Lesser known Railroad Museums in small towns

[Northwestern]

I hope I might get a chance to visit a few of the more prominent and acclaimed railroad museums across the US. The only major museum I've visited is the Calif. State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Others would be the Colorado Rail Museum, Illinois Rail Museum, Tennessee Central RR Museuim, B&O museum, and many more.

Here is a list of railroad museums, state by state:

Category:Railroad museums in the United States by state - Wikipedia

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I also have stumbled across a few small railroad museums in various small towns, not knowing they were even there. One example, the Stumptown Museum in Whitefish, with a lot of history pertaining to the Great Northern RR:

Museum | Stumptown Historical Society

Both GN history and the history of Whitefish. I don't know about that fur covered trout.

I once walked by a small railroad museum in Ashland, Oregon. Not a whole lot there, but some interesting railroad paraphernalia. Too bad there isn't a railroad from Portland, Eugene, Medford, and Ashland like in the old days. A Portland to Ashland railroad might be popular, today, for people attending the Shakespeare Festival.

If I remember correctly, there was a set-up of an old railroad office in the depot at Lake Louise, AB. Also, something similar at the Amtrak depot in Glenwood Springs, CO.

Another: The Rail Museum at Toppenish, OR. I've never been there, but it looks interesting.

front page - The Northern Pacific Railway Museum

WE ARE CLOSED FOR THE 2023 SEASON TO SET UP FOR TOY TRAIN CHRISTMAS The depot just right after it was built IN 1911. Mouse over the above picture to see what it looked like in the 1980s.

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What small town railroad museums can you recommend?

 

[Ziv]

The Milwaukee Road Museum in Harlowton Montana! Tons of memorabilia and excellent photos. Plus there is an exhibit/diorama built by a gentleman, James Hamre, who used to post regularly on this site.

James Hamre Memorial at Milwaukee Road Museum in Harlowton MT

I was checking out a very nice small museum dedicated to the Milwaukee Road in Harlowton Montana when I saw a diorama of the Milwaukee Road station on Everett Street. It was donated by the family of James Hamre in his memory. 13 of James Hamre’s family members worked for the Milwaukee Road back...

www.amtraktrains.com

https://harlomilwdepot.org

 

[TinCan782]

The Railroad and Heritage Museum in Temple, TX
Located at/in the Santa Fe Depot. Lots of ATSF.

City of Temple - Parks & Recreation

City of Temple - Parks & Recreation

www.templeparks.com

 

[JayPea]

One in my area is
the Inland NW Rail Museum in Reardan, WA, 20 miles west of Spokane.
The INRM is a work in progress and features rolling stock representing each of the many railroad lines that crisscrossed the area. There is also a lot of memorabilia in the indoor area including sign boards from the many former railroad stations in this region.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Delaware has several small ones.
The 2 I’m familiar with are:
Wilmington & Western RR (Marshallton)

Newark History Museum which is in the former station on the NEC. One room has the RR history.

 

[railiner]

While not quite extensive enough to be considered a "railroad museum", I have seen at least some type of railroad history displayed at many places across the land.
This was an unexpected delight I discovered on my Columbia River cruise last summer...

Columbia Gorge Interpretive Museum | Columbia River | 990 Southwest Rock Creek Drive, Stevenson, WA, USA

History comes alive in the Columbia River Gorge at the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center Museum.

www.columbiagorge.org

 

[jphjaxfl]

Dassel, Minnesota about 65 west of Minneapolis has a small Railroad Museum in the old Great Northern Depot which was located to another place, but still along BNSF's freight line.]

 

[WICT106]

The Mid- Continent Railway Museum, North Freedom, Wisconsin: Mid- Continent Railway Museum.

 

[Northwestern]

A lot of good suggestions. The Inland NW Rail Museum looks really interesting. Especially the SP&S sleeper-buffet car.

I believe I visited the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center, a few years ago, while on the American Cruise- Columbia and Snake River journey.

 

[Joe from PA]

A few, in PA at least, are indoor layouts of "newer" trains. Not "museums" in the strict sense.

The PRR Museum in Strasburg PA is a mind-blower (been about 10 times).

The mid-Florida one in Winter Garden (near Orlando) is a little gem.

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

Here in Maine the two foot gauge railroads are our specialty. The Maine Narrow Gauge RR and museum in Portland is worth a visit, and as an excuse to check out the waterfront and restaurant scene in this great little city. The WW&F in Alna just North of Wiscasset had recreated stations and shops on the original right of way of the WW&F railroad that ran until the 1930s. It runs steam powered trains on weekends. There are also smaller museums in Albion and Phillips.

 

[TinCan782]

While not quite extensive enough to be considered a "railroad museum", I have seen at least some type of railroad history displayed at many places across the land.
This was an unexpected delight I discovered on my Columbia River cruise last summer...

Columbia Gorge Interpretive Museum | Columbia River | 990 Southwest Rock Creek Drive, Stevenson, WA, USA

History comes alive in the Columbia River Gorge at the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center Museum.

www.columbiagorge.org

I also visited this museum a few years ago as part of a Snake/Columbia River cruise with AQSC.

