Pumpkins and Trains: Danbury’s Pumpkin Patch Ride Is Here

All Aboard the Pumpkin Patch Train in Danbury

If you’re looking for a fall activity that’s pure New England, the Danbury Railway Museum has you covered. Their annual Pumpkin Patch Train is back, and it’s one of the coolest family events of the season.

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Here’s the deal: you hop on a vintage 1920s passenger coach, get pulled through the historic railyard by an old-school locomotive, and take a 20-minute ride out to the museum’s pumpkin patch. Every rider gets a free pumpkin, plus cider and cookies to sweeten the deal.

Danbury Railway Museum

There are tons of photo ops, a vintage tractor, and even a haunted caboose if you’re brave enough to check it out. Inside the museum, you’ll find model train layouts, exhibits, and real railroad cars you can walk through.

Trains run October 11–12, 18–19, and 25–26, with multiple departures each day starting at 11 a.m. Saturday mornings feature a Storytime Express, and Saturday nights include a special twilight train with extra activities at the patch. Kids under 2 ride free, and tickets are available online at PumpkinTrain.org.

The whole thing is put on by volunteers at the Danbury Railway Museum, a non-profit dedicated to preserving Connecticut’s railroad history. And yes, the gift shop is fully stocked for train buffs.

Who: Danbury Railway Museum, staffed by volunteers
What: The annual Pumpkin Patch Train ride with pumpkins, cider, cookies, photo ops, and more
When: October 11–12, 18–19, and 25–26, with departures at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. (plus special Storytime Express and twilight trains on Saturdays)
Where: Danbury Railway Museum, 120 White Street, Danbury, CT
Why: What else are you doing weirdo?

Never underestimate how much kids love trains. Don’t estimate for a single second—just go. Your kids will thank you. I’ve taken mine to the museum for different events, and it cost us next to nothing. To this day, they talk about it like we took them to Disney.

In 1970, Two Men Robbed a Danbury Bank + Blew Up the Police Station

The story of the Pardue brothers, their connection to Danbury and what happened in the Hat City in February of 1970 came to us from Mike Allen. Every Tuesday Mike joins the Ethan and Lou Show on I-95 for a feature called "The Place You Live" and this week it was a local story unlike any I'd ever heard.

John Pardue was a 27-year-old man in 1970 who lived in Danbury, his brother James was 23, and living in Lusby, MD. Before the story finds its way to the Hat City, and the brothers rob the Union Savings Bank on Main Street, they had already racked up quite the list of astonishing crimes.

Prior to Danbury, they robbed banks in Lewisboro, NY, Georgetown, CT and Union, MO. They also killed their father, their grandmother, two other men who helped them pull off the robbery in Georgetown, CT and had, at minimum, a role in the death of an innocent Bridgeport man that they stole a car from. John and James Pardue were hardened criminals before their Danbury bank robbery.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

17 Stunning Danbury Photos Along With Random Odd Facts About the City

The day I took this round of pictures (September 15 or 16th I can't remember), the light all over the city was just perfect. The sun was dancing in all the right places on the buildings, the trees and the grass. I said to hell with it, I'm publishing these photos. But what should I write in the description? I decided to pair the images with odd Danbury facts I gathered from prior articles.

Maybe this works out, maybe not at least I can say "look at this!"

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

From Buttons to Bunkers: The Cold War Charm of The I95 Tower in Brookfield

My name is Lou Milano, the co-host of the I-95 Morning Show with Ethan, Lou & Large Dave. I started working here in September of 1999 which means I just celebrated my 23rd year with the company and I let it pass by without even realizing it.

In my time with the station I've only been to the broadcast tower site a handful of times. My last trip up there made me think that everyone should get to see this. This is my virtual tour of the tower site from the ground. As you read this I want you to keep in mind that it takes all of these components to create 50,000 watts, one of the strongest signals in Connecticut.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

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