Fun Stuff Friday (Eve): Eating in the Freighthouse

Ok, so it's not Friday quite yet - but it IS Friday Eve, and it's never too early to talk about eating!

With all the talk about modeling Old Saybrook structures, it's really pretty cool that not only is the Old Saybrook station still being used as an actual real-live railroad passenger station, the old freight house is still being used too - as a pizza restaurant!

PizzaWorks, Saybrook Junction, Old Saybrook, CT

The old freight house got moved (back in the mid/late 1980s IIRC) and tacked on to the west end of the passenger station building. Freight house cum pizza restaurant in the foreground, station further back.

This is the view as you walk in the door - you can definitely discern the railroad heritage in the exposed rafters (not to mention its location Right By The Tracks) - but if that doesn't do it for you, it's chock full of railroad memorabilia and model trains.

There are not one, but two large layouts up in the 2nd floor dining area, connected by a looooong shelf. This one was a little awkward to get to, since the table there was full of people.

This other layout is at the top of the stairs, and always accessible.

When you tire of seeing HO trains running around, there's a large screen TV on the 2nd floor as well, connected to a "track cam" so you can watch the real trains go by outside. And if you're on model railroad overload and want to sit out on the patio, you can still at least hear (and, depending on where you sit, see) the big trains go by.

Between the models, Amtrak, and ShoreLineEast trains, there's plenty to see. A stop by the PizzaWorks is a great compliment to a visit to the Essex Steam Train just up the road.

Oh, and the pizza is great too!