The hubby has been on a train kick lately. I am not really sure what caused this fascination to reappear but at least it gave me ideas of places he would like to visit. Because the Fourth of July fell on a Friday this year, we decided could possibly take a mini trip somewhere on Saturday. Originally we were going to see the Rays play the Twins at Target Field. I casually mentioned if we didn't go to the Twins game we could go to the Minnesota Transportation Museum since it's only open Saturdays and Wednesdays. And that's what we ended up doing since the Twins tickets were insane and the weather wasn't looking the greatest.
The Minnesota Transportation Museum like I said is only open Wednesdays and Saturdays 10-4 year round. They only do train rides on Saturdays. Admission is $11/adult and $9/students. Parking is free.
While I was excited to ride a caboose, the hubby was excited that the museum is in an old roundhouse. For those non-train folks, a roundhouse is where they stored and serviced locomotives. It was circular or semi circular with a giant turntable that helped to move the locomotives. There are not many left in the country.
After paying our admission, it was almost time for a train ride so we headed out to the train yard to grab a seat on the caboose. This would have been the last train before the engineers broke for lunch. So perfect timing.
The train consisted of a caboose and an engine. You could probably fit 15-20 people in the caboose plus a 4 or so up in the cupula. We had about a dozen or so people. It was not at all crowded or I didn't have to sit next to a stranger. There are no seats just a couple of benches along the sides of the caboose like a working caboose had.
The train ride itself was about 15 minutes. It went up the track a few miles, reversed, and came back. Honestly it was not all the exciting. We did get a brief history of the railroad in the Twin Cities area but the ride was over way too quick. At least I got to ride in a caboose.
After our brief train ride, we learned more about the roundhouse and turntable. It's really big.
Plus checked out some of the trains outside.
Back inside we checked out the model railroad exhibit.
We checked out some of the trains inside.
I found a Charlie Brown dressed as a train engineer.
I went in another caboose
We got to go in an actual engine, sit in the seats, and learn how an steam engine worked. That was actually pretty fascinating and worth the price of admission.
The Minnesota Transportation Museum also offers train rides out of Osceola, WI on weekends. They run a scenic train ride along with theme rides such as pizza, ice cream, pumpkin, and even a wine train. The scenic train ride is on my list for another day.
Overall we probably spent about an hour or so at the train museum. It is not large by any means. If we weren't going to see friends in Eau Claire, I would have planned on seeing more in the Twin Cities including the Model Railroad Museum.
I am glad we went. I got to ride in a caboose. The hubby got to see a roundhouse. If someone you know loves trains (or cabooses), it is worth checking out. You can definitely hit in a few hours on your way in or out of town.
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