Passenger service at the Cresco station on Sand Spring Road ended in 1968. Today the building is a museum that the Barrett Township Historical Society opened after restoration work in the 1990s. In 2026, Steamtown National Historic Site scheduled three trips from Scranton to Cresco. Two have already run. The third arrives on Sunday, Oct. 11, eight days after an expected locomotive run-by on Saturday, Oct. 3. Once Oct. 11 passes, the Steamtown schedule has no more Cresco dates this year.
| 2026 date | What reaches Cresco | Source of the listing |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, June 28 | Steamtown excursion: Art Show, Classic Cars, and Entertainment | National Park Service |
| Sunday, Aug. 23 | Steamtown excursion: Art Show, Classic Cars, Entertainment | National Park Service |
| Saturday, Oct. 3 | Expected run-by of Nickel Plate PA Unit #190 and the "Spirit of 1776," 1:25 to 2:25 p.m. | Barrett community calendar |
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | Steamtown excursion for Columbus Day Weekend, plus the Historical Society's Train Day | National Park Service, library newsletter |
The rest of Steamtown's fall schedule goes elsewhere. On Oct. 24 the train goes to the Delaware Water Gap. In late November it runs three Holiday Express days to Moscow. If you want to see a passenger train at the Cresco platform before 2027, the only remaining chance on the published schedule is Oct. 11.
Saturday, Oct. 3: a run-by, not a ride
The Oct. 3 event is the less defined of the two. The Barrett community calendar says two locomotives are "anticipated" at the Cresco station between 1:25 and 2:25 p.m.: Nickel Plate PA Unit #190 and one called the "Spirit of 1776." The listing doesn't name the railroad running the move, where it starts or where it ends.
There is some context, though. The National Park Service lists Nickel Plate Road PA No. 190 as Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad equipment that was on display at Steamtown's Railfest, Sept. 4 to 6. That festival marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. So the same unit was in Scranton four weeks earlier. Neither source says the Cresco run-by is part of any anniversary tour, so treat the time window as a target, not a promise. "Anticipated" is the calendar's word.
The run-by falls on the same afternoon as the free Barrett Township Fall Festival at High Acres Park on Route 447 in Canadensis. The festival lists hayrides, Happy Tales Farm, Joe O'Malley, vendors, the Cook's Corner food truck, and free Halloween costumes from Cheri Jean's Closet. The township's listing calls it an afternoon event but gives an odd midnight start time, so check the time before you go. Families planning both should expect the locomotives to come through in the middle of the festival.
Sunday, Oct. 11: two events at one address
On Oct. 11, Steamtown's excursion and the Historical Society's own celebration share the station. They are run by different organizations and work differently.
The train. Recreation.gov lists the trip as "Cresco - The Mountain Special." It departs Steamtown in Scranton at 11 a.m. and the whole outing runs until 4:45 p.m., 345 minutes in all. The train is diesel. It covers 38 miles, climbing the Pocono Plateau and passing through a 755-foot tunnel, historic towns, lakes and reservoirs on the way. The listing doesn't give an exact arrival or departure time at Cresco. It only tells riders to be back at the train at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure.
| Ticket type | Fare |
|---|---|
| Adult, ages 12 to 61 | $35.00 |
| Senior, ages 62 and up | $30.00 |
| Youth, ages 3 to 11 | $23.00 |
| Child, ages 2 and under | $1.00 |
You get no refund if you cancel within 48 hours of the trip, and the coach isn't wheelchair accessible. For a Cresco resident, the ticket's main appeal is the ride itself, since it starts in Scranton and ends at a station you can drive to. Tickets are sold through the Steamtown train rides page, which links to Recreation.gov.
Train Day. The local side of the day comes from the Barrett Paradise Friendly Library's October newsletter. It lists the Barrett Township Historical Society's Train Day Celebration at the Cresco Train Station Museum from noon to 3:30 p.m., with:
- Music by Doug Smith's Dixieland Allstars
- Cook's Corner Catering
- An artwork display by John James
- Classic cars
The Recreation.gov listing describes the same scene from the riders' point of view: museum tours, live music, refreshments, a food truck, seating and restrooms, and a classic car show on part of the grounds, weather permitting. Steamtown also lists the day as a "Columbus Day Weekend Art Show and Classic Cars." The Barrett community calendar entry for the excursion still says times and details are "still being ironed out," so the library newsletter and the NPS listing are the more current sources.
Cook's Corner shows up on both October weekends: as a food truck at High Acres Park on Oct. 3 and as caterer at the station on Oct. 11.
What the station is the rest of the year
On days with no train, the property is a small history campus. Recreation.gov says the DL&W built the station in the 1880s and that it hit its peak in the 1940s. A 2018 history of the building is more exact: the rail line was laid in 1857, station construction began in the 1870s, and the station was ready in 1880. Across from the station is the Historical Society's Library and Research Center, a one-story Art Deco building from 1928. It started as a post office and later became a soda fountain that served DL&W passengers. It now holds Barrett Township archives from 1859 to the present.
After the restoration, the keys were handed to the Historical Society's chair so the building could open as a museum. The museum lasts all year. The train shows up on only a few days.
After Oct. 11, the calendar moves to Route 390
When the excursion leaves, the Historical Society's fall programs move indoors to the Barrett Paradise Friendly Library. The busier township events move to the Barrett Administrative & Recreational Complex, known as BARC, at 1200 PA-390.
- Oct. 16, 2 to 3 p.m. Author John L. Moore speaks on "Revolutionary War in Pennsylvania" at the library, presented by the Historical Society.
- Oct. 17, 1 to 3 p.m. The library's "Treats on the Trail" at Ice Lake, with Oct. 24 as the rain date. Registration is required.
- Oct. 18, 2 to 5:30 p.m. The township Halloween parade starts at BARC, goes along Route 390 and ends at Brutzman Road Extension near Mountainhome Methodist Church.
- Nov. 8, 1 to 2 p.m. American Legion Evans-Blitz Post #922 and the High Acres Park Committee hold a Veterans Day ceremony at the High Acres Park Memorial Garden.
- Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The township's third annual Holiday Craft Fair at BARC.
- Nov. 16 to Dec. 5. The library's annual basket raffle, with more than 50 baskets on display.
- Nov. 20, 2 to 3 p.m. Jackie Magann, a living-history volunteer at Valley Forge National Historical Park, presents "Quilts of the Revolutionary Period" at the library for the Historical Society.
The library's adult calendar adds smaller dates through the month: a screening of Rear Window on Oct. 6, the Afternoon Book Club on Oct. 20, a Brainfuse skills session on Oct. 22 and a virtual Evening Book Club on Oct. 27. Liz Green's watercolor, pen and ink, and pastel work is on display in the library's Weiler Family Community Room through October. The library is also a ballot drop box location for the Nov. 3 general election.
The Moore talk and the Magann program connect back to the station. The Historical Society that opens the museum doors on Oct. 11 runs both, so its season continues after the last train of the year leaves.
If you host guests in Barrett Township, Oct. 11 is a good day to plan a stay around: the train arrives, the Dixieland band plays and the classic cars are out on Sand Spring Road. Jonathan Dempsey and the Live Free Hospitality team track dates like these for the homes we manage in the Poconos. If you'd like to see how event weekends could affect your own property's calendar, schedule a free investment review & revenue estimate.
