1st Stop, Oct 24

1st Stop October 24th…
Left the Columbus area this morning and drove about an hour and a half to Lebanon, Ohio. Hats off to their marketing director for the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad. We arrived shortly before the first train departure for the Pumpkin Patch. I spoke with Jim one of their brakeman as well as Carolyn in the sales and ticket office. I was pleasantly Surprised to find they are making three runs a day with a total of twelve hundred passengers from their small depot. That would have shocked me even if they were in a large town, but check the map. Lebanon is at least an hour and a half from any major city; that is good marketing. I counted eight passenger cars and one open gondola with seats. Many of the train companies I’ve visited are big on special events, but it sounds like Lebanon make every run a special event. I took photos of their caboose and couldn’t pass up the little track-side gas station restored to the 1920’s era.