photo by Cindy Steele
Owner Brad Cox. photo by Paige Langenderfer
In the 1980s his dad, Ed Cox, began driving the train.
“ Everyone loved riding the train with my dad. Even today, people will tell me about riding the train with him,” Brad said.“ He really enjoyed driving the train. He had a great sense of humor and had a lot of jokes. He would even call people out on the street with his microphone.” Ed passed away in 2012. Larry Hawkins, former co-owner, approached
Brad and encouraged him to buy it.
“ Dad had asked me several times over the years to buy the train and I just wasn’ t interested,” Brad said.“ But it is such a major part of this town that it had to continue.”
Brad said he is proud to continue the legacy of the Nashville Express.
In the early 1970s, Larry Hawkins asked local mechanic Bob Austin if he could make a train on wheels. Bob had a reputation of welding different parts of equipment together to make them work better. He tackled Larry’ s challenge by stripping down an old Chevy truck and welding various pieces of metal into a vehicle resembling a train.
The Nashville Express was a hit with the tourists from the beginning. Now there are two trains— a soft top, and a hard top— powered by six cylinder engines.
“ The train helps this town,” said Brad.“ We point out the restrooms and the businesses. We give people the lay of the land and encourage them to visit something they’ ve never been to before.
“ Everyone loves the train. One day we had three generations of one family riding the train. The grandma was so excited to introduce the train to her granddaughter.
“ I can’ t say how much I appreciate our drivers and advertisers,” Brad said.“ And my wife Stephanie keeps it all together. I couldn’ t do it without her.”
Occasionally, Brad fills in as a substitute driver on the train and said on each tour he always includes one of his dad’ s favorite jokes:
“ Last night I dreamed I was a muffler. I woke up totally exhausted.” •
Sept./ Oct. 2022 • Our Brown County 27