We visited the railroad museum on a whim while visiting Miami New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, 2012.
We took our twin boys who are over 2.5 years old and the weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold, with a nice warm breeze. There are lots to explore here. Lots of trains and tracks. You can walk around forever. There are some covered trains under the NAS hanger, and a separate 3rd buidling that has the toy electronic trains/tracks. This separate building has lots of wooden Thomas Train tables to play with. My boys did not want to leave this building. It was not crowded the day of our visit. We climbed up and down many trains. I loved the double decker train all the way in the back. It looks like they use this one for the Thomas Train Days. My kids loved pushing all the engineer buttons.
Bathroom facilities are fine. Be sure to wash hands and face before eating. There's a deck to eat. We only had ice cream snacks here. There is minimal food. My suggestion is bring your own lunch.
We did not explore the large, covered sand box, and we missed the kiddie train ride.
Admission price was right. Our kids were free, and with AAA card we only had to pay for 1 adult price.

The railroads played an important part in shaping what is today the United States. This museum gives you a wonderful taste of what long distance travel must have been like in the first half of the 20th century, before the advent of commercial air flight. The museum is struggling to upkeep itself, but some of the pieces on view make the journey more than worthwhile.

Take for instance the Ferdinand Magellan railcar that was effectively a predecessor on wheels of Air Force One. Used intensively by President Roosevelt, it is said that Winston Churchill wrote his famous “Iron Curtain” speech at the car’s dining room table. You can feel the weight of history as you are shown through the railcar which was also used by Presidents Truman and Eisenhower.

Another remarkable set of carriages make up an original 1950’s California Zephyr which used to cover the route from Chicago to Oakland, California in two and a half days, from 1949 to its demise in 1970. You can sit in the Vista Dome end carriage and get an impression of what it must have been like to travel through mountains and valleys in wonderful comfort.

A more sombre aspect of US history can be found in a passenger car from the segregated era. It had signs which could be turned over, indicating whether a passenger area was reserved for “WHITE” or “COLORED”. See my photos, and go touch this history.

It is a shame that the museum does not have enough funds to maintain in pristine condition these original and irreplaceable jewels of US history. It is unique in the Miami area and well worth a visit.

My 5 year old favorite train movies started from young with mickey mouse choo choo express and then polar expeess. He loved being able to ride with the engineer.
There are also about 10 to 15 mosel train tables. Tip: take a mister fan (walmart) in summer it gets really hot.

We ended up having our wedding at this museum, and talk about bang for your buck! We spent less than $1,000 on renting the venue, which included the use of two air conditioned lounge cars for cocktails and train rides for everyone, as well as the ceremony on the Ferdinand Magellan Presidential Rail car. We had a very unique wedding and our 100+ guests had a great time looking at all the rail cars. We also got fantastic pictures around the trains and inside the trains. This is a hidden gem as far as event venues are considered. We went with a vintage theme, complete with men wearing top hats and women wearing those large, British derby hats. We also had a bagpiper for the ceremony. The whole affair was more elegant than the Biltmore and we spent thousands $$$ less! The director and staff were very helpful and accommodated all of our requests. No matter what we asked, the answer was always, "We'll see what we can do."