Toledo Lake Erie & Western Railway: Apple Butter Festival

On Sunday, October 11th, 2026, I visited the Toledo Lake Erie & Western Railway in Grand Rapids Ohio, around 20 minutes from where I live, during the town’s Apple Butter Festival. I went to the festival to volunteer with a group of people who run a wish house in my home town that I know very well, so I was able to film much of the TLEW’s operations. It was a bit wet but it was fun! It was cool to document their motorcar operations. I was told they plan on getting their “Bluebird Passenger Train” back in limited service by around spring next year if all goes according to plan! I also caught a bonus CSX the following day right by where I take classes. Please go support TLEW at tlew.org to make it happen! And please support TLEW on YouTube by subscribing to their ‪@TLEWRailwayMuseum‬ YouTube channel! I will certainly be out covering and documenting the inaugural run of the bluebird! A history of the TLEW: The Toledo, Lake Erie and Western Railway and Museum (reporting mark (reporting mark TLEW)), commonly styled TLE&W or TLEW, is a volunteer-run nonprofit heritage railroad and railroad museum in Grand Rapids, Ohio. Founded in 1965 and incorporated in 1969, it preserves about 10 miles (16 km) of the former Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad—the Clover Leaf route—between Waterville and Grand Rapids. That line later became part of the Nickel Plate Road and the Norfolk and Western Railway. The line crosses the Maumee River on a 901 ft (275 m) through-truss bridge completed in 1916 after the Great Flood of 1913 destroyed the earlier crossing. The organization describes the span as the longest railroad bridge owned by a tourist railroad east of the Mississippi River. TLE&W is best known for the Bluebird excursion train, which carried passengers along the Maumee Valley from 1969 until regular service paused in 2009. The museum now operates seasonal motorcar rides over the river crossing while volunteers rebuild track and equipment under a phased plan to return limited passenger service. Regular Bluebird passenger service was suspended in 2009 for track work. A planned return in 2010 did not take place. In the years that followed the organization reported vandalism and theft of equipment, including a Nathan M5 horn intended for ALCO S-4 No. 5109 after that locomotive was repainted in Chesapeake and Ohio Railway colors in 2013. A for-profit freight partnership arranged in the early 2010s ended when the lease terminated on December 31, 2014. Volunteers then concentrated on the museum site, track, and passenger equipment. On February 14, 2014, TLE&W acquired the former Waterfront Electric Railway Museum property at 17475 Saylor Lane in Grand Rapids, adding a shop, car barn, and exhibit space. The museum held an open house on the site on May 10, 2014. A static display consist nearer downtown Grand Rapids, including locomotives No. 1 and No. 202, has been used for exhibits and special events. The organization now describes itself as a museum with railroad operations: it began as the group that ran the Bluebird, later took on a museum, and is restoring passenger service so families can ride the Clover Leaf again. While the Bluebird remains out of regular service, TLE&W operates seasonal motorcar trips from Grand Rapids. The advertised 2026 season runs Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. From Early May through late October, weather permitting. The short narrated ride crosses the 1916 Maumee River bridge and continues to the Grand Rapids Road platform. The museum has published a four-phase plan to resume passenger service. Phase I, described as in progress as of 2026, would establish limited operation between Patton Road (milepost 21.7) and Jeffers Road (milepost 23.3). Published work for that phase includes replacing about 1,500 mainline ties, culvert and vegetation work, a new loading platform at Yawberg Road, coach repairs, crew qualification, and public notifications. Later phases would extend operation west toward Front Street and milepost 25, then farther along the line as track is renewed. Public updates in 2025 and 2026 documented rehabilitation of C&O ALCO S-4 No. 5109, including axle repair and the reinstallation of hanging steps and brake rigging completed on August 29, 2026; rebuilding of the Patton Road crossing; re-decking and repainting of Wabash flat car 553; and work on motorcars and maintenance machinery. The museum has identified Federal Railroad Administration certification of No. 5109 as a remaining requirement before the locomotive can legally pull passenger trains. So as for what’s coming next, 765 on the fall colors excursion will be the next video in line, which will be up next weekend! And after that, 1225 on the North Pole express to round out the year!