Gifts and Artifacts Chesapeake & Ohio Railway History
The New C&O Historical Society Catalog is Here!
We’re excited to announce that our latest catalog is now available — packed with railroad history, exclusive products, membership opportunities, and more!
Explore a wide variety of C&O Railway merchandise, books, apparel, and collectibles — all featured in the catalog.
Inside you’ll also find:
Details on C&O Railway History Series Book Subscriptions
A Membership Application to join the C&O Historical Society
Information on how to donate and help preserve C&O Railway heritage
Don’t miss your chance to grab your copy and become part of preserving railroad history!
Give a gift that lasts all year! A one-year gift membership to the C&O Historical Society is a thoughtful way to celebrate a birthday, holiday, or special occasion while connecting someone you care about with an organization they’ll enjoy supporting. Your recipient will receive a full year of membership benefits—a meaningful gift to enjoy long after the occasion has passed.
Created from original scans of a rare 1948 Chesapeake & Ohio Railway booklet, this beautiful calendar features restored and enhanced Chessie artwork from 1934–1946. Each image has been carefully edited to preserve the charm and nostalgia that made Chessie an icon loved by generations.
This special edition is more than just a calendar — it’s a tribute to the lasting legacy of Chessie and the memories she continues to inspire.
This year’s Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society’s Steam Calendar features a selection of vintage steam locomotives from the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. While early photographs of these locomotives are rare, the C&OHS has curated some of the finest images from its collection for the 2027 Vintage Steam Calendar.
On March 30, 1930, The C&O introduced a new train called The Sportsman. It not only traveled a new route, but carried a new type of car that made it the envy of the railroad world. This was followed a few years later with air-conditioning. The train connected the vacation resorts of the Virginia seashore with the resorts in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia, and with the playgrounds of the Great Lakes in Michigan.
The George Washington Train Show will be a fun-filled weekend. The show will include: model layouts, model train vendors, railroad memorabilia, a visit to the museum, food, and so much more!
The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit corporation dedicated to interpreting the American Railway experience using C&O Railway’s history through drawings, documents, and artifacts which the Society collects, preserves, and makes available to as broad an audience as possible.
The Society was organized in January 1969 with the first publication of a monthly newsletter, and in 1975 was incorporated as a non-profit eleemosynary organization within the meaning or subparagraph 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Clifton Forge, though a small town, was an important place on the C&O. It was where locomotives were serviced and readied for the trip West over the Alleghany Mountains and East over the Blue Ridge Mountains and down the James River. There was a large shop facility for the overhaul and repair of locomotives. There was a large rail yard for classifying coal and other freight, a yard for less than car load freight, an icing facility, the main laundry facility for the railroad, a passenger coach yard, and the division headquarters for the region.
Notes & News from the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society - Products, Updates, Events and More!
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Contact Info
Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society 312 E Ridgeway St Clifton Forge VA 24422