The museum is quite informational on the height of the stream engines. Many original train cars to walk through and appreciate the transporation of the past. Interesting artifacts and photographs to view. Kids will like the 10 minute train ride down the tracks. Good family fun (for 90 minutes) and close to Banada Square's train museum.
My kids (3, 6, 9) have been train obsessed since birth. This was a special treat for them to visit here. All the staff were so patient and accommodating with my little group. So much hands on learning for all ages. And a train driving simulator! I had to drag them out.
One of the most complete Roundhouses that I've had the pleasure to visit and what a pleasure it was to visit this wonderful establishment. This a Railfans' delight with many examples of locomotives from different eras and other memorabilia. The entrance fee includes a short Caboose ride hauled by a Switcher which the kids seemed to enjoy and, as far as I could ascertain, I could have taken many rides.I guess that, as a solo traveller, I must look like a rail enthusiast, as I was approached by a volunteer for a personal guided tour of the roundhouse and adminstration offices, or maybe my accent gave me away as a foreign visitor, whichever, I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent at this museum and highly recommend a visit.My sincere thanks to all the volunteers who made this a memorable occasion.
This is a great museum for any railroad fans of any age. There are tons of hands on activities. The caboose rides are short but fun for kids while the rest of the museum is fine for adults. The staff are helpful and knowledgeable. This is a real old fashioned working roundhouse.
Easy to find. Staff was very helpful. Exhibits were not massive - just enough to give you a good idea of the rail experience. Open spaces, not cramped, although the lighting could have been a little better. Outside there were different rail cars waiting to be restored. Make sure you look at the old Greyhound buses - can't go in them but peek through the windows. Make sure you ask to go into the restoration area.
Visited here in the afternoon, before going to see Garrison Keillor downtown at the Fitzgerald Theater. There isn't a lot of stuff on display museum-style, but there are a number of interactive things. These include a sort of locomotive simulator, where you can sit at a control panel like a real locomotive and operate the controls, while looking at a computer screen that shows a simulated track and landscape going by. They also offer free, short rides in a caboose pulled by a small diesel locomotive. I had spent a lot of time talking to one of the volunteers there, so he arranged for me to ride in the cab of the little locomotive. :) They have an old 50's refurbished bus that they use to give a short tour of downtown St. Paul. Also, they have a huge shop area where they do restoration work, which even includes a working blacksmith shop. Note you need to have one of the volunteers escort you through, but you can easily set this up while you're there. They even have a functioning turntable which they use to put their working cars (the little locomotive and caboose, namely) away for the night. If you're there at closing time, you might be able to stay and watch that operation. Not all of the things I've mentioned will be available every day, so be sure to call ahead to verify what's scheduled on any given day.
Retired engineers and a real ride in a locomotive make it memorable! Dining and sleeper cars to tour.
The Jackson Street Roundhouse is awesome and our grandsons love it. It took us a while to get there because the main road to the roundhouse is under construction but after we arrived we were delighted with everything the museum has to offer. We got to ride on a real train, see amazing old trains that had been lovingly restored and learn all about trains and the different cars that are in the museum. The boys enjoyed the train tables and the trains running throughout the museum. Our only disappointment was the little train wasn't running because of a battery and operator issue. Oh well, maybe next time!
The museum was set up really nice, didn't have to worry about the kids falling or jumping off of display trains. There were several areas for the kids to play with train toy sets and a simulated train conductor experience. The museum was rather warm, so I'm assuming they have no air conditioning. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The biggest disappointment was that there was no caboose ride on Sundays, the website states that there is a caboose ride wit ticket purchase. The ticket prices should be reduced if this is not included.
My husband is wild about trains and this is a great place. We rode the caboose and had a docent led tour of the area where they reconstruct the old engines and refurbish the rail cars, all by volunteers. They even have a blacksmith shop on the grounds built with the blacksmithing guild to provide a learning space to keep the craft alive. They even took an old rail car and made it into the "Birthday Car" so birthday parties can be held here. I bet it's a popular spot for would-be little train engineers.