Today we rode the MN Zephyr we arrived an hour early and went through the museum. I highly recommend the train ride and museum they are a perfect combination if you enjoy history and trains. I have some photos of things you might see depending on season.

This was by far one of the best museums I have ever been too! Even my daught was kept engaged and enthralled with everything inside. She could not get enough of all the train things and wants to go back to learn even more after Covid restrictions are lifted. I for sure need to come back with my sons and husband who will probably enjoy it even more then my daughter and I did!

If you love Trains, and learning about local History, The Union Depot is a must stop. Plan on spending a couple of hours looking @ all the trains, and exhibits though to really enjoy the whole experience.

While up on the north shore we went to the train museum. It was a truly awesome place to visit. To stand physically next to one of these giant machines is incredible. To read the history of the hardships people endured to build the rail system and the effort it took gives one an appreciation for our ancestors.I would highly recommend stop at the museum!

Very nice staff. Great campground with level ground, mowed grass, plenty of spots with electric and lots of trees. Didnt check bathrooms or showers. Fishing pier could use some structural help. Has a dump station! Would be happy to stay here again. Make reservations!

The museum is alright. The Zephyr line was a complete waste of time. It takes you through downtown Duluth. You could easily do that in a car. Takes you on about a 20-minute ride oh, and turns you around and takes you back the way you came. We were really looking forward to seeing the foliage change. But we pretty much saw what we could have seen driving in a car for a lot cheaper. Trains are really run down. The food was a joke. Definitely would not do this again.

Visited the historic rail cars in the museum while waiting for the North shore scenic train ride. I especially enjoyed touring inside the old dining car and seeing all the pretty dishes.

It is very educational. Very relaxed move at your own pace. For anyone with an interest in railroads or railroad history this place has it all.

What an experience! For anyone with kids this is a must see! You can touch many items and go on several of the trains which is pretty amazing. The exhibit is set up like an old time town with lots of quality displays. They also have a demonstration experience of what the train looks and sounds like in operation. This was free but that may be due to covid. Parking costs but is cheap and nearby.

Nice exhibits, lots of history of the area. Kids loved it.

Great collection of engines. Enjoyed seeing the various shops they have such as a pharmacy and Barbershops.

Free family fun during Covid. We didnt take the train this time but have in the past. It was a great time looking at the train displays and depot shops made up to look like the past.

Drove 2 1/2 hours out there from the twin cities and the staff and train ride was a great experience. Very family friendly place with great customer service staff and experience. We loved it so much that we are grateful we were able to get a membership and continue on experiencing a piece of history with my family.

Great place to see some trains close up. One they have to wheels move which was really cool for our two year old to experience. Good amount of history and done unique track equipment (like to car used by inspectors). Some train cars you couldnt go in, which I understand because too many people like to take a piece of history with them.

Such a cool experience!!! Im not even interested in trains and I had a great time! Very informative and so many different exhibits. If we ever come back to Duluth we will definitely come back!

I am a huge fan of these lights but now that we took our engagement pictures here and were able to capture the romantic feel and architecture its become one of my favorite places!

Second time weve been there and we loved it! Enough exhibits and trains and cool stuff to look at and learn for hours and hours. The scale models are amazing are well as the 18th and 19th century real life trains, several of which you could look into or go inside. One of my personal favorites is the forgotten trains outside of the building. Its kind of a train graveyard but it doesnt seem to be regulated so my kid and I climb all over them and have a ball. There are re-creations of old timey shops which were setup beautifully with great attention to detail. Very immersing and historically accurate. A 5 experience. Highly recommended

A cool facility with a lot to look at. Would be really nice if you could get inside and see more trains.

The museum was great the whole family including the kids loved it. The staff were extremely helpful and friendly. I highly recommend visiting if you get a chance.

The museum itself was great, but when we came to the gift shop we were treated rudely, my family was trying to find a price on an item and the employee was very rude and told him not to touch unless he was going to buy it. That soured the experience for us and we left. We wont be going back there until the customer service gets improved.

Great for train enthusiasts and history buffs. Educational self guided tour with automated guide narration

A wonderful museum. Was exciting to see Big Boy when it was here. The museum is bigger than youd think. Plan to spend a couple of hours here at least. Double that if you bring a train fan.

Coming here was such am awesome experience, and is definitely the most interesting museum I have ever been to.There are four floors of fun, with the train stuff at the bottom. There are real artifacts here and rare and well maintained trains. What impressed me the most was the log crane and the train snow plows.If you are in Duluth, have never been here before and have a few hours to spare, I would HIGHLY recommend coming here. I am not even a huge train nerd and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Love the museum and the Caboose ride. Had a wonderful time with the railroad personal. Deb was a great hostess. Best museum in the country. Thanks Ken and all the staff.

Great historical place to see!!! They have trains from man power times to current day. Also offer train ride that take about 30mins.

