Andy Close
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Saturday was a perfect day to celebrate National Train Day at the Sheffield Depot Heritage Museum, which hosted its annual Open House.
Railroads have been a part of Warren County’s history since the 1800s, with the first run coming on Oct. 4, 1864.
The final passenger train came through in 1965.
“It was a Philadelphia to Erie railroad,” noted Denny Sturdevant of the Sheffield Depot Preservation Society (he also serves as Sheffield Township Historian). “Then after that, Pennsylvania Railroad took it over. Now it’s a Buffalo-Pittsburgh railway, which is a division of Genesee & Wyoming.”
The museum was found in 2006 and the open house, which lasted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, was a way to allow the community to find out more about it.
“We started this in 2006,” Sturdevant, who along with his wife, Judy, were busy showing people around and telling them about the historical aspects of the museum Saturday. “we established a fundraiser board and memorial board to raise money. The other two boards are the Epstein family that donates scholarships to Sheffield High School students.”
The museum is filled with artifacts from a bygone train era. 
There are also a wide variety of model trains, including a Big Boy scale model engine, a model drilling rig, and a speeder train car (a small railcar that was used to inspect tracks as well as to quickly move work crews to and from work sites).
“We have three different models, HL, Lionel and American Flyer S-Gauge,” Sturdevant said.
The station also serves as a hub of local history as well and includes yearbooks from Sheffield High School dating back to 1922 and up to the present day.
Donations were accepted at the open house Saturday, as new features and upgrades continue to make the museum what it is today.
Take a picture tour of the museum (just click on any picture to star the gallery)
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