 

[TinCan782]

In Cleveland, Mississippi last August I visited the Martin and Sue King Heritage Railroad Museum. A lot of stuff in there!

Home - Martin and Sue King Railroad Museum

Facebook The Mississippi Delta has much to offer The Delta is rooted in a great and rich history. Whether you come for the music, the Blues Trail, the incredible cuisine or just some southern hospitality, don’t miss the Railroad Museum in Cleveland, MS. 115 South Bayou RoadCleveland, MS...

clevelandtrainmuseum.com

Cleveland, MS is also home to the Mississippi Grammy Museum. Another gem in Bolivar County Mississippi with many excellent exhibits.
We visited Cleveland as part of AQSC's "Mighty Mississippi" Cruise (Red Wing, MN to New Orleans, LA) last August.

 

[TWA904]

I would suggest the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC. The museum is mostly dedicated to Railroads but also has displays for cars and airplanes. They do seasonal train rides and
have a roundhouse with a turn table. It has been a few years since I was there but I would consider it one of the best rail museums in the U.s.

 

[Trollopian]

I sure wouldn't call it a railroad museum, but if you're in the DC area and looking to get away (but not too far away) from the tourist track, visit Arlington's Bluemont Junction. It has a restored caboose that absolutely delights kids. Of all ages. This part of the trail network uses the old right-of-way of the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) railroad, a short-haul line that took sweltering Washingtonians to the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains.

More at:

Bluemont Junction Park (But this page is maddeningly car-centric. It tells you to drive and park to visit the Junction, whereas if you're in reasonably good shape you can walk the 1.6 miles from the Ballston Metro stop along the lovely trail, and pay a bonus visit to BonAir Rose Garden. Or take a Metrobus or ART bus. You absolutely do not need a car.)

New historic marker at Bluemont Junction Park speaks to impact of Jim Crow laws | ARLnow.com

A new interpretive sign is being installed near Bluemont Junction Park to explain how Jim Crow laws impacted passengers riding the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) train line. The sign is being installed by NOVA Parks and will be outside of the retired train caboose along what is now the W&OD...

www.arlnow.com

 

[railiner]

I also visited this museum a few years ago as part of a Snake/Mississippi River cruise with AQSC.

Sure you meant, Snake/Columbia
I was on the AQSC “American Empress”

 

[TinCan782]

Sure you meant, Snake/Columbia
I was on the AQSC “American Empress”

Yep, Snake/Columbia and it was on the American Empress.
Thanks - fixed!

 

[AlamoWye]

Some small town railroad museums in Central Texas:
Central Texas Rail Heritage Center (Flatonia)
New Braunfels Railroad Museum
Kyle Railroad Depot and Heritage Center
James H. Long Railroad Park and Museum (Smithville)
Burton Railroad Depot and Museum
Elmendorf Heritage and Railroad Museum.
All within a 2 hour drive (depending on the horrific traffic) to Austin.

 

[SanAntonioClyde]

Add La grange, Tx to your list. Located in old Katy station with lots of artifacts

 

[Night Ranger]

Sadly, here's a story about a lesser known railroad museum that did not survive the pandemic.

MSN

www.msn.com

 

[Willbridge]

A lot of good suggestions. The Inland NW Rail Museum looks really interesting. Especially the SP&S sleeper-buffet car.

I believe I visited the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center, a few years ago, while on the American Cruise- Columbia and Snake River journey.

The SP&S 'Mt. St. Helens' is the sister car of the 'Mt. Hood' owned by the Portland NRHS. On the original streamlined Empire Builder, they used both cars for Spokane <> Portland service, with early boarding in Spokane. That didn't last very long, as Train 3 still had a sleeper two hours ahead, and they began to use Mt. Hood every night/day, for the 758-mile round-trip. Mt. St. Helens was used as the back-up and on some excursions that I rode. It was equipped with a console radio with push-buttons for the pioneer radio stations.

The interesting thing relevant to today's equipment scenario is that Mt. Hood was in better shape at the end than little-used Mt. St. Helens.

And relevant to today's fares and on-line booking, these cars created the alternative of switching sleeper rooms in Spokane when space in the through cars was booked. It's one of the points that is set up for that in Amtrak's website.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Add La grange, Tx to your list. Located in old Katy station with lots of artifacts

I hear it’s fine, if you got the time, and the ten to get your self in.

 

[fengshui]

San Luis Obispo has a nice one, an easy day trip up on the surfliner. Saturdays only.

 

[SwedeC]

Sad about the Wichita Falls museum. They have/had a bunch of rolling stock.

Another small RR museum is in Folkston, GA (the place called the Folkston Funnel since most Florida-bound traffic goes through there). There are places to sit and listen to the RR radio traffic approaching.

 

[Hansce]

Crewe, Virginia has a small but interesting museum. You can climb aboard a steam locomotive, a diesel-electric, and other stock. The restored station has many pictures of N&W. Crewe Railroad Museum, VA - www.rgusrail.com