We love coming to see the trains here.

Met my dad here for his birthday, and brought my daughter for her first visit. Fantastic place to visit when in Duluth, lots of good history to take in, and lots of hands on items!

Great museum and attraction. We have been members for several years and enjoy spending the day here. Alot of great staff and volunteers who do exceptional work.

If you or a family member likes train lore then head here. You can also catch a ride on one.

Great a really nice display of railroad equipment and lots of information

We have always had a good experience when coming. We have been on several different train rides now and continue to come back. I have always thought the tickets are reasonable and you get to walk around the depot when you arrive. Have have spent at least 2 hours of looking and each time we go we still roam around the depot. The have a vending area along with bathrooms next to it and also in the entry. A very nice gift shop with lots to choose from. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. We will be coming back again.

A lot of fun for the kids. Hands on exploratory learning with a good deal of history. Weve been a couple of times and the kids really enjoy it.

Awesome! Step into this wonderful time machine of railroading and local history that shaped the area into what it is today. Dont miss it!

Great place to spend time with kids. We were actually very surprised how interesting and historical this place is. Not only you can explore the trains and get inside them, but walking around decorated hangar feels like imnersing into that old atmosphere. I learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of it of about two hours we spent there. Great place!

It was a great time for the grandson who is obsessed with trains. Free entrance since my husband is a veteran, added bonus. The set up of the miniature train set is fun to watch.

A great time for children and adults. Access to the trains, plenty of things to see. Fun, interactive model train layout

Fun to see huge trains and some of them you can walk in. Grade Hands-On for kids. Other displays to see but we didnt have time with a four year old.

We spent over an hour taking in all the exhibits. Great way to spend an afternoon.

Excellent lots of full size and scale model trains.

This is a very interesting museum with one of the surviving 2-8-8-4 yellowstone class steam locomotives that operated on the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway hauling iron ore from the mines to Lake Superior ports. They also have the William Crooks 4-4-0 steam locomotive, which was the first steam locomotive to operate in the state of Minnesota (beginning 1861). It operated on 10 miles of track between St. Paul and St. Anthony. James J. Hill eventually used this railroad as the basis for building the Great Northern Railway.

Quite an interesting place. Got to see.

Great place to learn history of trains.

An absolute must for the history nut! Has tons of railroad and local non-railroad history too

This place was pretty cool. LOTS of railroad history and TRAINS TRAINS AND MORE TRAINS!! My train obsessed kid LOVED it!

This is a really great place to visit. If you like the old trains and enjoy history youll love this place. Very interesting and free to veterans and four other family members. Veterans must have a valid ID.

Excellent displays and train history.

Loved it self guided tour was fun

I had a terrific experience at the museum. Its a museum that you can spend hours at and not see everything. There were some guides that were very helpful and provided a lot of fascinating information and history. Highly recommended.

Enjoyed looking at all of the trains and other stuff.

Its a truly magical experience

This was the best part of our trip to Duluth. They did an amazing job with the environment and the train station as a whole!

Great place to see and enjoy a part of history where it actually happened. See the trains in the train depot and go inside them too. Family really had a great time.

A small museum, but full of stuff. The train ride might be good in the fall or winter, but was a little boring. Lots of nice trains to see.

My sons favorite place to go! Would revisit every day if we let him :)

Awesome and a beautiful ride on the ZEPHER

Signage to the museum is a bit unclear street side. Access the museum from the Depot building. The primary train exhibits are on the bottom floor, follow signs for train rides. I loved how interactive the exhibit was allowing us to climb into many of the train cars on display. There are a great variety of train cars from different eras that are beautifully maintained. I highly recommend starting your visit in the theater just behind the ice cream parlor to hear the story of the museum operation. If you have the time, for just a few extra dollars over the museum entrance fee, you can one of a few different train rides options including a family friendly pizza night, shorter trips around the Duluth area, or more intimate dinner car trips.

Great time with the family. The equipment is outstanding and the kids loved every minute of climbing in and out of the old trains. If youre in Duluth I would highly recommend checking this out.

Wish we had more time to explore it!

It was pretty cool looking at trains up close. Kids loved it.There was a pride rally going on, I thought it was an odd location. But it was a good time.

Super fun place for kids. The train museum is so much fun and you dont have to even be a huge train fan. They have a working model railroad in the middle of the building, several trains that you can climb in and on. They have an outdoor section where you can climb up a large crane and look around. Gift shop, ice cream shop (closed in winter), and then store fronts from the time period. Very cool place to spend a dreary afternoon.

The ground was very uneven. Needs work. But the employees are very nice and helpful. I would visit there again. Thats why I gave a 4 star rating.

Great old trains

I enjoyed the ride.

Must stop whistle stop when in Duluth for a Visit

Closed and website said open

Best museum EVER- go here if you visit Duluth. Its a huge treat. You can enter many of the trains, which the kids got a kick out of. I highly, highly recommend this fantastic place. Worth the money completely. Probably the highlight of our vacation.

