Historic RailPark & Train Museum
Historic RailPark & Train Museum
Historic RailPark & Train Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Located on a major north-south corridor between two major cities, Bowling Green has a long history tied to the evolution of transportation in Kentucky; from steamboats traveling the Barren River to the railroad and eventually the current interstate systems. The current L&N Depot was built in 1925 to replace an older station. At one time, over 20 trains per day departed the current site, providing a hub for Bowling Green’s economic foundation and exposure to travelers between Louisville, KY and Nashville, TN.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
319 reviews
Excellent
198
Very good
79
Average
26
Poor
6
Terrible
10
Timothy T
Nashville, TN319 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
We decided to take a day trip to Bowling Green on Sunday. We love trains and history and decided to visit the Historic RailPark and Train Museum-First time / last time...
Upon entry we were asked to sign the guest book. We’re told we needed to sign in and provide personal information In case anyone working came down with Covid19?
Our tour guide upon getting on the train said, I’m cool If you want to take off your masks during the tour?
We toured the dining car and kitchen. The kitchen was filthy and when we were informed it was a working kitchen used for events I nearly vomited?
The rail cars are old and run down. I have visited railroad museums in other States and this was the absolute worst. At $14 per person, it’s a waste of money...
Tim Toepfer
Spring Hill TN
Upon entry we were asked to sign the guest book. We’re told we needed to sign in and provide personal information In case anyone working came down with Covid19?
Our tour guide upon getting on the train said, I’m cool If you want to take off your masks during the tour?
We toured the dining car and kitchen. The kitchen was filthy and when we were informed it was a working kitchen used for events I nearly vomited?
The rail cars are old and run down. I have visited railroad museums in other States and this was the absolute worst. At $14 per person, it’s a waste of money...
Tim Toepfer
Spring Hill TN
Written August 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tim, thank you for your candid review. I apologize that your experience did not live up to what you expected of our museum.
There is certain verbiage that I have trained my guest services staff to use regarding our COVID-19 policies- the sign-in booklet simply requires a name and either phone number or email solely for contact tracing purposes, and we do nothing else with that information. I will retrain staff with regard to what they tell guests and how they present information.
I also apologize that he gave you incorrect information regarding the diner car kitchens. We allow caterers to host events and meals in our diner car and even have events ourselves in them, but the kitchens themselves do not have electric power and are not in use for food preparation.
We pride ourselves on the restored interior and exterior of our cars, with maintenance and staff working consistently to ensure they are presentable. We are sorry that they did not meet your expectations and will endeavor to ensure they are in nice condition.
Again, thank you for taking the time to visit our museum and being honest with your feedback. We will use it to improve the experience for future guests. Should you have any questions or would like to follow up, please do not hesitate to reach out via phone at 270-745-7317, and or to visitorservices@historicrailpark.com.
Dustin Ferguson
Visitor Services & Administrative Coordinator
Written September 25, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
hockeychief
Canton, OH146 contributions
Aug 2020
We thoroughly enjoyed the Railpark and Train Museum. Walking thru the six actual cars took us back in time to see how train travel was in 1949. We saw a variety of cars from the engine, sleeper berths, mailroom, kitchen, and parlor. While we just made a quick run thru of the museum, it appeared to be first class and was well organized. Maybe next time we can come back to check it out.
Written August 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Porthos7
West Chester, OH8,704 contributions
Apr 2021 • Friends
What a fantastic place! If you love trains and history, then this is your place! They have a cool museum, neat model train set up, rail yard, an actual Engine with historic rail cars to tour through (make sure you get a docent tour), and plenty more to see and do. Museum is handicap accessible-but I'm not so sure with the rail cars. You'll need about an hour and a half. Go have a great time!
Written April 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for visiting the Historic RailPark and leaving us a five-star review! We really appreciate your feedback and are so happy that you had a good time!
Written April 10, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Karen K
Lexington, KY142 contributions
Sep 2021
What an impressive depot for a small town like Bowling Green--the restoration for reuse as museum was very well planned. The tour of the train cars was fascinating, especially the mail car. The tour guide was excellent and was very thoughtful toward a young boy (2-3?) in our group in terms of pointing out things that might interest him and letting him push buttons as needed.
Written September 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen,
Thank you so much for visiting the Historic RailPark and Train Museum and leaving a review! We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your time here!
Written October 31, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Daniel L
Cecilia32 contributions
Jul 2012 • Couples
Bowling Green, Kentucky may be best known for its Corvette Museum, but there is another museum in town that features an earlier form of innovative transportation - the Historic Railpark and Train Museum. Easily reached from Interstate 65 and blessed with abundant parking and an easily traversed lot (flat), this complex offers something for rail enthusiasts of every age. For the youngsters (and the young at heart) there is a large room given to a scale model of Bowling Green in the early 20th Century, complete with working trains. For the historic-minded, there is a second floor museum with expertly rendered displays for every era of L&N Railroad history from the Civil War through the days of Jim Crow. These rooms are all in the old L&N Depot - itself an architectural delight.
For those who are interested in seeing an actual train and learning about its mechanics and daily operations, there are several rail cars on the siding out back, some of which are completely restored and open for tours (the mail car, sleeping car, caboose, etc.), and some others that are being restored (a World War II hospital car and a Jim Crow car from the days before desegregation).
