Tag: country roads

Rail, River and Road

Our recent bike ride took us to some local historic spots. First stop was the Greenville Railroad Park & Museum in Greenville, PA. The park is located near a working track, currently operated by Norfolk Southern (the former Erie Railroad mainline). Started by volunteers in 1985 to preserve Greenville’s railroad history, the park is now part of the Greenville Museum Alliance.

The Union Railroad engine #304/604 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Work in 1936 at Eddystone, PA and retired in 1958. You can climb into the engine to check out the view from the driver’s seat and even ring the bell. Every instrument in in the driver’s compartment is labeled, and information on the engine is displayed on various signs inside and out.

Next climb aboard the 1985 Bessemer caboose and explore how the crew would have lived, complete with a kitchen and bathroom.

The Bessemer Ore Jenny #20567 (pictured far left) was built in 1952 at the Greenville Steel Car Company close to where the park sits today.

The Wheeling & Lake Erie Caboose #0205 (center 2 photos) was 1 of 60 built in 1948 by Wheeling & Lake Erie. Today you can explore the car when the park is open, but it can also be rented for events like birthday parties.

Attached to the party caboose is an open air car that has picnic tables (far right photo)

The park also includes an indoor museum and a gift shop. Inside you’ll find tons of railroad related items, a replica of a dispatcher station and an operating model railroad display.

Look closely at the display and you’ll notice it includes a replica of Main Street Greenville.

It’s amazing how many items they have at this museum, and the volunteers have done a fantastic job of labeling and providing the history and information on all the items on display. The volunteers are also very informative and friendly so take a moment to talk to them and learn a little of the history of Greenville and the railroad industry.

Next stop was The Canal Museum in Greenville which provides the history of the Erie Extension Canal that existed between 1854 and 1871.

Inside the museum you’ll find various items related to the canal, ore furnaces and other local history. The location of the museum is the site of Lock No. 22 of the canal.

Also in the museum there is a replica of a typical canal boat, the Rufus S. Reed. You’ll see how the cargo was stored, as well as a peek into the living quarters on the boat.

The last historic stop of the day was Kidds Mills Covered Bridge. Built in 1868, it is the last historic covered bridge in Mercer County, PA.

The bridge is 120 feet long and spans the Shenango River.

The Kidds Mill Bridge Park also includes a hiking/biking trail and dock designed for kayaks.

We wrapped up the day by grabbing a bite to eat at the Jug Handle in Transfer. The bar offers indoor dining, a patio and even has a drive-thru option.

This is a nice large bar with plenty of pool tables and skill games to keep you entertained while you wait for your food or if you just want to stop in for a few drinks.

We had the mozzeralla sticks while we waited on our pizza. It was a nice thick crust with plenty of cheese, but what I liked best was the toppings went clear to the edge.

With full bellies, we traveled the backroads home enjoying the weather and the beautiful countryside.

To view some videos from the day check out my Instagram page.

Covered Bridges & Ice Cream

We spent the 4th on the bike enjoying the beautiful weather and exploring some covered bridges in Ashtabula County Ohio. We have been to most of the bridges and once we have them all 17 checked off I will do a post with all of them.

Yesterday we stopped at Netcher Road Covered Bridge, Giddings Road Covered Bridge and South Denmark Covered Bridge. These three are close together and make for a nice day trip. All three are located in Jefferson, Oh and cross over Mill Creek. The total trip for us was around 140 miles. We stayed off the major highways and enjoyed the country roads.

First stop was Netcher Road Covered Bridge located at 1544 Netcher Rd, Jefferson, OH. The bridge is 110 feet long, 22 feet wide and 14 feet size inches tall, and was open to traffic in 1999.

On either side of the bridge there are small pull offs so that you can stop and check the bridge out a little closer, and if you’re like me snap some pictures.

Next up was Giddings Road Covered Bridge, just 3 miles from Netcher, located at 1399 Giddings Rd, Jefferson, OH. This bridge was built in 1995 and 107 feet long. There is only one small pull off, you may need to just park along the road if you’d like to stop and walk the bridge.

The last bridge of the day was South Denmark Covered Bridge. Located at 2670 S. Denmark Rd, Jefferson, OH is is about 8 miles from the Giddings Road bridge.

This bridge was built in 1890, but bypassed with a steel bridge in 1975. Access to the bridge is easy and can still be driven across by any vehicle under 4 tons.

The South Denmark Covered Bridge is 100 feet long with a span of 76 feet, 13.24 feet wide and 11 feet high.

After checking out the bridges we made our way to Jamestown, PA to try to find a bite to eat. Most places were closed for the 4th but the Jamestown Hunger Buster was open and serving great food and had a ton of options for your sweet tooth. They offer over 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream, just as many flavors of hard ice cream, shaved ice and so many more desserts. This little shop even has their own bakery.

There is some outside seating, but the only tables out of the sun are on the small porch. Another option is always to grab you food and head up to Pymatuning State Park just up the road and enjoy the lake view while eating.

We opted to split one of their wedges so we had room for ice cream. I’m glad be did because it was stacked with meat and cheese, and boy was it good. We tried three flavors of the hard ice cream, Brown Butter Bourbon Truffle, Midnight Carmel River and Carmel Cheesecake Cookie Monster. They were all delicious but the Brown Butter Bourbon Truffle was my favorite.

Bellies full, we headed back home for the day.

A couple tips when exploring the Ashtabula Covered Bridges:

  • Check out the area you are exploring for the day and plan ahead for somewhere to get something to eat and drink. Some of the bridges are off on their own so you may want to figure you dining options in ahead of time.
  • Second is related to the location of the bridges as well….restrooms. Most but not all of the bridges do not offer a restroom close, so again just be aware and plan before you head out.