Dear Editor:

On August 2-4 and then again August 9-11, Boothbay Railway Village hosted storybook character Thomas the Tank Enginez

These six days are the busiest of the year at our museum and in 2013 we greeted more than 6,500 visitors. They come from Maine, of course, but many came from as far away as Nova Scotia and Pennsylvania. Families tell us they make their annual vacation plans around when Thomas comes to Boothbay.

Not because it’s the only place they can meet him in person, in fact, you can do that in 45 different cities throughout North America, but because of the unique setting both at the Village and more broadly Midcoast Maine.

Our Thomas event goes beyond the playbook and offers more activities than anywhere else including our new kranky cars, hayrides and barrel train rides.  We could not do this without the extraordinary support of our volunteers. Many of them work all day for six days at jobs ranging from Train Conductor to Parking Lot Attendant. We are so grateful to the more than 50 volunteers who helped make “Thomas” magical for our guests.

Our entire staff and board want to thank those who support the Boothbay Railway Village as volunteers and those who purchased tickets to meet Thomas for their contribution to our nonprofit museum. “Day Out With Thomas” is the Boothbay Railway Village’s largest fundraiser of the year and helps us all year-long continue to do the work that supports our mission to collect, preserve and demonstrate railroading, antique automobiles and small town rural life with an emphasis on Maine between 1850 and 1950. 

Bob Ryan
Boothbay Railway Village Director