Milton Lions Club unveils revamped train
Despite rainy weather forcing an early end, Milton Lions Club members and town officials were all smiles after the unveiling of the newly updated Clipper Express train in Memorial Park.
The train received a fresh paint job as well as repairs to the gear boxes, brakes and underneath structure of the cars. The train, which is owned by the town, and maintained and operated by the Lions Club, is nearly 70 years old.
The first event for the new train was the first Concert in the Park May 22. It will also be running for the annual Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird Festival Saturday, May 25.
Mayor John Collier, a former operator of the train, said, “It’s great to see this. They’ve done a lot of work. A lot of the work that has been done, you can’t see, but it was very necessary.”
Bob Crowell, head of the Lions Club’s train committee, said costs of the project, which could have been as high as $10,000, were substantially lowered thanks to both volunteer labor and generous donations from local businesses, including Ace Hardware, Albany’s Plumbing and Signarama.
Crowell said the changes to the train are all about making the experience of riding safer for everyone.
“The train has been rewired. We have strobe LED lights, front and rear. There are labels. This whole program came together not just for fun, but also for safety,” he said.
Crowell said the new look of the train was based on a couple of different inspirations. The red front car was based on the Santa Fe Super Chief, flagship train of the Santa Fe Railway. The red, white and blue stars on the sides were in an effort to be patriotic, he said.
The train was originally built by the state in 1956. It was purchased by the town for $1 in 1992. It was refurbished and put into operation in 1994.
Jack Hudson was mayor at the time the train was purchased. He said then-Rep. George Carey, who died in 2016, called him and asked if the town wanted a train. The train was then in possession of the Delaware Department of Transportation, which was not using it. After looking at it, Hudson said the town agreed to take it, and Carey made the arrangements to transfer it to the town.
“DelDOT delivered it down to us. There was a lot more track that went with this. In fact, there was a steam engine with it. Our plan was, initially, to run the track down around the river bank, but we didn’t have the manpower and the money. It cost a lot to put the track bed down. It sat around for a year or so. Then the Lions Club got involved, and thank goodness they did,” Hudson said. “It really is an attraction here.”
