Tourist railroads you must visit across the Great Plains include a state museum, a heritage line from the late 19th Century, and everything in between. From Trains Magazine’s Tourist Trains Guidebook, here’s our list of tourist railroads, museums, and displays to experience in the region.
Plains Tourist Railroads and Museums
Kansas
Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad – 200 Southeast 5th Street, Abilene
Departing from the restored Rock Island depot are steam- and diesel-powered excursions of the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad. The 11-mile, 90-minute round trip from Abilene – ranging from scenic rides to dinner trains – crosses the Smoky Hill River to the replica Hoffman Grist Mill in Enterprise. A passenger coach, open-air car and former Union Pacific caboose are usually pulled by an Alco S-1 diesel, while the railroad’s Santa Fe 4-6-2 No. 3415 serves as the motive power on select days.
Nebraska
Lauritzen Gardens – 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha
Where else can you find a botanical garden that’s home to not one, but two steel giants of railroading history? Union Pacific’s former DDA40X diesel No. 6900 and Big Boy steam locomotive No. 4023 both stand as monuments at the garden’s Kenefick Park. They overlook Interstate 80, greeting westbound travelers who cross the Missouri River into Omaha and ultimately the state of Nebraska. Viewing platforms allow visitors of the park to look inside the cabs of both locomotives.
North Dakota
North Dakota State Railroad Museum – 3102 37th Street NW, Mandan
The former Burlington Northern yard office serves as the centerpiece of the 5-acre museum. Artifacts from several railroads in the region are displayed inside the building. There are also multiple exhibits outside of the building, with some of them being new to the museum itself. They include an 1890 depot from Steele, N.D., a 1953 diesel switcher, several freight cars, and multiple cabooses.
South Dakota
Black Hills Central Railroad 1880 Train – 222 Railroad Avenue, Hill City; and 103 Winter Street, Keystone
As a nod to the railroad that first reached the Black Hills in the 1880s, the Black Hills Central Railroad’s 1880 Train traverses a mixture of steep grades and sharp curves while operating between Hill City and Keystone. Once a rugged route for miners and prospectors, the now tourist railroad provides passengers with scenic vistas of Black Elk Peak while they ride in restored wooden coaches. The pair of operating Mallet-type steam locomotives from the 1920s are showstoppers as they lug the heavy summer trains up the 5% grade out of Hill City.
Other railroad sites to consider across the Plains
During your visit to the Plains, consider also visiting these railroad sites:
Kansas
- Atchison Rail Museum – Atchison
- The Great Overland Station – Topeka
- Great Plains Transportation Museum – Wichita
- Heart of the Heartlands Museum – Scammon
Nebraska
- Cody Park Railroad Museum – North Platte
- Durham Museum – Omaha
- Golden Spike Tower – North Platte
- Rock Island Depot Railroad Museum – Fairbury
- Stuhr Museum – Grand Island
- Trails & Rails Museum – Kearney
North Dakota
- Bonanzaville – West Fargo
- Midland Continental Depot Transportation Museum – Wimbledon
- Railroad Museum of Minot – Minot
South Dakota
- Prairie Village – Madison
- South Dakota State Railroad Museum – Hill City
