ELKINS — The West Virginia Railroad Museum is planning a reopening celebration this weekend, featuring a new exhibit with professional railroad photography.

The museum’s reopening event will run from Friday through Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.

The new exhibit, entitled “’20 – ’20 Visions: 100 Years of West Virginia Railroading,” is described in a Railroad Museum press release as “an ambitious, insightful, and expansive comparison of West Virginia’s railroad industry in the 1920s, and now, in the 2020s.”

“Come and see how your life is connected to the railroad, and how different that relationship might be if you lived here 100 years ago,” the release reads.

An integral part of the exhibit is the professional railroad photography of Dr. Frederick J. Ripley, of Columbus, Ohio, whose work “explores the features of the railroad in West Virginia and surrounding areas, and his colorful modern images contrast our historic images and artifacts,” the release states.

One of the Railroad Museum’s signature projects, the restored 1946 Cadillac Rail Car, will not be available for this weekend’s reopening celebration but will be returning to Elkins within weeks.

The Cadillac Rail Car will be available for viewing as part of a tour by the National Chevrolet Owners Association, which is tentatively scheduled to arrive in Elkins on Saturday, May 22, and to visit both the Railroad Museum and the Elkins Depot Welcome Center.

The Railroad Museum will be open each weekend from Friday through Sunday until further notice, officials said.

The Museum is located on the second floor of the Darden Mill in Elkins, on the corner of First Street and Railroad Avenue.

The purpose of the West Virginia Railroad Museum, Inc. is to be a cultural resource dedicated to educating visitors and the community about West Virginia’s railroad history.