Don’t remember the name of it, but there’s a RR museum in Savannah, GA, that consists of the former Central of Georgia shops. IIRC, it’s the most complete antebellum shop complex in the country. At the time of my last visit (years ago) there were only a limited number of items on display, but the complex itself was very interesting
The B&O Museum and the RR Museum of Pennsylvania have already been mentioned; both were outstanding.
Along with some of those already mentioned, let me add:
Nevada Northern, Ely, NV–I include for different reasons. Because of its remote location, the whole property is like an early-20th Century facility frozen in time. The yards, shops, and other structures all make the whole museum a vast “museum piece” itself. Also, it’s a great place to rent a STEAM or diesel locomotive for a few miles of (adult-supervised!) running into the hinterlands. If you’re ever in the area, check out this place.
Western Pacific RR Museum, Portola, CA–big collection on a former WP yard next to the present UP main. Lots of (more modern, like mid-20th Century and later) equipment in another friendly, remote small town, and another place where you can rent a diesel locomotive and flaunt your hogger skills. After you’re done at Ely, head west to here.
notes on other locations already mentioned:
The Colorado RR Museum (Golden, CO) has a remarkable collection of NG equipment, a big reference library, and an EMD SW marked for “Coors.” Enough said.
The California State RR Museum, Sacramento, has a lot of very professional-looking exhibits and the only (far as I know) surviving SP cab-forward, among other carefully restored pieces.
Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden – they specialize in my favorite subject: Colorado Narrow Gauge. Steam trains operate about four time a year.
Nevada Northern – A wonderful site looking just as it did in steam days although a little decayed now. Operating steam.
Nevada Railroad Museum, Carson City – some of the best looking and best restored (at least externally) standard gauge equipment still around. And they also run steam on occassion.
Someone mentioned that NRM in Green Bay was a good railroad museum. Here’s why I think it’s the WORST…
#1-Dumb train ride
#2-Nothing that I can’t see in anyother museum (i.e. Aerotrain, GG1, Big-Boy. Whoopie! (NOT!)
#3-Many of the stuff they have acquired over the years has fallen apart so bad, it looks like it should be in a junk yard (They used to have a vinegar car, until they let it fall apart, Ely Thomas Shay #6, which came there in beautiful condition with a log car, has been taken apart, and put on display)
#4-They had a operable Heisler for 1 year, until they decided they don’t want to make repairs to it. Same thing with the Soo Line 2718. No one wanted to make any repairs to it.
#5-C&O and UP engines should be near the C&O and UP. Not in Wisconsin where no one appreciates them. What’s with the dumb foreign Eisenhauer engine? Put it somewhere else!
#6-The shed they built (beautiful shed) was used to house the boring GG-1, Big Boy, and the EXTREMLY OVERATED Eisenhauer trainset, and not used for the equipment that is in the worst condition, that needs a covered, and controled building.
If you can come up with why it’s good, I’d love to hear. Maybe you can prove me wrong?
Phil
To each their own.
And from experience, you put a roof over good exhibits, and not the ones that are deteriorating already to the point where some rain wouldnt really hurt.
In a perfect world everything would be undercover, however when money is tight you put what you have sunk money and time into.
Bert
Exactly!
I wish we had all that “boring” stuff here. [:(]
Since we seem to have jumped from BEST to WORST, I have to say that this last summer I took the family to a visit the Illinois Railway Museum in Union and I was seriously dissapointed. This was a return visit after a ten-year abscence, and things really seem to have gone down hill.
We were shuttled around the grounds of the Museum in a couple of beautifully restored trolly cars, but the Class I locomotives that used to be the core of their collection are sadly neglected. There were diesel units as “new” as a Santa Fe FP-45 that have holes rusting all the way through the sheet metal, and wooden freight cars with crops of green lichen plainly visible on the exterior. Except for the few examples that are stored under cover, their steam engines are literal rusting hulks. Stripped of side rods, valve gear, and most other operating appliances, and covered with a uniform brown crust. I am not sure if they have made a purposeful decision to become a museum that is primarily devoted to transit and traction. Or if they simply let their collection grow beyond the point where they could reasonably maintain it.
I contrast this with the day we spent at the Boone and Scenic Valley RR at Boone, IA. Their collection is a fraction of the size of the one at Union, but it’s all kept in very presentable conditon, even the static displays.
I have it in mind to take a week this year and see the museums at Green Bay, North Freedom WI and Union IL. That would allow me to take 2 days at each if needed, otherwise I would just move on after a day. Anyone have any advice for such a trip?
I can’t speak to the museum at Green Bay, but both North Freedom and Union are 1 day trips.
So is Green Bay. While the IRM in Union has the biggest collection of the three it can be easily covered in a day. You might want to plan the trips around one of the museum’s special days, when they operate more equipment than normal.
Bert
Visited Altoona museum and Horseshoe Curve in 1996 and it tops my list. Even though this does not hold a candle to either, I would advise if anyone is in KS, to make a wknd visit to the Great Plains Transportation Museum in Wichita. This small museum has a few equipment displays. My favorite is BN 421, a NW2 unit built in 1949 as Frisco 261 and spent most of its 30 yr life working as the Wichita yd switcher. Interesting story connected w/this eng. Back about 20 yrs ago, I took my Uncle Pete to the museum. He was long retired from the Frisco as a Wichita brkmn. I showed him the eng. When I told him this was former Frisco 261, which he had made trips on way back many yrs earlier, he couldn’t believe it. He was like a little kid, climbed up into the cab, looked all around and began telling his stories of 261. This brought back so many happy memories to him. He went home and was bragging to my aunt about our field trip.This was a spcl memory in my life. He passed on in 1994 and my regret is I never took the time to really interview him or videotape about his working career, which would have made a nice donation to the museum.
