The Age of Steam and a scenic train ride in the Cuyahoga Valley.

In the little town of Sugarcreek, Ohio, there is a collection of magnificent steam engines, housed in a beautiful replica of a roundhouse built as they did in days gone by. This is the “Age of Steam” Roundhouse Museum.

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The roundhouse was built by Jerry Joe Jacobson, former CEO of the Ohio Central Railroad System. Jacobson kept a collection of vintage steam and diesel locomotives, other old equipment, and a depot at Sugarcreek, Ohio. He bought 34 acres in Sugarcreek and began constructing a roundhouse to house his collection. The roundhouse building was completed in 2011 and all of the steam locomotives, along with a few other select pieces of rolling stock in Jacobson’s collection, were moved inside the roundhouse that same year. It was the first large roundhouse built in the United States since 1951.

Jacobson and his wife, Laura set up an endowment to support the museum. The building is 48,000 square and has 18 stalls, each of which is large enough for a locomotive and its tender. The roundhouse is one of the largest heavy timber structures in America.

Inside this incredible structure are steam engines. Huge, majestic, magnificent steam engines…restored (as best as possible) to their former glory. And all (I’m sure!) with a story to tell.

There is a working machine shop attached to the roundhouse and there were two engines in there, being restored and repaired.

Because the place is a working roundhouse, you have to reserve a tour with a guide. The guides are highly knowledgeable about the history of each individual engine and obviously take pride in the workings of the museum.

Jerry Jacobson passed away in 2017. He is buried in a private mausoleum right across from the roundhouse. When he was laid to rest, the very first engine he acquired was rolled out of the roundhouse onto the turntable. It was then turned to face Jerry’s final resting place and they blew the whistle 21 times in his honor. Now, the foundation lovingly carries on his work and passion to bring the history of the “Age of Steam” to as many people as possible.

I stayed overnight in Sugarcreek, which is in Amish country. In addition to being the home of the Age of Steam museum, it also has the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock.

The next day, I drove up to Cuyahoga National Park to take the scenic rail trip from Peninsula to Akron (and back!) This took us along the old Ohio Erie Canal.

The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous.

The train passes two little stations on the way, and people who are biking or hiking on the tow path can be picked up or let off. You have to flag the train down by crossing your arms up over your head, so the engineer knows to stop. (If you just wave one hand, he’ll wave back and keep going!)

The two “Silver Solarium” cars used to be used by Amtrak on their “California Zephyr” line. The original sleeping cars are still there on the lower level, plus the front “parlor” and observation dome.

Our conductor pointed out interesting sites along the way, including the only working farm inside the National Park. This turned out to be a huge farm stand and I made a point to stop there after the ride and pick up some delicious veggies for supper.

It was a fabulous ride and a lovely afternoon. And then I was on to my next stop, a rustic cabin on a tiny pond, where I would cook my food, have a glass of wine and relax.

Engine, engine number nine
Coming down the railroad line
I know she got on in Baltimore
A hundred and ten miles ain’t much distance
But it sure do make a difference
I don’t think she loves me anymore