Favorite Rail Museums

[CHamilton]

Many people have mentioned their favorite rail museums on this board, and I thought it might be useful to put them all in one place. Which rail-oriented museums are a "don't miss"?

I'll start with an obvious choice: The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA.

 

[JayPea]

Many people have mentioned their favorite rail museums on this board, and I thought it might be useful to put them all in one place. Which rail-oriented museums are a "don't miss"?

I'll start with an obvious choice: The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA.

Love the CSRM. One other one I've been too, which for some is an equally obvious choice is the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL. There has been a railroad museum in the works west of Spokane for several years, but the same old story (lack of funding) has kept that from being a reality. At last check, the site did have some rolling stock, but not much that was noteworthy.

 

[Ozark Southern]

St. Louis Museum of Transportation. Lots of rolling stock and other artefacts (not just trains but aeroplanes and automobiles too), all housed in a converted rail station. Even has one Amtrak locomotive, an ex-PRR GG-1. It's our NTD destination.

http://transportmuseumassociation.org/

 

[Ashland Train Enthusiast]

As I've spend my whole life here on the East Coast, I figured I'd chime in with a couple of my favorite here.

Probabaly my favorite, and the most comprehensive is the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore (http://www.borail.org/ ) This museum has it all, and for a serious railfan, it can be a multi-day experience. Additionally, more off the beaten path is their annex in Ellicot City, located in what was the B&O's first terminus station, which itself has some unique history being located in the original station building. It also has a fairly accurate HO scale model of the B&O route from Baltimore to Ellicot City. http://www.borail.org/Ellicott-City-Station.aspx

My second favorite that was always a fun childhood destination for me is the NC Transportation Museum (http://www.nctrans.org/). Focusing not only on rail travel but as well boats, cars, and air, they have a good collection of equipment from a variety of short lines and little known southeast regional railroads, as well as equipment from some of the larger lines like Southern, SAL, and N&W. They even have an Amtrak F-40 that they purchased in the mid 2000s, however I haven't been back to see it on display.

A third favorite of mine is a little known museum in Chesapeake Beach, MD, the Chesapeake Beach Railroad Museum (http://www.cbrm.org/). The building is the original terminus station for the Chesapeake Beach Railway, a former shortline between Washington, DC and the MD coast, and it has some interesting artifacts from the railroad including some CBR rolling stock.

Two other museums that are on my list of places to go but that I haven't yet been to are the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/) which I have heard excellent things about, and the C & O Railway Heritage Center (http://www.candoheritage.org/), which I want to visit as I have always been fond of the C & O and have a family connection (among many) who was an engineer for that road in the 30s and 40s.

Great Idea for a topic, as I'm sure I'm missing several more mid-atlantic museums, and am hoping some other board members here will chime in and provide me suggestions for places to visit.

~ DCTE

 

[benjibear]

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is probably on the top of my list. The primary focus of this museum is to preserve equipment of all railroads that operated in PA. Since I have lived in PA my entire life, there are many interesting things to find at this museum. The museum was started with primarily equipment from the Pennsylvania Railroad that was stored in a roundhouse in Northumberland, PA for prosepeity and historic reasons by the PRR but Penn Central wanted to clean house. It has expanded to include many railroad items from other companies including Conrail and Amtrak. This museum Is almost as good as the B&O museum IMHO. In addition across the street is Strasburg Railroad (http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/). Strasburg Railroad is the short line railroad that is primarily a tourist line but they also haul freight. This is probably the number 1 steam excursion line and they are well known for their steam engine knowledge and shops. You can get a ride on the train, as well as a hand car, a small miniture amusemnt park type train, and they have a noon shop tour. Also to note that this is where all the Thomas the Tank Engine replicas were built. Between these two attractions Strasburg, which is located near Lancaster, PA, is probably one of the best.

Also, around here is Steamtown in Scranton (it has been years since I have been there). Steamtown is a national park so there is some political things that go on there. http://www.nps.gov/stea/index.htm

I have never been there but near Reading is the Reading Technical and Hsitorical Society. http://www.readingrailroad.org/index.shtml

Also, near Lancaster is the Rough and Tumble ( http://www.roughandtumble.org/index.asp ). This is a working steam and equipment museum. There is not much railroad related items there but you can ride a 2' shay railroad and they also have a miniture railroad. If you like looking at operating hit and miss engines, steam tractors, old cars, garden tractors, construction equipment, saw mill, agricultural equipment, etc. etc. etc. go here. This place does not have regular hours but they have several events throughout the year which the big one is in August. The nice thing about this place is it is all volunteers and you get right up tio the equipment. displays are somewhat hodge podge but there is alot and you can easily spend an entire day there. The first time I went, I couldn't beleive how much stuff there was to see.

 

[jis]

My three favorites in this country have already been mentioned. They are:

1. Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

2. California State Railroad Museum

3. Steamtown

Outside the country, my three favorites if I had to pick three top would be:

1. National Railway Museum, York, England

2. French National Railway Museum (Musee Francaise du Chemin de Fer), Mulhouse, France

3. National Railway Museum, New Delhi, India. In proper Indian style, the official website appears to be perpetually under construction.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

I have a couple, and all for different reasons. My first and most obvious is the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. I had a pass there when I was younger, and would spend entire Saturdays watching the trains. The last time I went was back in December, and I found some other 15 year olds in the La Mesa Railway Club who invited me "backstage" where I spent hours talking with them. They are currently in the finishing stages of construction on the HO representation of the entire Tehachapi Pass, from Bakersfield to Tehachapi itself. It is really incredible. There are some other scale layouts, but none are nearly as impressive.

Another favorite of mine is the Greeley Freight Station Museum in Greeley, CO. Opened only 6 years ago, they took the old freight station/warehouse across from the train depot and converted the entire thing to one HUGE HO layout of the Oregon and California Eastern Railroad. It is the largest layout I've ever seen, and everything was incredible. I was allowed to go in the back and drive a 99-car tanker around as well.

Another is obviously the CSRM, which I have only visited once, back in 7th grade when I was in Sacramento for the National Geographic Bee. I loved it for all reasons everybody has stated.

The last two go hand in hand. Travel Town in Griffith Park in the Valley is somewhere I grew up with my grandma, creating more memories here with her than anywhere else. The little Coast Daylight train that runs around the park and all of the big locomotives I could climb in make me feel at the top of the world. As much as I love travel Town, I just might love LA Live Steamers as much. Next door is Live Steamers, a park where you can ride trains through tunnels, over tressels, under oaks, and on some very smooth 7" track.

 

[trainman74]

One of my favorites that hasn't been mentioned yet is the New York Transit Museum (which gets serious extra points for actually being located in a subway station).

Across the pond, I have good memories of its counterpart in London, the London Transport Museum -- but I haven't been there in 28 years.