medina railroad museum

went on the polar express special which was just like walking into the movie...fantastic job complete with hot chocolate and a santa bell

Cool to see kids loved it. A bit expensive but worth taking the time to go and see. A lot of neat displays and neat railroad memororabelia as well

Sorry about the bells. They were not supposed to be dated. We could not fix that.The story is all about the children, not the adults. The bells are for the the kids.

I've been to this interesting train museum before,but everytime I go there ( this is my 5th visit) I always find something new .Viewing the massive moving railroad exhibit is like travelling back in time to a more peaceful time.Marty Phelps, the museum curator, is a retired fireman and he also has an extensive exhibit of fire fighting memorabila.If you're interested in trains and firefighting you can literally spend a day here and never get bored.

We enjoyed a great visit to the museum and spent time watching the trains on the huge display. Then we had a great time riding the Polar Express to the North Pole and spend some time with Santa. Of course, our grandchildren are enjoying their bells and listening to the bell jingling in their ears!

I planned a birthday surprise for my husband, who likes scenic railroad excursions. I bought two first-class tickets so that we could have a table reserved because I had a local bakery deliver two large cupcakes to celebrate the occasion. I went to the teller window to pick up my ticket, and after attempting to confirm that I would have a table, I was told by the clerk that I should try to locate a conductor. After inquiring why I had a pair of "coach" tickets when I paid for "first class", I sought out a conductor who directed me to the coach seating. There was no table. However, one of the board members, Ben, addressed my concern and immediately went to investigate before the train left the station. Apparently, the clerk had given me another guest's tickets (who happened to have my same last name). In any case, Ben apologized for the mistake and we did end up seated at a table. They did a nice job of decorating with balloon weights and small Mylar balloons. This was a wine tasting train excursion and the winery that hosted the event provided all guests with a handsome lunch box filled with cheese, crackers, deli cuts, a cookie, and fruit. They obviously, also had the guests sample many different wines. The museum provided the water and the live music--very classy. The museum was our last stop on this train ride. The Medina Railroad Museum has the most amazing model train exhibit I have ever seen. It goes on forever and every tiny detail is carefully thought out. The relic articles of clothing, equipment, devices, and books are dated as far back as the early 1900's. The collection truly paints a canvas of a previous time. One of the guest bathrooms even showcases a mural that looks as if the train is coming right at you--very cute. Despite the awkward start, the ride was relaxing and the museum was a trip to the past that was well worth the price. Whether you are a train aficionado or not, I recommend this to families and couples of all ages.

We had taken the train ride at "A Day Out with Thomas" several times in Medina. It's a slow, boring ride back and forth, but my son loves Thomas. We were nervous to take another ride from Medina fearing it would be the same slow, uneventful ride. We decided to take our 3 and 6 year old on the Polar Express Thanksgiving weekend 2013 after hearing some good things about it - an opportunity to visit with Santa and review wish lists, cute, decorated North Pole, elves that sing and make snow, Santa and Mrs. Claus, etc. We watched the movie and thought it would be fun. We knew better. The good/Polar Express parts: It starts out mirroring the Polar Express with a special golden ticket. The conductors are walking around, visiting with everyone. Girls dressed up like the chefs come around and hand out hot cocoa and delicious cookies. A ho-bo gets on and they act out a little skit about how he has to get off since he doesn't have a ticket. Santa gets on and hands out a bell to each child.The rough areas: It's a slow, boring ride with no decorations or anything to look at along thw way. The story is playing overhead but it's really loud on the train and you can't really hear it. The North Pole was nothing more than a "village" with an Ace Hardware. Our kids were quite disappointed and asked "Is that really the North Pole?" Um, no. No lights, no Mrs. Claus, no decorations, very weak. Santa did not sit down with each child. My son had his letter in his hand and asked when he could tell Santa about it. After handing out the bells, he came back to visit for a minute, but didn't let them sit on his lap or pose for any photos. My son stood on the chair to try to review his list with him. My nephew told him "I believe, that's what the bell means" - the Santa Claus (who did look very authentic at least) had no clue what he was talking about from the story. It was a very expensive ride - $100 for a family of 4 for the early-bird regular (not first class) ride. Maybe it's because we went out of Medina (we've heard good things out of Saratoga and Virginia), went for an early bird time slot while it was light out, too early for any Christmas lights and didn't pay for the first class option. We didn't expect a rip-roaring ride off the tracks and a trip to the top of the train or the engine room, like the movie. But this was a rather expensive ride that had a lot of potential, but fell very short.

