DH & DS's Railroad Adventures
DS-29 and I finished up our tour of Lancaster and headed back to meet up with DH and DS-27. Along the way we stopped in a couple huge antique shops right in Ronks near the Strasburg RR.
DH and DS-27 had a great day exploring all of the displays in the huge building and grounds of the Railroad Museum. Here’s some of their favorite photos:
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For lunch they walked across the street to the Strasburg Railroad to pick up something to eat at the Cafe 1832. This is just a small counter service restaurant with a limited menu.
DH ordered the pulled pork sandwich.
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He said this wasn’t great. He mentioned it was barely warm and didn’t have much flavor.
DS-27 ordered the barbecue chicken mac n cheese.
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He also said this was just okay and not served warm enough. Both of them felt it was quick and convenient so that they could get back to the trains, but definitely not a memorable meal.
After their lunch, I had registered them for the afternoon shop tour at Strasburg Railroad. Strasburg RR’s shop not only performs all the maintenance for their own steam engines but they also contract out with other tourist railroads to repair and refurbish their engines. They do excellent work. A shop tour at the Strasburg Railroad is another must do for train enthusiasts visiting the area. After their shop tour they headed back over to the Railroad Museum to continue exploring until it closed at 4 pm.
DS-29 and I met them back in the parking lot and we went for a short sightseeing drive. It was interesting to see the crops all harvested. We’re used to being there in the summer when there are cornfields as far as the eye can see.
Eventually we stopped for dinner at the Casey Jones’ Restaurant at Paradise Station, which is also in Ronks and not too far from the Strasburg station. It’s a cute restaurant attached to the Red Caboose Motel where you can stay in a caboose. We’ve never actually stayed there. It looks very fun!
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We have eaten at this restaurant before though and always enjoyed the food. You also get seated in a “train car” so that’s fun too.
I was not terribly hungry after our food tour so I ordered the Soup, Salad and Sandwich Combo: A miniature Ham or Turkey Sandwich, Cup of Soup and Small Salad. I chose a ham sandwich and the “Lancaster County Chicken Corn Soup” (more on that in a minute).
DH thought my soup sounded really good so he ordered a cup to start his meal. His soup came out first. He proceeded to eat the soup without saying much. Keep in mind, he is about the least pickiest eater you could find. I finally asked him if his soup was good and he said “No. In fact, it’s awful,” He said, “It's barely warm, the broth has no flavor, there’s only a little bit of chicken and the corn is tough, cow corn". That didn’t bode well for my meal!
Finally my meal arrived:
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He was right, the soup was bad. It looks okay in the picture but it was not hot and had no flavor and very chewy corn. The sandwich wasn’t any better. It was a hamburger bun with deli ham, an American cheese slice out of a plastic wrapper, and lettuce. There were no condiments on it at all, nor was I offered any. I tried putting some of the salad dressing on my sandwich but it didn’t help. The best thing on the plate was the salad which consisted of a couple not so fresh cucumber slices, iceberg lettuce, red onions and croutons. I left most of the sandwich and soup behind. Good thing I wasn’t hungry.
For his meal, DH ordered the Monte Cristo sandwich with chips: Sliced Turkey, Ham and Swiss Cheese with Dijonnaise on Sourdough French Toast and topped off with Raspberry Melba Sauce.
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He thought this was just okay. He had recently had a fabulous Monte Christo at Michael’s Bridge Diner, which oddly enough is in Lancaster, Massachusetts so he had high hopes. Unfortunately this Monte Christo he described as average at best, not even in the same league as the one from Massachusetts. He also immediately regretted his decision not to upgrade to fries.
DS-27 ordered the Grilled Reuben: 8 oz of Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut & Thousand Island Dressing on Grilled Rye Bread.
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He actually enjoyed his sandwich (and upgraded fries).
DS-29 chose the Shady Rest Shepherd’s Pie: Seasoned Ground Beef with Peas, Carrots & Tomatoes with a Demi-Glace topped with Real Mashed Potatoes & Shredded Cheese and baked to perfection.
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He really enjoyed his meal and thought the added tomatoes were an interesting take on Shepherd’s Pie. So, overall we were 2 for 4 in enjoying our food.
Since DH and I are the ones who give the grades for the food, we gave it a D.
Up next..the evening is still young, haunted adventures to be had!
Edited to add Red Caboose Motel photo.
Edit to add steps: 14,560 (5.61 mil)
It was a manager type CM. She said bc I was so excited about them!! 
