dennison depot railroad museum

It was so horrible, I truly was embarrassed for them! The local/nearby restaurant, The Yard certainly didn't help either. Food was borderline poisoning! Boarding was delayed an addtl 45 mins. after scheduled time. Train was dirty, ride was slow and sights were sad... consisting of painted wood boards, a "Santa's Workshop" banner placed on a graffiti painted train car, an old plant being passed off as Santa's workshop at the North Pole & lukewarm brown water and stale cookie! You can only hope your child (ren) are young enough that they FORGET! An evening ride in the dark may have helped! Oh, and let's not forget the gift shop that had their only phone line down unable to take a credit card and was puzzled when I asked if they'd accept a check! Really?!? Need to change theme to the Twilight Zone train ride!

$40 for coach and $60 for first class. So much for family fun!!! And inorder to post a review I have to have 100 words. Which this is not even worth describing.

This a great place to visit if you like trains and history, this depot was a stop while World War II was going on, the soldiers had five minutes to get off the train and grab a sandwich, fruit and a cup of coffee served by the Canteen volunteers and get back on the train.

Our group of 55 train enthusiasts stopped at the Dennison Depot and started a very interesting journey through time. This is a gem of a museum with lots of World War II history. The guide was very knowledgeable. The Dennison Depot was a significant example of a railroad canteen that was staffed and supplied by volunteers from a large area surrounding Dennison. They managed to serve over 1.3 million people in the service - either heading west for training or east for deployment to the war. Dennison became known as Dreamsville, USA, for their outstanding service during World War II. It's located in a beautifully restored 1873 Pennsylvania Railroad depot. Their hospitality continues as they serve each guest a free cup of coffee and a cookie. Excellent museum!Our group also visited a nearby church that was built by the railroad - if you have time visit the church as well. Very interesting.Lucille's Restaurant is located within the depot. I plan to review that as well. They did an outstanding job for our group's dinner.

We just don't live anywhere near a great train museum so we took the opportunity to visit here when we were in nearby Holmes County. Kudos to all who pulled together the restoration of this incredible depot, the Pullman cars and the museum. We spent well over two hours enjoying all of the displays and walking alongside the old train cars and engines. If you love trains and their history please don't miss this place. Nice gift shop and great on-site restaurant. It's all easy to find and worth the trip!

After stopping at Muskingum University for an 11:00 appointment that only took 10-20 minutes, my father and I decided to drive to Dennison, Ohio to visit the depot railroad museum. The inside interior is fantastic, and almost all of the exhibits inside have a very excellent design reminiscent of the 1940's era of railroad travel during World War 2 and what it was like traveling to camp by rail. Almost the whole museum was situated in old passenger cars as well as the depot itself. There were even hands-on experience for visitors including a life-sized ticket office for visitors to pose for special photo shoots. And there is even a model train display as well. Come to this museum, and if anyone is a war buff or had served during WW2, you will be amazed.

We've visited the Dennison Depot Museum several times over the years and remain impressed with how the facility keeps expanding and improving. The focus is the once-huge railroad industry in the town of Dennison, Ohio, and the Canteen that operated there throughout World War II. In fact, it was apparently the third largest such volunteer organization in the country, after New York City and Chicago. Part of the collection is on display in the original 1873 depot, but mostly in converted passenger rail cars. There is a local history car (which is a little on the thin side), a room in the main building devoted to the industrial baseball teams of the area in the early 20th century (which also is a little on thin side). The real highlight is the parts of the Museum that detail the Canteen, troop trains, and the away-from-home experience of the World War II servicemen.The Museum also has a three-site pass that you can purchase. Today, we enjoyed our time in Dennison and at Schoenbrunn. Inexplicably, with no notification or signage, the Clay Museum in nearby Uhrichsville was closed and locked up at 2pm, when Saturday hours are supposed to extend to 4pm. Although the Clay Museum is by far the smallest and probably the least-attended, being closed on a Saturday in the middle of summer tourist season makes me question the value of the three-site pass.Do visit the Dennison Depot, though. It's well worth it.

A fascinating story of a railroad community's compassion for caring during World War 2 and this historic depot. A wonderful museum display including the use of railroad cars to tell the story of the people who made this town be known as Dreamsville. We worth visiting. Festivals and train trips held including a ride on the Polar express.

