BOOTHBAY

C hugging down tracks usually reserved for century old steam engines at the Boothbay Railway Village was a familiar blue locomotive, instantly recognizable to thousands of children, including those who come to the museum every year for a special event — A Day Out With Thomas.

In Boothbay, Thomas the Tank Engine is doing more than just shuttling coaches of children and parents through the village. Thomas is being a Really Useful ambassador the village’s collection of real antique trains, automobiles and buildings.

“Every summer, Thomas introduces 7,000 people to the museum who may or may not have come otherwise,” said Margaret Hoffman, assistant director of Boothbay Railway Village.

The Boothbay Railway Village attempts to show what life was like in rural Maine between 1850 and 1950, with exhibits that focus on railroading, antique automobiles and small-town life. The village opened in 1964 as a private collection before gaining nonprofit status in 1981.

In addition to the railroad, the museum is also home to a collection of buildings that preserve a sense of life along the rails in the 19th and 20th centuries. For example, Maine Central’s Freeport station, which became obsolete when Maine Central discontinued service in the 1960, was moved to the museum in pieces and rebuilt there, according to Hoffman.

“I always tell people that what we preserve here is the slice of life from every day objects,” said Hoffman. “We don’t have the locomotive that famous presidents rode in cross-country. This was the normal-every-day. Even our car collection — much of it is Model Ts and Model As. Very common cars that revolutionized American transportation and American life.”

Helping to preserve that history is railroad superintendent Brian Fanslau, who takes care of the museum’s two-foot narrow gauge trains.

“I’ve always been into this type of stuff,” Fanslau said. “I’ve been hanging around it since I was 12-years-old.”

In the off-season, staff at the village repair and build boilers and engines for other historical museums and attractions. Much of Fanslau’s job consists of maintaining the century-old steam locomotives, but he still gets to act as engineer on occasion.

“This place has been here such a long time, that it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t been here or haven’t brought their kids here over and over again,” said Fanslau.

In the 20 years he has worked at the village, Fanslau said he’s seen some changes in those that visit, for better or for worse.

“People would come here and say, ‘I rode the narrow gauge from Wiscasset to school.’ That’s really gone. It’s evident in the past generation. There’s not this connection to the narrow gauge or the buildings. From my point of view it’s slightly unnerving, because the generation that grew up around this stuff is gone,” Fanslau said. “Sometimes you look and see kids playing on their iPhones, and it’s like … jeez.”

What the Day Out With Thomas event can do, Fanslau said, is introduce a new generation to the mystique of the railroad.

“It’s obvious a lot of kids and families come here that would never go to a history museum or a heritage railroad like this” if not for Thomas coming, said Fanslau. “Thomas itself is a lot of work, but we all have a great time. When you see the kids’ faces light up. And it’s a decent, wholesome character that the kids relate to.”

Once Thomas leaves at the end of the week, the village will still be there, preserving a Maine way of life that might otherwise vanished.

“There’s something romantic about the idea of a train,” said Hoffman, adding that, for most communities in the U.S., the train is not part of everyday life any more. Being on a train pulled by a 100-year-old locomotive, however, brings back a more visceral experience.

“You’re smelling the coal, the fire. You’re experiencing smoke and steam. It takes you back in a very physical way,” said Hoffman. “It feels very special when you’re on a train.”

Day Out With Thomas continues Aug. 15-17 at Boothbay Railway Village. For more information, go to www.railwayvillage.org, or call 633-4727.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com

DAY OUT WITH THOMAS will continue Friday-Sunday at the Boothbay Railway Village and takes place rain or shine. Parking is free.

Tickets for the event include a 20-minute train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine, as well as a variety of Thomas & Friendsthemed entertainment, as well as access to the museum’s other exhibits.

Thomas departs at the following times: 9:15 a.m., 9:50 a.m., 10:25 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:20 p.m., 1:55 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:05 p.m., 3:40 p.m.

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE online or onsite. Go to www.railwayvillage.org or call (207) 633-4727 for more information.