Arizona Railway Museum — Attraction in Chandler

Run entirely by knowledgeable volunteers and generally open only noon to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, this museum offer an up-close-and -personal look at the Golden Age of railroading. You'll be able to take your time and tour the vintage rail cars, some dating back over 100 years. Some still rail worthy and (assuming you have a ton of money) can be chartered and hooked on to Amtrak trains! Highlights of our visit included climbing inside a massive diesel locomotive, sitting in a caboose and exploring the opulent rail cars that were used by luminaries including William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson and AdlaiStevenson. We happened to visit on the museum's annual open house, so all cars were open. Don't know about regular weekends, but Im sure enough will be open to make your visit worthwhile. There is a modest admission charge and there's also a gift shop selling reasonabley priced railroad items. Just a word of caution: the cars are parked on a Union Pacific railroad siding and as a result are not handicapped accessible. Suggest you call to make sure the museum will be open when you...

We saw this from the road and decided to stop. It's a hidden gem for sure. The woman that runs the gift shop and sells the admission tickets is really nice and funny. It was so interesting walking through the vintage passenger cars. They really traveled in style back then. We enjoyed seeing the passenger cars from the old Amtrak fleet. I grew up close to the railroad and would wave at the passengers on their trip from Minneapolis to Des Moines. I took lots of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed the history of the railroad. My husband and son were very interested in reading and seeing the rail cars. We loved the old engine and the rail cars with the platforms on the back. You could imagine the President from earlier times standing and waving to the public. The price is very inexpensive and definitely worth it. They have cute little things in the gift shop and interesting historical items in the main building. It's only open on the weekends from noon to 4pm. Active military admission is free. They also offer a party caboose for parties, that would be a fun children's...

This railroad museum is located at the southern side of Chandler, Arizona. Because it is operated by volunteers it is only open on the weekends and because it is located in the Valley of the Sun it is closed in June, July and August. The indoor spaces are limited, but have interesting displays. The rolling stock is arranged on 6 major tracks and includes 3 significant passenger trains that one can walk through. A large variety of freight cars, maintenance of way equipment, cabooses and locomotives round out the collection of about 60 pieces of rolling stock. There is a nice gift shop, but no food. While I was there a family birthday party was taking place in the Southern Pacific party caboose. The rolling stock had data cards and QR codes for basic information and there was a knowledgeable outside docent to provide additional information. Parking is limited by park construction next door that should conclude by April. The museum offers two free admission days with food and additional features in spring and fall. Very nice...