In December we took our 2-1/2 year old granddaughter on the Polar Express ride. We paid $28 per ticket and were very excited about the "trip". The Railroad museum is wonderful and the staff very helpful, however we were disappointed in the excursion. While the "characters" were all volunteers and very young, they could have been a bit more enthusiastic. As advertised, they did pass out hot chocolate and cookies, both of which were good, but were passed out with such limited enthusiasm that it seemed like they couldn't wait for it to be over. Our conductor was sweet and did interact with with children well. When the "bum" walked through the train car, you wouldn't have even noticed him if you were not waiting for his appearance. When arriving at the "North Pole" there were elves dancing and waving on the platform and the area was decorated, but unless you were sitting at the window just where they were located, they were a blur going by. It would have been much better to spread them out over the entire stretch so that all of the children could have enjoyed their antics. Santa came aboard and the little gift of a bell was of better quality than I expected and he (Santa) stopped and chatted with each child. But again a grave lack of enthusiasm. This ride was mundane, the "story teller" was just one girl walking the aisle with one book - so many times the story was well passed the page that was being displayed to the children. Three story tellers...one in the back, middle and front would have made this part of the experience meaningful for all aboard. For the price paid, we expected more, not a "Disney" experience, but one that could have engaged the entire car. This experience could have been magical with just a little more engagement and excitement, but it was just OK at best. I would say that ticket prices at 1/2 the cost would have been worth the experience, but at almost $30 per ticket one would expect a bit more. I cannot recommend this ride at this price point. However, the museum itself is great and one that I can recommend wholeheartedly. So my advice is to go visit the museum when there is not a "special event". I hope that they either lower the price or help the volunteers to be a bit more engaging.

I have been to some very good RR museums, even tho I don't consider myself a railroad buff. This one is the best because it has a great range of diversity and has a small-town feel. It's a bit like the RR Museum in Brunswick, MD in that it was set up in a small town near a prominent historically rail area AND it is run by rail enthusiasts.This one is in the old train station and it's a great hit with smaller kids who eat-drink-sleep Thomas the Tank Engine.People are nice and the price is lower than other railroad museums that I've seen.

We took our son and elderly mother-in-law to ride the Polar Express train on December 14, 2013. We sat in coach 4, and it never warmed up. I was so cold and we even had blankets with us! The outside temperature was 14 degrees. We could see our breath inside the train car for the entire trip. I felt really bad for the children who were dressed in their pajamas and robes. We anticipated the hot cocoa only to b disappointed once again. The cocoa was only Luke warm, although it had good flavor. The cookie was delicious. I thought the Polar Express story was going to b read aloud, however, we never heard a thing. Last year, Mr. and Mrs. Claus came to visit each child, posed for pics, and spent a couple of minutes with the kids. This year, it was only Santa without Mrs. Claus, briefly asked my son what he wanted for Christmas, responded with a "we'll see", handed him a bell, said merry Christmas and off he went, after less than 1 minute with us. The Conductor was very friendly and courteous. Last year, it was absolutely wonderful, magical even. This year was not the same, sooo disappointed. Will not be doing the tour again.

I purchased 11 tickets (entire family) for my children and grand kids based on a report I seen on channel 2's morning show. Everyone came in their pj's excited to experience the train ride to the North Pole! For over $300 this was terribly disappointing! We were given half cups of cold hot chocolate and a cookie. The cookie was good. You could not hear the polar express story because the sound system is terrible. The North Pole was a stop in front of Ace hardware?? Could they have at least decorated the area and had a North Pole sign?? Santa's quick appearance was ok. Oh, and dress warm because the train is freezing!! Will never do it again and would not recommend for the price they are charging! Very, very over-priced. Shame it is so difficult to find family activities that are priced fairly.

What a wonderful evening our family had! It truely is something that you will get out what you put into it! I loved the tickets, the conductor, the hot chocolate and cookies. The kids loved every minute of it! Their smiles were priceless! It was so nice to see children smiling for something as simple as imagination or Christmas magic in todays technology driven fast paced world. Take advantage of the time you have while they "believe" because all to soon they will no longer hear the bell.

We had a great family outing tonight on the Polar Express. We got there about an hour and a half early, went through the museum and then went to dinner at a local diner. Our 14 year old was too-cool-for-school and wouldn't wear PJs, but our 7 and 8 year olds did. Most of the other kids wore PJs and many of the parents did too. The museum was great and so was the ride!

I read about this museum in BIG CHUCK'S book about unknown museums. It is spectacular!The miniature train layout is amazing. I met the owner/proprieter and he was so friendly and helpful. If you like history and are interested in trains, this is the place to go!!!

We have gone there for Thomas and Friends 3 times, and my son loved it. He is a bit older now so we did The Polar Express last winter, it was really nice.