Hey everybody, lets make a list of the best railroad museums and their respective railroads if possible, in the United States, and the reasons why.
Lake Superior Railroad Museum: Duluth,MN.
The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is located in Duluth, MN on the very scenic shores of Lake Superior.
Biggest Attractions:McGiffert Log Loader. Tourable.
Northern Pacific Rotary Snow Plow
NP Wedge SNowplow
Oliver Mining ALCo HH-1000
SOO LINE FP-7 #2500
*Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway Company EMD SD-M (former SD--18) #193
*Great Northern EMD NW-5 #192
*SOO LINE EMD GP-30 #700. Freshly repainted in 2005.
*Erie Mining EMD F-9 #4211
Former NP SD45 #3617, currently painted WC #7495, to be repainted NP some time in the future.
Hanna Iron Mining Company G.E Steeplecab #307
Milwaukee Road G.E Boxcab #10200. One of the only preserved in the U.S.
Duluth and Northern Minnesota 2-6-2 Mikado #14. Was used in the Movie Iron Will.
DM&IR Ry. 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone. You can tour the cab, and the drivers spin perodically with a narrated video trip through its last day operating.
Minnesota Steel Company 0-4-0 Saddle Tank
St. Paul and Pacific 4-4-2 #1. First steam locomotive used in the state of MN. Was built in 1861.
Northern Pacific 0-4-2 #1 Minnetonka. First locomotive used on the Northern Pacific. Built in 1870.
PASSENGER:
Duluth and Iron Range Coach #19. Converted to picture car so people can view photos of the DM&N, D&IR, and DM&IR.
*DM&IR Coach #33. Used in movie Iron Will. Passengers love becasue windows move up.
DM&N Coach #68. Beautifully redone as tourable China Car.
*Great Northern Empire Builder Streamlined Diner #1250 Lake of the Isles.
*Northern Pacific Baggage Car #255. Freshly repainted NP and turned into History Car, which has toured all over MN.
*DM&IR Minnesota II. Only DM&IR streamlined passenger car, just repainted back to NP colors, now NP #517.
NP RPO #144. Tourable inside.
*NP Round End Observation Car #390 Ranier Club. Currently being worked on, soon to be repainted in NP livery.
*GN Coach #1115 & 1116. Nice paint.
*DM&IR Business Car Northland. First class. Built in 1916, this car has brass railings, shower, HAND PAINTED steel to look like mahogony wood. Used in Movie Iron Will. Available for charter on the NSSR.
*DM&IR Combination Car #W-24. Companion to the Northland.
There are MANY other treasures in the LSRM that I have not mentioned!!!
Visit www.lsrm.org
North Shore Scenic Railroad:
Equipent above marked with an asterisk * is used on the NSSR.
The locomotive roster can be seen at: www.thedieselshop.us/NSSR.HTML
The NSSR also uses some passenger car not listed, such as an open air car, two former C&NW bilevels, etc.
Soo Line Steamer #2719 is now steaming again for the NSSR! Is running on ALL fall colors tours along the lakeshore to Two Harbors. If you have never seen steam, as I hadnt, it is truly an amazing experience!
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
1.B&O Museum.Hallowed ground for me.
2.Monticello Rail Museum.Guy made a special effort to give me a guided tour in the middle of winter.Monticello,IL
3. Mad River and NKP Museum.Silver Dome,the first ever dome car.Lotsa interesting stuff.Bellvue,Oh.
4. Lakeshore Railway Museum.CSS&SB Little Joe,NYC U25B.Northeast,Pa.
5.Railroaders Memorial Museum.Was there 10 years ago,plan to go back in June.Altoona,Pa.
6.National NYC Museum.NYC steamer,GG1.Elkhart,In.
7.Every other rail museum in the world!
If there are no dogs in heaven,then I want to go where they go.
THE NORTH CAROLINA TRASPORTATION MUSEUM.
This museum holds the last (I think) ACL E-6 in full purple and silver. It also has SOU #6900 along with some other asst. things like a N&W GP9 in maroon livery. Plus, it's right next to NS's busy mainline. A great place to visit for sure.
I 'd have to vote for the Altoona Railroaders Museum, since it concentrates on the impact of the railroad on the community around it. The prize exhibit? K4 1361, when it returns, on her own or not.
Nearby is Horseshoe Curve, need I say more?
Lake Shore Chapter NRHS museum in Northeast PA has the equipment, atmosphere and 45-50 trains on CSX (ex NYC) and 20-25 on the NS (ex Nickel Plate)!
