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Train rides at North Carolina Transportation Museum
NORTH CAROLINA TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM
Full Steam Ahead!
Train museums interpret historical trains, tracks and the people who contributed to building a backbone of American industry and domestic passenger travel.
By Kyle Marra
For decades, trains have captured the hearts and imaginations of travelers, historians and hobbyists. They represent a unique blend of history, adventure and human connection. Much like the communities built around birdwatching or automobile collecting, the world of trains has its own dedicated fanbase: railfans. From photographing passing locomotives to restoring vintage railroad cars or collecting memorabilia, enthusiasts celebrate every facet of railway culture. Fortunately, several captivating train museums are ready to ignite that passion and nostalgia.
Engines on display at the Colorado Railroad Museum
COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM
GOLDEN, COLORADO » Colorado Railroad Museum
It takes about two hours to walk the grounds of this railroad museum in Golden. Here, no matter the time of year, you can step into an old-timey railway post office, onto an 1880s caboose and aboard a kitchen car. The museum is also home to Denver’s Garden Railway Society’s outdoor garden railroad, one of the largest public garden railroad layouts in the United States. Storybook tours, seasonal train rides and rail yard tours are available.
MIAMI, FLORIDA » Gold Coast Railroad Museum
This year-round museum is the perfect place to learn about Florida’s railway history. It is home to more than 40 historic railcars, including the presidential railcar Ferdinand Magellan and Florida Coast Steam Locomotive #153. The museum also offers a model railroad room, a Naval Air Station Richmond Exhibit and Thomas the Tank Engine play tables for kids.
SOUTHEASTERN RAILWAY MUSEUM VIDEO
DULUTH, GEORGIA » Southeastern Railway Museum
This 35-acre site contains almost 100 items of rolling stock. Unique pieces include the business car that brought the 1996 Olympics to Atlanta, the platform of the private car used by President Warren G. Harding and the wheels used by the train cars that ran to Key West, Florida—a route known as the “railroad that went to sea.” See these train cars and more year-round, Thursday to Sunday.
Boone Scenic Valley Railroad train traveling through the Des Moines River Valley
BOONE SCENIC VALLEY RAILROAD
BOONE, IOWA » Boone Scenic Valley Railroad
Established railfans—adults and kids alike—can take in railroad journeys and railway history at the railroad’s James H. Andrew Railroad Museum, both operating Memorial Day Weekend through October 31. This 9,000-square-foot facility features a robust research library with 900-plus books on railway history and displays of track equipment, dining car china, toy trains, lanterns and more. Additionally, visitors can choose from a variety of dining trips, such as the Wolf Picnic Train or the Sunset BBQ Dinner Train. The Boone railroad also offers special events like Day Out with Thomas and the Easter Bunny Express, unique train rides that may inspire future generations of railfans.
MONTICELLO, ILLINOIS » Monticello Railway Museum
This nonprofit educational organization was established in 1966 with the sole purpose of offering steam-powered passenger train excursions. Almost 60 years later, it is home to more than 70 historical trains from all over the United States, with some pieces over 100 years old. Not only can visitors view these train cars from April to October—with special events adding to the fun year-round—they can even take a ride in a vintage passenger car pulled by an historic locomotive. Train rides operate on Saturdays and Sundays from April to October.
NORTH JUDSON, INDIANA » Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum
Experience a rail system of old on steam and diesel rail excursions. The steam-powered journey takes guests on a winding journey through farm country via a restored 1908 locomotive. The sights, sounds and smells are straight out of the past. The diesel trip promises scenic, open-air sightseeing on a train pulled by a diesel engine, the Lynne. Seasonal, themed train rides like Easter trains, pumpkin trains, Christmas trains and twilight trains ensure guests have something to look forward to year-round.
