The Arizona Railway Museum

The Arizona Railway Museum, located in Chandler, Arizona like most state railroad museums primarily focuses on railroading history in and around the State of Arizona although they also cover much of Southwest region itself. Since their beginnings in the early 1980s the museum has acquired quite a collection of artifacts over that time ranging from rare historic diesel locomotives to a 2-8-0 steam locomotive of Southern Pacific heritage. Along with their steam and diesel locomotives the museum also has a large collection of passenger and freight cars from Pullmans to several cabooses.

Aside from their railroad equipment and artifact collection the museum also has several restoration projects planned on numerous pieces of its rolling stock so if you are interested in volunteering please contact them.

Below is a brief overview and hours of operation regarding the museum courtesy of the Arizona Railway Museum:

The Arizona Railway Museum was founded and incorporated in 1983 as a non-profit, educational and historical organization. The Museum is dedicated to the railways of Arizona and the Southwest. The interest and fascination of railways and trains has no boundaries and so railways of all kinds are included in the scope of the Museum.

The Arizona Railway Museum is a community effort towards the acquisition, restoration, preservation and display of railway equipment, artifacts and mementos related to railways of the past and present.

All restoration efforts are funded solely from membership dues and public contributions. The Museum is a Non-Profit Organization (501-C-3 in IRS terms).

Location:

330 E. Ryan Rd., Chandler, AZ 85224

(Ryan Road is south of Germann and east of Arizona Avenue)

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 842, Chandler, AZ 85244

Hours:

September 9, 2006 - May 27, 2007

Saturday-Sunday: 12-4pm

Work Sessions:

Early to Noon MOST Saturday mornings all year.

Phone: (480) 821-1108

Fee: Display Yard: FREE

Guided Tour inside 6 Passenger Cars: $2 per person ($5 families/groups).

DONATIONS are ACCEPTED.

For more reading about two of Arizona’s most famous railroads consider one (or both) of the books below. The book Southern Pacific Railroad from author Brian Solomon gives a superb general overview of the railroad and its extensive passenger operations, and is filled with excellent photographs (most in color) of the Espee. If you are a fan or have any interest whatsoever in the Southern Pacific you will very much enjoy both publications.

You might also be interested in Santa Fe Railway from author Steve Glischinski. Of course, being that the Santa Fe is our country's most legendary railroad hundreds of publications (many quite good) have been written about it over the years detailing various subjects. However, this book will at least give you a general overview and history of the Santa Fe (filled with many, excellent, historical and colorful photographs) at which point you can decide if you are interested in further books of study on the railroad. Even if you are a historian of the ATSF and have not seen this book I'm sure you will enjoy it!