I’d like to visit the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento, and the B&O museum.
But out of the ones I have seen, I choose the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, in Chattanooga, TN. Here’s why. You can ride behind a steam locomotive (admittedly, only four miles), watch it get turned on a real turntable, and ride back. They have an active shop by the turntable that lets you see how real railroad people restore and rebuild all the equipment, not just the locomotives. Upon return to the parking lot, you get to see (and climb on) a nice variety of locomotives that are pretty good looking.
And right next to the starting station is the official home of the National Model Railroad Society.
Oh, did I mention that Norfolk Southern runs a main line right next door?
If you just want to ride a train, I strongly suggest two lines down here in the South. The first is the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. I got to take a run on the line that included a river rafting package coming back down the Nantahala river. I had fun going up the river, and my very patient wife enjoyed the ride back down.
The other trip I would suggest would be the SAM Shortline, starting off in Cordele, Georgia and ending up at the ancestral home of Jimmy Carter, returning back to Cordele with stops in Plains and Americus. It is the only “mobile” state park in Georgia. While you are waiting on your train, you only need look over your shoulder to see CSX hard at work nearby.
I belong to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, in Kennesaw, Georgia. It’s my personal favorite because as a member, I am allowed to research the archives of the Southern railroad there. When I get bored reading through the archives, I step back outside to catch a CSX frieght headed towards Atlanta or Chattanooga.
Erik
I have a great deal of pride in this museum as a member of this community and a former volunteer at the NRM…
A BEAUTIFUL landscape on the side of the Fox River.
An incredibly restored “Big Boy” locomotive.
An original Zephyr passenger train in another shed that you can walk through and appreciate life in it as it once was.
A pleasant train ride that gives kids something to enjoy. This train ride crosses a creek twice over two bridges.
“Terror on the Fox” - one of the best Haunted Houses in the nation that also happens to incorporate a train ride.
"A Day Out With Thom
As a former board of directors member while living in Green Bay, I can attest to the volunteer aspect of the operation. Our Volunteer track crew made the necessary repairs to the track to allow the visit by the American Freedom Train. (Kinda date myself here :-)) While putting down the museum, you should look up the background of Harokd Fuller and Gordon Lendfesty (sp?) and how their contribution and determination made the museum possible.
I have visited once since we left GB and was very pleased with the progress.
BTW: your history teacher would be very “proud” of you. The Supreme Allied Commander of the AEF (and his personal train) is spelled EISENHOWER!! Dwight David Eisenhower… Btw: he was also President of the USA!!
Former GB resident…
You can do IRM, Mid Continent, NRM in one day each. If you are working North to South and don’t want to ride the little loop at the National Railroad Museum, you could do that in the morning and then down to Wisconsin Dells for a ride at the Riverside and Great Northern 1/4 scale (15" gauge) line which I’ve found to be a lot of fun. http://www.randgn.com/ Do Mid-Continent the next morning (I recommend the S1 cab ride. I’m not an Alco guy but any cab ride is good.) and then down to Union that afternoon. (Don’t forget to stop at the Cheese Chalet on I 94. http://www.ehlenbachscheese.com/) You should be able to get several rides at IRM and see all the barns in a day.
My List of best Railroad Museums
Illinois Railway Museum. Largest museum by number of pieces and decent ride. Wide variety of equipment and they are always looking for volunteers. I visit fairly often and for those who don’t like how some things look, they should see how they come in. A big museum takes a lot of money and every Railroad museum could use more money.
B&O - This place is like Valhalla with the way the roundhouse is fixed up (I haven’t been there since the roof collapse - Ragnarock). It is where pieces go to be immortal. No ride, however.
Strasburg/Pensylvania RR museum. I grouped them since they are across the street from one another. I was able to cover both pretty thoroughly in a single day.
Mid Continent (North Freedom, WI). My first train museum (1970) and my first steam locomotive. Small collection, no running live steam but good ride and you can buy cab rides. Last time I was there was 2005.
Colorado Railroad Museum. Home to my second favorite locomotive (CB&Q O5)
[#ditto][tup][tup] Was there in January, Spencer is a great place for train watching and the museum is very interesting…their roundhouse and turntable still function, as well!
There are 3 prime RR museums that I’ve visited:
The Illinois RR Museum with a restored Zepyhlr and functioning traction.
The Calif RR Museum at Old Sacramento with wonderful restored equipment and numerous rides available and continues to expand with UP help.
The PA RR Museum across the road from the operating Strasburg RR and lots of good PA Dutch food available nearby.
Dana Gilmour, White Stone, VA.
I see there was mention of the GSMR in another post.
I would not classify the GSMR as a “museum”. The Great Smokey Mountain RR is much more of a functioning RR; albeit mostly catering to tourists, campers, rafters and on New Year’s Eve us old fogies that recall the wondrful days of the 50’s wherein you could enjoy a formal 5 course 2+hour sit down dinner with linen followed by entertainment over a 4 hour ride. Having done this 2 years running, it is a wonderful experience–absolutely class act in vintage dining cars with great food.
You won’t find this event listed on their website; you have to call them and make reservations.
Dana Gilmour, White Stone, VA