Excellent excellent museum

Day out with Thomas and Percy; AMAZING!!

If you are interested in trains and their history, this is a great place! They have a large and wonderful collection of steam and electric locomotives and rolling stock.

I love the area with the trains with the old store fronts and how you can go inside of some of the trains

So much fun! A true Duluth gem. The kids and adults in our group loved exploring the trains and learning about the rich history of the northern railroad. Its extra fun because you can explore at your own pace, and climb into some real trains! History comes alive when you can sit in the engineer seat of a steam engine and touch the real levers/gears. I will always recommend this as a stop in Duluth!

Neat museum with lots of historical information. Not well laid out, and not much directional signage, but if you have time to wander and don’t mind the weird setup it’s fine.

This museum is a most if you have a family and are looking to entertain the kids. Very price friendly. You are welcome to climb on just about everything there. Go inside the old railcars and its like your transported back in time. See how they did everything back when the railways were king. From the life of luxury to the lowly mailcar. This place has trains toys for the little ones to stop and play. Even an air conditioning educational movie theater.

Ran into the tank engine I rode on at the 1949 Railroad Fair in Chicago. I was four years old. My uncle was a railroad president and it got my grandfather and I a ride. Thanks for the memories. Enjoyed entire collection.

Didnt go into the museum. On the train it sounded like they said it was included with our tickets but at the museum they said it was extra. The train ride was cool!

Great trip. Kid friendly and cool way to catch great views of superior

Great exhibits! The train ride in the fall colors is great also!

You will get your moneys worth here. The railroad museum is so awesome and full of history. They even have two more museums upstairs that are just as interesting!.

Kids and adults enjoyed the trains- well worth a visit for anyone interested in the history of trains.

Very interesting

Great time!

Looking foreword. For reopening.Wash your Hands often and wear a mask for yours & another Safety. is 6’ Distance...stay home if not well.

If your a railroad buff this is the place for you.

Plan on 2 hours +. If youre into trains, its unquestionably 5 stars: Lincolns train, snow plow trains, amazing huge trains, beautiful old historical trains... very impressive! BUT Im just mildly curious about trains and for $14 it wasnt worth it. Theres quite a but upstairs related to immigration, Ellis island, the history and building of America which I found to be more interesting and almost justified the admission price.

Wonderful displays with both interactive & visual displays. Great assortment of pictorial history as well!

Outstanding Musum,Parking is Not Free on any Downtown Street.Unless, you’re visiting Duluth for a few days.In the summer, it’s a perfect walk.As fair as the Administration Price. It’s not over price. It cost money to keep this building open. Lights, Water Insurance & a few people are on the pay roll. Provided by the generous Membership oh, almost all of the Museums is close on Mondays. Probably for exterior cleaning day.

Definitely for a train lover or not a train lover. It was fun to explore the trains. Great place!

Superb exhibit

Make sure you take enough time to look at everything. There is a lot of very cool stuff in random corners that you dont want to miss.

Beautiful museum. Even if you are not into trains. They have tours also.

Very cool

We enjoyed going here when we were visiting Duluth. Informative and they do a nice job preserving the history of the trains and museum. Worth the time and money.

My son and I had a great time there. Would be nice if they had tours but I understand its all volunteers. We also did the train ride as well it was great. It was worth the extra money for 1st class.

Lots of Trains! We visited this with our 1 year old. He had a ball climbing up and down the trains. There are roughly 12 you can visit on the bottom floor of the museum. Parking is available for about $.50/hour. The exhibit costs about $14/adult. It is open to walk on your own pace and explore on your own time.

This place is a must visit for anyone that even remotely likes museums. There is something to see and learn for everyone, from a Military Vetrans hall, large historic traun engines and cars, art museum, Ogibwe museum, They even have train tours that range from 70 minutes to 6 hours!

My family had an incredible experience exploring the museum and taking the scenic train ride. The museum was much larger than I expected. We will definitely be back to spend more time viewing the exhibits.

Trains trains and more trains.

Trains were kept and plaques gave an interesting insight to the job each car and locomotive. Having the opportunity to climb inside The Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 227 and pretend to be the conductor is great fun. I definitely found my inner child to be on full display among those giants.

We made a special stop here and camped nearby and was greatly disappointed as the excursion was canceled. They claimed it was the air conditioning in the cars but they had just spent 30 minutes trying to couple two cars together. You could see moisture on the passenger car windows so we knew the air was working . Alls they had to do was reposition cars but they didn’t until they canceled the trip. The worst part was the gift shop gentleman who was missing his lunch and because of that was whining and being rude to people. I wasted a day of my travels and never got a offer for another excursion. They did promptly return our money .

So much better than it should or needs to be. Excellent from top to bottom. A deal at $14 for adults, our 3yo ran herself happily ragged here.