launching Essex's Valley Railroad in 1971, where its growing collection lived through the 1980s. The RMNE name and trademark were adopted in 1987 after the organization reassessed its goals, and following a search for a permanent home it was offered the ex-New Haven line from Waterbury to Torrington in early 1995. That June, RMNE incorporated a new Naugatuck Railroad Company — exactly 150 years after the original road's 1845 charter — and tourist trains commenced in September 1996 over right-of-way first opened for service in September 1849. The railroad is headquartered at Thomaston station, built in 1881, last used by passengers in 1958, and set afire by vandals in 1993; ownership passed to RMNE in 1996, the roof was replaced in 1997 with a grant from a local bank, and volunteers have steadily restored the building toward its mid-century appearance.