Whether you are a train enthusiast or just looking for a unique way to spend the day with your family the Whippany Railway Museum is the perfect place. You can travel back in time as you walk the grounds of this museum. There are old train cars and traditional railway signs that give this place a true feel of history. There are also several model trains on display.
The museum is a railroad preservation organization that was founded in 1965 and has been dedicated to the restoration, maintenance, interpretation and operation of historic railcars and locomotives in the Morris County area of New Jersey. The Museum features one of the largest collections of American-built standard gauge steam locomotives in the state, including one of America’s oldest steam locomotives – Southern Railway No. 387 (c. 1907). Excursion train rides are regularly scheduled throughout the year. The Museum also has a restored 1904 freight house from the Morristown and Erie Railroad and dozens of other historic railroad artifacts in its collection.
When I visited the museum it was extremely well organized and had all sorts of exhibits. There were displays on how a train works, equipment used for the outdoors and indoors of a train car and menus and manners used during a time when trains were seen as a form of luxury travel. They even touched on the advancement of blacks in the rail industry as porters and supervisors.
The Whippany Railway Museum is also home to several privately-owned railway cars and cabooses. This allows owners to bring their equipment to the Museum for an opportunity to share their cars with visitors. I spent a good three hours at the museum due to an extremely detailed tour by a volunteer named Mike. He was very knowledgeable and made the whole experience very interesting.
During the holidays the museum runs an excursion train ride with the Easter Bunny. They have all climate controlled vintage coach cars to ride in and your child will receive a visit from the Easter Bunny during their ride. This is a very special event and you can get tickets on their website.
There is a museum gift shop, snack depot and full restroom facilities on the premises. They also have a picnic area. There is a small fee to enter the museum but it helps with the preservation of the train cars.
The Whippany Railway Museum is open Sunday afternoons April through October. Admission is $1.00 per person. This is to help with the costs of building, grounds and rolling stock maintenance.
