Great Plains Transportation Museum

This place is a hidden gem. If you like trains you should go. The people here have lots of information and are very helpful. You can walk on the trains and explore.

There are several trains on display outside that you can tour. Inside there is a small area with historical railroad related items and a gift shop. The staff is friendly and willing to tell you whatever you want to know about the things on display. When you pay for entry, you get a sheet of paper telling you the history about the displays. The grounds were kept up and you can see improvements in the work. I expected more Im sorry to say,, with the history of rail in this area but it is what it is. A good way to burn a hour.

The museum occupies a building adjacent to a two line main. The rolling stock is just off the main, or on the second floor of the property. The folks here were SUPER nice and just waiting to answer any questions. Inside the building are a number of artifacts such as photos, maps and equipment. Note, a fence prevents one from entering the property of the ex Union Station but still has a good view of the remaining platforms behind the barrier.

I wasn't expecting much from this museum, but I really enjoyed it. This isn't a big place, but for $5 you get to climb on 4 locomotives (one steam, one diesel, and 2 switchers) and several cabooses. It was fun to sit in the engineer's seat and see things from their perspective. It's a great place to kill a half hour while helping a non-profit organization.

I loved this place. I was visiting in from California and the locomotives were so cool!!!!! we also saw some trains go by the museum too! I do want to add that the docents were amazing and Robert who was the cashier was so nice and he was such an amazing person and I'm glad he rung me up for my souvenirs. Thank you and I will for sure be visiting next time I'm here.

We have been here, gosh, about 5 million times or so.This is not a good place to visit if you're handicapped, or squeamish at the thought of climbing ladders and clambering around stuff. The way you get in the big diesel engine is how the engineers did - using the ladder.However, that said, this is a great place to go when the weather's decent to hottish and you want to spend time outside. The museum consists of a two level building with a small gift shop downstairs and relics upstairs. When you go upstairs you're on the Douglas Street bridge and can exit the building, which takes you to the Douglas Street bridge tracks and trains. This is all situated right next to the tracks that are still in use and you will get to see a closeup of freight trains going by throughout the day.The place is run by some wonderful gentlement who have an infectious love for trains. Have any questions about trains or train related things? Ask 'em, they will know!The trains can be a bit hard to get in for small children; if you have one that's 3 or under, expect to help them out with some of the trains. The old steam train that they have there is pretty neat and you can actually ring the bell. They have a few other engines and several other types of cars and cabooses to clamber in and around.My 4 year old is nuts about trains and cannot get enough of this place. I believe it costs $4 or so to get in; you can also buy a yearly membership if your heart desires.Overall this is a fun and historic place; kind of a limited application though, you have to be into trains and able to climb around on them.