Throughout the complex, the staff is friendly and well-informed. The site is scrupulously clean and the restrooms are nice.
This attraction comes most highly recommended. And when you are done, the Corvette Museum will still be waiting.
For those who are interested in seeing an actual train and learning about its mechanics and daily operations, there are several rail cars on the siding out back, some of which are completely restored and open for tours (the mail car, sleeping car, caboose, etc.), and some others that are being restored (a World War II hospital car and a Jim Crow car from the days before desegregation).
Throughout the complex, the staff is friendly and well-informed. The site is scrupulously clean and the restrooms are nice.
This attraction comes most highly recommended. And when you are done, the Corvette Museum will still be waiting.
Written September 1, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Blake H
Bowling Green, KY135 contributions
Nov 2015 • Family
We loved the tour we had. They had a lot more exhibits upstairs than I thought they would. The rail cars were very interesting too. The history was very cool. We had a groupon which helped on the cost , but we added a small donation too.
Written November 27, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
All of our tour guides are volunteers and it's always great to get good feedback on how they are doing. Glad to see you enjoyed the museum exhibits and the railcars. Thank you for making the extra donation. We are a non-profit museum and we depend on donations to keep the doors open. Thank you for taking the time to write a review.
Written May 7, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
littleskunk2
Hudson Falls, NY229 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
I recommend the tour, though you can do a self guided in the Museum itself, The actual railcars outside are by tour only. Our tour guide Ed was wonderful and gave us a lot of information and allowed us time to Photograph everything- Photographs are welcome all thru the Museum (which is unusual in many Museums).
The railcars were really neat to explore.
Great for a family , couples, etc
The railcars were really neat to explore.
Great for a family , couples, etc
Written October 19, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
So great to read that you enjoyed your visit with us. Thanks for the kind words!
Written October 27, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RMH_9
Huntsville, AL89 contributions
Apr 2011
A relatively small but well done museum. Housed in what I believe is the old train station, you walk around back to go in. Once inside there is a gift shop and an amazing model train set-up that is a recreation of what (I think) Bowling Green looked like 80-100 years ago. There are a few trains that are circling the tracks in the town. Very well done and interesting to see.
After paying the admission, you go through the doors into the museum. There are some very nice displays about the history of train travel, including lots of models. There is more upstairs including a variety of push-button started videos where they have interviewed older gentlemen who used to work on the railroads. I found these very interesting.
Train tours starts periodically (it was either every hour or half hour). A tour guide walks outside and you board the postal car first to see how the post office used trains to deliver the mail. Sorting was done on the train and they show you how mail bags were picked up and dropped off at every small town along the way (without stopping).
Next is the dinner car, then the sleeper car and the presidental car. At the end, there was a caboose and you got to see just what they were used for.
Overall, this was a very nicely done museum. Depending on how interested you are in trains, you could spend most of a day here or just an hour or 2.
After paying the admission, you go through the doors into the museum. There are some very nice displays about the history of train travel, including lots of models. There is more upstairs including a variety of push-button started videos where they have interviewed older gentlemen who used to work on the railroads. I found these very interesting.
Train tours starts periodically (it was either every hour or half hour). A tour guide walks outside and you board the postal car first to see how the post office used trains to deliver the mail. Sorting was done on the train and they show you how mail bags were picked up and dropped off at every small town along the way (without stopping).
Next is the dinner car, then the sleeper car and the presidental car. At the end, there was a caboose and you got to see just what they were used for.
Overall, this was a very nicely done museum. Depending on how interested you are in trains, you could spend most of a day here or just an hour or 2.
Written May 2, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vettegirl03
Middletown, NY61 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
With an avid steam train buff in the family, we took the time to visit this Train Museum. The large running train display was amazing, the train tour was full of those little fun facts that would otherwise go unnoticed in life. Cute little gift shop, especially if you want to buy for kids. If you like trains and you like history, it is worth the stop, we coupled it with a visit afterwards to the Kentucky Museum right nearby. Made for a perfect day of history. P.S. You'll hear the amazing little story of Owney too!
Written November 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wow, it sounds like your family had a great time! We sure like Ownie's story too! Thank you for visiting us and leaving a review.
Written December 4, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Captain S
Sevierville, TN28 contributions
Nov 2015 • Solo
Neat to check out! Defaintly make sure you do the guided train tour as the museum side is kind of lacking but cool to check out. Would overall recommend it if you need something to kill time doing and love learning about history and trains.
Written November 18, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the railcar tour and learning about train history. Our museum focuses on passenger travel and we strive to tell a story rather than be an artifact museum. Thank to for the feedback and taking the time to write a review.
Written May 7, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Do you need to make reservatins for a weekday visit? I saw tickets on here but not on the park's actual website.
Written June 6, 2019
No. We went on a weekday and it was open.
Written June 6, 2019
what are the closest hotels?
Written October 9, 2015
There is now a Hyatt downtown.
Written October 20, 2015
I didn't see any ticket prices. Is this a free attraction?
Written April 15, 2015
Ticket prices are located on the right side of our website. No matter what page you are on, that will always be visible.
Written October 20, 2015
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