Historic RailPark & Train Museum — Attraction in Bowling Green

What a great experience! If you are really into trains, the tour took us through the locomotive, the mail car, the dining car, and the presidential car. Also on the rails, but not part of the tour on the day we visited, were a medical car from the US Army, and a Jim Crow car which they're in the process of restoring. I absolutely loved this tour -- and the museum. I think what I loved best about this museum is that it really brings the people to life, far beyond the mechanical nuts-and-bolts of the trains (although all of that is there as well).

The displays in the indoor museum include interactive panels that allow you to push a button and hear the very different whistle sounds that each of the locomotives used to make, which is really cool (and a huge hit with the kids). There are also interactive displays featuring interviews with Pullman porters and chefs, and their testimony is both informative and poignant. There is also an indoor theater with a movie on loop giving depth and breadth to the Pullman porters' experience, and there are exhibits throughout the museum that bring alive the roles of men and women from many walks of life who used the railroads and/or kept them running.

All of this and a beautiful historic depot, plus a cool gift shop with excellent books about local history and all kinds of train memorabilia. At just over $15 for two hours of amazing learning, this was easily the best money I have spent on a museum. Special shout-out to Will for his knowledge, enthusiasm, and warmth throughout the tour. Please add this to your Bowling Green to-do list -- in fact, it would be worth a trip just to...

Groupon brought us to this slightly dull museum, that exists in an old (but beautiful), converted train station in Bowling Green, KY. There are two floors to “explore” - that display things like old uniforms, photos, and past paraphernalia related to trains - with an emphasis on OLD. Most of it was about Bowling Green and the Civil War, hobos, or Civil Rights/Jim-Crow laws. No real explanation on the engineering/mechanics of trains, or their construction. Nor was their any modern information like graffiti on trains, bullet trains, commerce with trains, the future of trains, etc. Most of what is available to read/view felt kind of like something you would be required to look up at your local library, if you were doing a report for school - very perfunctory and my wife and kids were ready to leave after about 5 minutes. I’m not really a fan of trains too much - maybe they are a bit passé, and this museum seems to like it that way. The miniature train display was kind of cool, in a fleeting way - but broken and not functioning. The gift shop was a simple junk store tourist trap. We took the guided “tour,” which consisted of a group of us following a lady through the few hot, smelly, decrepit, unsightly, and slightly gross rail cars that are on site, and we watched a couple of random, worthless videos. All-in-all, it was a bust- sorry it’s a...

What a bounty of information. I'm only going with 4 stars, because my family of 4 cost $50 and were only able to tour one train, while there are 3 or 4 more right there, and our guide was not particularly focused. If I'd a swath of money, I would donate to the organization FOR SURE!!! They've so much to share, information to provide generations who've not so much as seen a passenger train let alone boarded one. Oh, and our tour guide was a bit distracted. He spent a great deal of our "tour" discussing Europe with the other two people in the group. It was... rather rude, actually. I don't think he meant any harm, but the lack of professionalism was there. He almost rushed through the facts about the train operation to continue their talk about Florence and Pisa. It's fantastic to have that kind of connection with people, but there's a time and a place for it. And OMG!!!!!! at the end of our tour, the leader pitched us the idea of going to see him perform in COMMUNITY THEATER! I almost burst out laughing. Again, not a dedicated professional (he will, however, be the ghost of Christmas Present, should you be in BG...