Union Pacific Railroad Museum

So we were already next door to this place checking out the "squirrel jail," and normally I wouldn't checkout a "railroad museum" because I have no interest in trains, but an employee at the squirrel jail highly recommend this museum, plus she informed us it was free, so we decided "why not just stop by."Though after going here, I can honestly, truly say, this museum might be one of the BEST MUSEUMS I've EVER been to! Just the way the museum was designed, and just the whole look of the place, really blew me away, especially for it being in such a small town. Seriously, I am blown away by how awesome this place was on the inside. Everyone definitely NEEDS to visit this museum at least once!!

Dad and I took a day trip on the road from Ames to the Union Pacific Railroad Museum. It's housed in a historic Carnegie Library building, with its main entrance on the lower level. Hours are limited (Thursday - Sunday from 10-6). Dad and I were here for about an hour, that allowed us to see everything, but maybe not at the level of detail some train buffs might prefer. CONS1. Parking is a challenge. The surface lots are for City and County staff only and don't even think about parking at the adjacent funeral home. 2. The Museum does not include any rolling track stock. So if you want to walk through an actual passenger car, or hop into a real locomotive cab, this is not an option. For that, the nearby Rails West Railroad Museum may be open. In hindsight, it seemed odd that Museum staff didn't promote that option. +/-- Limited hours (Thursday - Sunday from 10-6)PROS1. The Museum presents an extensive (over 2 floors) and expansive compilation of items from 150 years of our nation's western history, including artifacts, photographs, documents and equipment. 2. Free Admission!3. I assume that the Museum docents are volunteers. Dad and I found them to be friendly, informative, and happy to be here. There's also a modest gift shop in the front desk area. 4. I particularly enjoyed the train cab simulator, the passenger car exhibits, and the special presentation of "Law and Order on the Railroad".

We really enjoyed this museum. I feel like this would be a great addition to your Lincoln trail if you ever go on one. (You know ...to go visit historical places where Abraham Lincoln left his mark). It's a great building on the inside and its gorgeous on the outside too. I read through some of the reviews and it looks like some people were disappointed not to see any trains. To that... I would have to say that you missed the point of the museum. This is not an homage to trains its an homage to the railroad. The historical transportation system that connects east to west. The story behind building the railroad and all the political/social/cultural dynamics in between are fascinating. Look at how the geography has changed and all the small towns that popped up out of nowhere. It's cool stuff. There were a few interactive exhibits but there is also a fair amount of reading and written works on the walls. Probably older kids will be able to grasp more quickly. I really liked the exhibit showcasing the Pullman cars and railroad travel from 1950s. It makes you want to go on a train ride. It's that good.

We've been in Omaha for six years now, and sadly, only just found out about this place! Admission is free, but there is a box for suggested donations. The museum has two floors and a small gift shop area. I was surprised by how interactive it was. There were a few things that needed some upkeep (the camera where you could take your own mug shot wasn't working, and there was no paper left at the "Design your own National Park" art station) but overall it was well-kept. We have two small toddlers who enjoyed running around pressing buttons. There were a few areas roped off or not to be touched that we had to keep them away from, but mostly they were fine to walk around freely. There were some fun hats for playing dress-up on the first floor and a wooden train track on the top floor for kids to play with, which our restless boys appreciated. I can only hope that they clean them from time to time, as mine will put anything and everything in their mouths. While we weren't containing our kids, we adults enjoyed the exhibits and learned quite a bit! Definitely a great stop for all ages. Also, it's just across the street from a beautiful park with a huge fountain so you can easily walk across for some outdoor fun.

A railroad museum housed in an old building, but this time in a former Carnegie Library - not in a vacant depot or retired Harvey house. Consequently, all exhibits were indoors and the library was incapable of holding locomotives or railcars (which nearby RailsWest Railroad Museum has but was closed on a Thursday) or even large train artifacts. Thankfully, the exhibits weren't only written descriptions. The best displays were about Union Pacific's modern operations and historic passenger streamliners.Not sure if this trivia was in the museum because it has nothing to do with railroads, but Union Pacific invented the ski lift in 1936 - obviously not for geographically flat Council Bluffs which is ideal for rail yards. By the way, where are the bluffs in Council Bluffs? Maybe the town's founder was just bluffing about the bluffs.Allow 1 hour to visit. Parking was only available on the street. The closest spots were metered. Because we didn't have a way to feed the meter, we luckily found free street parking a couple blocks away.

THIS PLACE IS MISLABELED!!!!!!! It calls itself the Union Pacific Railroad Museum and there is not one real train anywhere within 5 miles of this place. I was so disappointed. It was a museum filled with pictures of trains. There are train parts there...and model trains.....but is that enough to be called a train museum??? Ummmmmm....I can get those pictures off the internet. The saving grace is that the museum is free. There are some interesting displays inside like the furnishings from the Lincoln Funeral Train Car. The building is the old library and it by itself is an interesting building. If you want to see a train, the Durham Western Heritage Museum had a real coal fired locomotive with 4 different cars attached.I gave this 2 stars because the name is misleading. Most people would expect to see a yard full of trains with the name of Union Pacific on it. If you are in Omaha its worth the trip here because there are other places to see as well, like the Squirrel Cage Jail and the Dodge House. Just don't expect to see a real train in this museum.

It was ok, nothing cosmic. Yes, it's "free" (donations suggested); yes, there are more displays coming, but it wasn't mind blowing. I would think UP could donate a lot of money and memorabilia to this museum (probably with a nice tax write off) and make it better. FINALLY, I do not appreciate a volunteer telling me that I *have* to tour the first floor counterclockwise. Yes, I realize that going counterclockwise around the floor follows a chronological sequence, but I don't appreciate being told I have to go that way. Put a sign up advising visitors that a chronological sequence flows counterclockwise, but then let them do whatever they want. In fact, going clockwise really has zero impact on anything. Minor, but it rubs me the wrong way.

Most if not all of the artifacts exhibited in this museum belong to the Union Pacific Railroad. I have nothing bad to say about this WONDERFUL museum: the displays were modern in design, the artifacts were not gathering dust behind plate glass, and a large variety of items were exhibited. If you are a railfan who enjoys viewing artifacts from all aspects of the railroad business, then make this museum a destination. One note, the exhibits rotate about every 2 years so I will return again.

I have taken my kids to this museum several times and while it is a nice outing it's admittedly not their favorite spot, however, their Christmas event is a lot of fun. This year they provided cookies and cider, decorated the museum with trees, and several model train hobbyists displayed their trains and gave demonstrations to the kids. I definitely recommend stopping in when they have this event and don't forget to take a picture with the train robbers and see the rocking chair from Abraham Lincoln's law offices.

I really wasn't impressed by this place.. I figured there would be more to look at, or do. But hey for a free museum it wasn't terrible. I would recommend for something free to do, parking was fairly cheap as well. They were doing some remodeling upstairs so only half of the upstairs had anything to look at. Once the remodel I over I'm curious to see what it's like. It is in an old Carnegie library, and the architecture is beautiful!