Strasburg has the PRR collection, from a early PRR 2-8-0 to an E44A, not to mention the Strasburg's steam excursions. So when it's nice out, one can shoot the Strasburg's steamers and when it isn't there's a lot to see inside the Pennsylvania museum.
Western Maryland Scenic, which has 2-8-0 734 as it's star attraction.
I'd like to extend it to Canada, because my favorite rail museum is up here.
1. Exporail in Delson/St. Constant (South of Montreal) - CPR, CNR and VIA are featured, but there is a VERY impressive collection of locomotives and rolling stock.
2. Revelstoke Railway Museum - A couple of vintage passenger cars, freight cars, and a CPR P2 Mikado, situated next
Go here for my rail shots! http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=9296
Building the CPR Kootenay division in N scale, blog here: http://kootenaymodelrailway.wordpress.com/
bonnanzaville in west fargo for ther ex np 4-4-0 and my model railroad club
western minnesota steam threshers reunion rollag minnesota for two operating steam locomotive that i work on ex soo line 0-6-0 353 and dresser traprock 0-4-0 3
minnesota transportation museum in st paul
again can i spred this to around the world i would like to include the chemnitz hlibersdorf museum in chemnitz germany for having 90%of there collection operational big boy
B & O Museum.
Kentucky Railway Museum.
Henry Ford Museum
Being Crazy,keeps you from going "INSANE" !! "The light at the end of the tunnel,has been turned off due to budget cuts" NOT AFRAID A Vet., and PROUD OF IT!!
I've yet to go to a bad railroad museum, within the scope of what they are trying to present, or are capable of. Not that there aren't those that could stand some improvement, but even then, they get points for trying in the first place.
Among those I've visited:
B&O Museum
PA Museum (Strasburg)
VA Museum of Transportation
O. Winston Link Museum
NYS Transportation Museum (south of Rochester)
NC Museum
The Henry Ford (Dearborn, MI - C&O Allegheny inside)
Steamtown
Smithsonian (a bunch of years ago)
There's even a little RR museum in North Beach, MD, in the old station. It was closed when I stopped by, though. Off Season.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum (Strasburg, PA)
Railroaders Memorial Museum (Altoona, PA)
Steamtown (Scranton, PA)
B&O Museum (Baltimore, MD)
And not quite ready, but looking very nice...Reading Railroad Museum (Hamburg, PA) (OK....I'm biased as I'm a member of the group building the museum )
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
It's obvious that the B&O Museum would be one of my favorites.
Also the Baltimore Trolley Museum, which has an added bonus of using some of the ROW and a freight station from the old M&PA RR.
Our local Museum of Transport is also good. I have been visiting there almost from the beginning and they have done a great job. I'm not biased, though, it's just that I get out there more than to Baltimore.
But anyplace where they care for old RR equipment is OK by me.
Willy
I am going to mention a couple in North Carolina...the big one at Spencer, previously mentioned is quite a place.
We also had a great time at Old Fort, NC. at the old Southern depot. Granted, it is not very large, but what a nice little museum, ran by a wonderful little old lady at the time.
This is a great thread, lots of places I would like to visit.
ed
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
I like all of the railroad museums.
I've been at the following: B&O, Baltimore; Illinois Ry, Union; National Transport, St Louis; California, Sacramento; Kentucky, New Haven, KY; and British Railway, York, England.
I was at York England in 2002 as they were prepping the Pennydaren (spelling?) repica for its the 200th anniversary of the original. One of the museum employees kindly took me into their shop and showed me the work in progress. The original locomotive was the first steam locomotive ever made. Its inventor was Richard Trevethick. It hauled coal wagons with about 2 tons capacity if I recall correctly.
Numerous other old, old locos, wagons, and carriages (they are not "cars" over there) are on display in York. I'll make that museum number one.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
bigboy4024 wrote: bonnanzaville in west fargo for ther ex np 4-4-0 and my model railroad clubwestern minnesota steam threshers reunion rollag minnesota for two operating steam locomotive that i work on ex soo line 0-6-0 353 and dresser traprock 0-4-0 3minnesota transportation museum in st paul again can i spred this to around the world i would like to include the chemnitz hlibersdorf museum in chemnitz germany for having 90%of there collection operational big boy
I am with you one the steam thrashers union. That was am awesome place. I was there this last fall and I really enjoyed. That steam locomotive was very well restored. It just needs to get the SOO line on the side. I just recognized the steam locomotive in your azatar. What a great place. I will definitely be visiting next September.
James
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.
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.
coborn35 wrote: 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
An "expensive model collector"
wgnrr wrote: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
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 figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
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