Little River Railroad celebrates 50 years of steam engine train rides Sunday

COLDWATER — Most people who collect trains run them on tracks in basements or garages.

Terry Bloom runs his trains between Coldwater and Quincy on the Indiana Northeast R.R. tracks.

Bloom will celebrate 50 years of providing train rides on the Little River Railroad with a special 1 p.m. run Sunday. 

"It's just a hobby that got way out of hand. That's all I can say," he laughed.

Bloom started the Little River Railroad in Steuben County, Indiana, operating the over 50-ton steam engine on weekends along the tracks from Angola to the Pleasant Lake area. The trips in Indiana lasted 17 years until the nonprofit moved to White Pigeon in St. Joseph County, Michigan.

His family bought and restored the former Tennessee logging train steam engine before he graduated from college.

In 2005, Engine 110 was the last train to travel between Sturgis and Coldwater before the tracks were removed. "Next year, we're celebrating our 20th anniversary here in Coldwater," Bloom said. 

Bloom and his family now operate mostly Sunday excursions from the Coldwater Train Station, three miles to Quincy and back.

With warmer weather this year, the family started the mostly Sunday trips a month early. "We do an erratic schedule," Bloom said.

"The park in Quincy is beautiful, a perfect stop for the kids to pile off and play at the playground while they watch the engine switch around (for the trip back)," Bloom said. 

Some weekends, there are Saturday and Sunday trips. Sometimes, the train makes two trips a day.

The regular hour-and-a-half run costs just $10.

The trip leaves at 1 p.m., but plan to arrive at the station at least 30 minutes early. The station has a gift shop and a small museum on Race Street.

About 80% of the railroad business comes in the fall, with trips to see the fall leaf colors along the right-of-way and the Santa Express around Christmas.

Related story: Fall foliage colors seen from a steam engine trip through Branch County

The Bloom family is dedicated to restoring and operating historic railroad equipment, such as steam locomotives, which allows the young and old to experience what train travel was like before diesel engines took over in the 1950s. 

At age 74, Bloom said his hobby and love of steam engines spread to his family. His oldest son, Travis, and his younger son, Trevor, work on the railroad.

Trevor's wife Amanda obtained her engineer's license. Daughter Heather "fires the engine," and shovels in the coal to make the steam. "We can field a full female crew," Bloom said.

His grandson, Hudson, who will be 15 in July, knows how to fire the engine. "We can't let him go by himself without somebody being up there with him, but he can do it just fine," Bloom said.

And he said his 13-year-old grandson Decklan "loves running the engine. He's probably our next engineer."

While those who operate the train and throw switches need federal licenses and certifications, Little River Railroad needs volunteers who help board the sometimes 300 passengers or more on the trips as car attendants.

"It doesn't take a whole lot," Bloom said. "Those folks get to ride the train for nothing as often as they want."

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For information on the Little River Railroad, search https://littleriverrailroad.com.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Little River Railroad celebrates 50 years of steam engine train rides