Steam Railroading Institute’s Pere Marquette 1225
SCOTT SHIELDS
OWOSSO, MICHIGAN » Steam Railroading Institute
This institute, open April to September and also for specific events in November and December, is dedicated to educating the public about the history of steam-era railroads in the Great Lakes region. Started from an initiative led by engineering students at Michigan State University determined to restore the retired Pere Marquette 1225 that sat on the university’s campus and whose blueprints were used to create the train in Warner Brother’s “The Polar Express,” the institute now serves as a beacon of preservation. The engine is one of the last steam engines of its size still in operation. The institute offers passenger excursions, a robust steam-era equipment collection, a 7.5”-gauge miniature railroad and the captivating 1940s/1950s-themed North Pole Express, for which guests dress in their pajamas or period attire and travel in railcars, pulled by the 1225, to the Village of Ashley Country Christmas for an unforgettable two-hour Christmas party.
lake superior railroad museum video
DULUTH, MINNESOTA » Lake Superior Railroad Museum
Located in downtown Duluth in the heart of the Historic Union Depot, this museum features restored locomotives, rolling stock and train exhibits. During the summer and fall months, guests can climb aboard the North Shore Scenic Railroad for a picturesque trip that starts in downtown Duluth, runs along Lake Superior and passes through the north woods.
Engines on display at North Carolina Transportation Museum’s roundhouse
SPENCER, NORTH CAROLINA » North Carolina Transportation Museum
This railway destination highlights the history of significant transportation in North Carolina, including trains, planes and automobiles. Among the historical structures is the Barber Junction Depot, an 1898 train station that functions as the welcome center. The Back Shop, once the Southern Railway’s largest steam locomotive repair facility in the Southeast, now houses vintage railcars, antique automobiles and a restored Potomac Pacemaker DC-3. Visitors also can experience the Bob Julian Roundhouse, the largest remaining roundhouse in North America.
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA » Railroad Museum of Minot
Available on Saturdays and by appointment, self-guided tours give museum visitors first-hand exposure to railway history, as they see scale models; learn about Minot’s namesake, Henry Minot (a railroad executive who died in a train crash in 1890); and take a loop around Water Park on the Magic City Express. Please note: The Magic City Express is closed due to flood damage. It is undergoing a restoration process and plans to reopen in 2027.
The Cody Park Railroad Museum’s vintage railcar exhibit
THE CODY PARK RAILROAD MUSEUM
NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA » Cody Park Railroad Museum
This must-see for train lovers is home to the only Challenger 3900 steam locomotive on public display in the world. From May 1 to the third full weekend of September, guests can climb aboard and see this unique piece of history from the engineer’s perspective before stepping into a series of vintage railcars, like a mail car and caboose, each filled with all kinds of memorabilia from yesteryear.
WINNSBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA » South Carolina Railway Museum
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this site that is open year-round features pieces of historic rolling stock for visitors to tour, while also offering rides on a 1924 dining car as part of the Lake Rion Dinner Tour, a 1954 passenger car during a narrated tour, or a vintage caboose or an open-air car operating on one of the museum’s seasonal train rides.
Tennessee Valley Railroad employees posing with two engines
TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE » Tennessee Valley Railroad
This year-round museum offers a variety of historic exhibits, including TVRM: The First Sixty Years; Tell It to the Marines: The Railway Post Office in the 1920s; Over Here & Over There: The Regional Legacy of the Military Railway Service; The Golden Age of Passenger Travel; and Railroads of the Tennessee Valley. Admission to the exhibits is included with the purchase of a ticket for one of the available train rides, or exhibit tickets can be purchased separately.
Mid-Continent Railway Museum
FREEDOM, WISCONSIN » Mid-Continent Railway Museum
Railroad exhibits, award-winning restorations, and more than 40 train cars and locomotives fill this indoor-outdoor museum, which is open mid-May to mid-October. Ride in authentic steel coaches built in 1914 during a 55-minute train tour on a former branch line of the Chicago & North Western Railway.
Whether it’s a scenic ride through the countryside, a walk through vintage passenger cars, or hearing the stories that come with every track and terminal, these museums offer something for every rail enthusiast. They preserve the rich legacy of the railways while perpetuating the spirit of railroading for generations to come.
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