I have taken this excursion as a guest before becoming a volunteer, and feel the need to address previous comments based on my dual perspective. This is a spectacular experience for not only the visitors but for everyone involved. Multiple communities rally together to support this event. It shows dedication, commitment and vision. It is an impressive event based on the total experience, the value of the experience and on the logistics for making it happen! Every train car is throughly cleaned before and after every train ride. Safety, cleanliness, and the complete visitor experience are values that the DRDM prides itself on with each Polar Express season. Along with the train ride, there are many opportunities for visitors to explore before and after their excursion. The Depot is a National Historic Landmark and has many wonderful stories displayed within the museum. The model train room and children’s interactive train car are popular favorites. Dining options during Polar, expand every year, from homemade soups/meals and snacks by local volunteer groups to local family restaurants sharing in the overall experience. I would encourage anyone who has taken The Polar Express to add their comments, volunteer, or help in other behind the scene ways to make this experience much more. Another suggestion, would be to look at the smiles and know that this event is indeed magical.

The other review about the Polar Express is spot on, but I want to add another comment about it. The train ride is a germ fest. Think about it, you pay all this money ahead of time to ride and most will take their children even if they are sick. I doubt the workers clean the train after each trip so all of the germs are left behind for your child. We took 3 children (20 months, and a 3 and 5 year old) the week before Christmas and all 3 acquired bacterial infections on the train ride. Never again will I go back to this germ fest, especially right before Christmas. Definitely not worth it and Christmas is not fun with a sick child.

I volunteer on the Polar Express every ride every year like most of all the other volunteers which can be easily 80 hours on the train. its very fun for the kids. As for the comment about the bathroom, the train cars are rented and are old some older than 50 years old! Also about the empty fields we don't own those fields or have a scenic railroad like some of the others. We do the best with what we have and i think we do a pretty good job VOLUNTEERING by decorating, making sure people are happy, and so much more by making this event happen!

This was the third time our family enjoyed The Polar Express. I have seen some negative reviews and felt the need to give my input. First, everyone on that train is a volunteer and the Dennison Railroad website tells you that ahead of time. The elves are children dressed in homemade costumes. So what? They're cute and friendly, but they are children not real elves. They are always sweet and friendly to the kids. You can tell they're really trying. The hot chocolate and cookies are a special treat, just like the book. I heard hockey pucks referenced in one review, NOT my experience. My kids have enjoyed the refreshments each year. As far as the North Pole. Well it's just not true that it's lack luster. There are MANY small sheds/life size doll house type buildings, there are elves dressed and waving, there are even reindeer. As far as children believing it is the real north pole... well quite frankly I straight out told my children it was just pretend. I don't know how any child 2 or 12 could believe they were really going to the north pole. I mean we've been years where it wasn't even snowing. So maybe have the children use a little imagination and let them know it's pretend ahead of time. My kids were none less excited because of my admission. Don't let the "sour grapes" reviews keep you away. The CHILDREN will love it!

We were on a motorcycle trip recently and stopped at the Dennison Depot museum on a whim. It was very interesting and well done. The train cars and their history are very interesting and well presented. Many people will be surprised at the wonderful history of the ladies of Dennison (and surrounding area) and how how important their contributions were to raising the morale of thousands of troops who were heading to fight in WWI and WW2.

What a pleasant surprise! We spent several hours walking through the Depot Railroad Museum that is a National Historic Landmark. Because this was a Canteen for soldiers in WWI and WWII who were passing through Dennison, Ohio, it was called Dreamsville, USA. As a reminder of the importance of this historic depot you can still have a free cookie and hot cup of coffee in the lobby before or after touring the restored 1873 Pennsylvania Railroad Depot. The Museum wing is built in railroad cars attached to the Depot. Spend time looking at the huge scale model railroad train exhibit. Walk through the luggage area to see how the luggage was weighed and put on wagons to be loaded on trians. Kids and adults alike will love the Children's Interactive Railroad Car where kids can climb in a Pullman Bunk and enjoy other interative displays. Of great interest to us was the WWII Hospital Car and the Dennison Servicemen's Canteen exhibit. In December the Depot offers the Polar Express Train Excursions. We thought that we would spend about an hour here and after more than two hours we were still greatly interested in the different exhibits. This depot offers much more than just trains, it is a slice of Americana. We had a delicious lunch in the Trax Dinner Restaurant.

With fewer trains around, we were excited to find something close to home. Kids liked theme. We learned more then we expected. Great history lesson from a local standpoint.