250 Buckeye Train

Reminiscent of the 1976 American Bicentennial Freedom Train, we invite you to hop on board the 250 Buckeye Train for a memorable 250th Anniversary experience. Passengers will journey through beautiful Ohio as they travel to the Am250-Ohio Transportation Celebration in Dennison, Ohio on April 25 and 26, 2026.

Commemorate America’s semiquincentennial traveling by rail along the historic Panhandle Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, heading east from our state capital, Columbus, Ohio. This special excursion will be nostalgic of the golden age of the railroad that helped to build our nation and once saw 22 passenger trains a day through Dennison in the 1900s, heading towards Pittsburgh or Columbus. This route was once the most direct railroad route from New York to St. Louis and part of the National Defense Strategic Railway.

Passengers will travel in the footsteps of American presidents Lincoln, Eisenhower, Truman and Taft, as well as celebrities like Doris Day and Dean Martin. Circus trains, troop trains and Pennsylvania Railroad specialty trains such as the Spirit of St. Louis once filled this line. Riders will have the opportunity to enjoy their excursion on vintage passenger cars pulled by the Ohio Central Railroad’s diesel engines as they pass through beautiful Ohio countryside. These 240-70 mile excursions will take you through small town Americana passing through communities such as Pataskala, Marne, Black Run, Frazeysburg, Trinway, Adams Milles, West Lafayette, Newcomerstown, Port Washington, Lock 17, Gnadenhutten and Uhrichsville. Be sure to wave as we go by!