A few years ago, I took a train trip from Worcester, MA to St. Louis, MO. I’ve been fascinated with trains ever since, so “train spotting” original trains seemed like a perfect activity for the Fourth of July holiday. The Steaming Tender in Palmer is a train enthusiast’s dream. It’s a restored 1884 restaurant/train museum located at a running railroad station depot. Both the inside and outside of the building are filled with railroad memorabilia. The genial wait staff are dressed as engineers. (While we were eating, they gathered at a diner’s table with a train whistle and bell, and regaled us all with their version of “Happy Birthday” sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Workin’ On The Railroad” of course! ) You can step into an original 1904 Pullman Car and imagine a younger America, maybe even “hear” a politician in a top hat campaigning from the back landing. Antique cars and locomotives fill the depot, and freight trains are constantly whizzing by on the tracks.