national new york central railroad museum

In my opinion this is a first rate railroad museum. In my travels across the United States I have visited many railroad museums and this one rates as one of the best. First rate inside and outside exhibits. Steam and diesel locomotives along with a fair amount of rolling stock. As an added bonus, the museum is located adjacent to the Norfolk Southern freight yard, which is the largest freight yard east of the Mississippi. Over 100 trains per day pass right by the museum. Bring your kids!!

There isn't a huge amount of things to see and do in Elkhart, but this is definitely one of the must see items, especially if you love trains. The collection of memorabilia is amazing.

Even if you are just moderately interested in trains, this is a great place. The volunteers have time for you and know what they're talking about. The model locomotive made out of toothpicks is tremendous!

Pleasantly surprised. Not really into trains, but this museum was educational and fun. Good exhibits - impressive train display and you can go into some train cars. Recommended.

So, why is there a National New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart, INDIANA? That was the first question I asked them. Answer: Elkhart was a main stop between NY and Chicago during the NYC’s heyday. It was a crossroads with other major rail lines, and the NYC was important to Elkhart and central Indiana’s transportation success during the last century. Their depot contains a good assortment of memorabilia, maps, pictures, RR tools, a model steam locomotive made of over 20,000 toothpicks and an O-gauge model train layout. Out in the yard are locomotives, cabooses and other rail cars, many of which you can climb in and on. There is constant rail traffic passing the depot all day long. I thought the crossing barriers were down as much as they were up, so you can wave to live engineers all day long.

was recommended to visit here from a coworker when I stated my son liked trains. We took our 3 children (1, 4, & 6). The kids had a really good time. Plenty of stuff for the young and for the train enthusiast. $22 for the 5 of us. We spent about 90 minutes there. Could've spent a bit more time outside but was chilly for the kids.we intend to come back someday - my 4 year old son didn't want to leave.We were the only visitors there so now sure many people know about it.

Admission was $5 for me and my son was free since he is under 3. My son loved the play table and the miniature railroad display. It was a great way to spend 2 hours.

I am a lifelong resident of Elkhart and have visited this museum numerous times before. The purpose of today's visit was for my mother to get a firsthand look at the interior of a caboose which she has never been inside. The museum has a total of 6 and most are in various stages of restoration. For me, the inside of the museum is the best part with its large model train layout and other displays. They also have a very friendly and knowledgeable staff which is not something I can say about every museum I've ever visited. Keep in mind the museum is located along one of the busiest railroad lines in the U.S. so if watching trains is your thing you are in the right place. On average you can expect to see a train pass by every 15 mins. Whether you're from the area or out of town this is a great place to kill some time no doubt.

Local friends took us to this and we were very pleasantly surprised how interesting the place was. Very good selection of engines, carriages from the days of steam onwards. The museum is staffed by properly knowledgable and enthusiastic people, who are keen to help and share what they know. We loved that you could simply climb up onto and into most of the rolling stock. You do need to be reasonably agile to do so, though, so that part of the experience is not for everyone! The icing on the cake is an absolutely beautiful and huge model railway inside the museum. We are not rail enthusiasts by any means, but this was a really friendly, interesting visit.

I have been to a number of RR Museums. This one is the top of my list for allowing you to climb on, around and through the rolling stock outside. It was great. I was waiting for someone to come and ask/tell me to stay off. But they seem to encourage you to explore. Great photo ops.The display inside is great as well. Lots to see. Friendly people. The model RR was not working the week day I was there, but I did not go to see that so that was fine. This museum is also right beside a busy track where I got to stop and watch trains go by all day if I desired. Great place to train spot! And its only $5.00 for the works!

The museum is very historic yet, engaging for young children.My children and I were delighted to visit this wonderful museum and hope it continues to gain community support.

Tries to be a good museum but needs help from the commun ity. Needs funding to update displays. Have visited a few times, but no recently.

I just went to see the outside displays. Mainly the Pennsy GG1. My dad was Pennsy and Penn Central. Really nice seeing the stock where you can actually touch them.

Tour through train cars at your leisure, the cost is $5/person. They have a small gift area and train layouts to watch, lots of stories and if you need a tour, they are happy to escort you around the place. Nice informal place with a lot of neat things to look at. Right across the street from the Elkhart train station. We saw SO many trains go by while we were there. Lots of great photo opportunities.

We took our four year old grandson who loves trains, and our two year old grand-daughter, and our daughter and son-in-law. There was something for all of us. The kids loved the "Thomas the tank-engine ride", blowing the real (very loud) train whistles and bells, and playing with a hands on model train layout. The adults loved the history. Beautiful and informative exhibits, an outstanding model train layout, and lots of real train cars to wander through. Plan to stay at least two hours.