Michigan Railroad Museums (2026): A Complete Guide

Published: October 12, 2026

Michigan’s railroad museums run from a Berkshire in a shop town to a union station that still meets an Amtrak train. The Steam Railroading Institute at Owosso keeps Pere Marquette 1225, the Lima engine that inspired the film The Polar Express, in the old Ann Arbor steam shops. Durand Union Station is the state’s railroad-history museum and a stop on the Blue Water. The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, holds a major locomotive collection and runs a steam train inside Greenfield Village when that railroad is operating. Mount Clemens keeps an 1859 Grand Trunk depot.

Chesapeake and Ohio 2-6-6-6 1601 at the Henry Ford Museum

Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny" #1601 preserved at the Henry Ford Museum, built by the Lima Locomotive Works in December, 1941.

Ride dates for Owosso, Flint, Coldwater, Coopersville, Clinton, and Mount Clemens are on the Michigan scenic-train guide. Dinner evenings at Owosso are on the Michigan dinner-train page. American-Rails does not sell tickets. Confirm the doors, and which engine is scheduled, before you drive.

On this page: At a glance · Michigan railroads · Owosso · Durand · Dearborn · Mount Clemens · Other rides and depots · Related reading

At a glance

Place	Town	What it is known for	Site
Steam Railroading Institute	Owosso	Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225, Lima 1941, in the former Ann Arbor steam shops. Chicago & North Western 175 is under restoration	michigansteamtrain.com · 405 South Washington Street
Durand Union Station	Durand	Spier & Rohns, built 1903, rebuilt after the 1905 fire. Michigan Railroad History Museum, 1991. Amtrak’s Blue Water still stops. National Register May 6, 1971	durandstation.org · 200 South Railroad Street
The Henry Ford	Dearborn	Greenfield Village. Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny No. 1601, Detroit, Toledo & Ironton steam, and Ford No. 1 Edison. Village steam rides when the railroad is operating	thehenryford.org · 20900 Oakwood Boulevard
Michigan Transit Museum	Mount Clemens	Grand Trunk depot of 1859, at 198 Grand Street. Volunteer museum since 1974. National Register October 26, 1981. Preparing to resume rides toward Selfridge	michigantransitmuseum.com
Huckleberry Railroad	Flint	Three-foot-gauge steam at Crossroads Village, Genesee County Parks. The scenic guide names Denver & Rio Grande Western K-27 No. 464	Huckleberry Railroad
Little River Railroad	Coldwater	Little River Lumber 4-6-2 No. 110, Baldwin 1911, often cited as the smallest standard-gauge Pacific, about 57 tons, plus 0-4-0T No. 1	Scenic guide · Coldwater

Michigan railroads

Michigan claims the first completed railroad west of the Alleghenies. The Erie & Kalamazoo was chartered on April 22, 1833, and opened from Port Lawrence, now Toledo, to Adrian on November 2, 1836, as a horse-powered strap-iron line. It later entered the Michigan Southern and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, a New York Central road and part of an early all-rail route between New York and Chicago.

The southern Lower Peninsula then grew on timber and, at Detroit, on the automobile plants. The New York Central, the Pere Marquette, the Wabash, the Baltimore & Ohio, the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, the Pennsylvania, the Ann Arbor, and the Detroit & Mackinac all had a share. The Pere Marquette was formed on January 1, 1900. The Chesapeake & Ohio took it in on June 6, 1947. The Upper Peninsula mixed the Chicago & North Western, the Milwaukee Road, the Soo Line, and the ore roads. Peak mileage was above 8,700 in the 1920s. Recent tallies put the state near 3,200 miles. The state account is the Michigan railroads page.

Owosso

The Steam Railroading Institute works in the former Ann Arbor Railroad steam shops at 405 South Washington Street. The engine the place is known for is Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225, a Lima Berkshire of 1941, and the locomotive that inspired the film The Polar Express. The class, the tractive effort, and the rest of the specification are on the 1225 page. A second steam restoration is Chicago & North Western No. 175. A Frisco-lineage 2-8-0, No. 76, is also at the shops.

Public trips, including the North Pole Express, are on the scenic guide. Steam runs when No. 1225 is scheduled. Select dinner evenings are on the dinner-train page. Those cars are not wheelchair accessible. The institute posts the days the shops are open to visitors.

Durand

Durand Union Station stands at 200 South Railroad Street, where the Grand Trunk and the Ann Arbor crossed. Spier & Rohns designed it. The station opened in 1903, was almost destroyed by fire, and was rebuilt in 1905. In the busy years the station’s own history counts 42 passenger trains, 22 mail trains, and 78 freight trains a day. The National Register listing is May 6, 1971, reference 71000419. It has been a Michigan historic site since November 6, 1970.

Grand Trunk Western left the building in 1974. The city bought it in 1979. Durand Union Station, Inc., organized in 1982, operates the property. In 1991 the legislature selected the station as the Michigan Railroad History Museum. The upstairs rooms hold Grand Trunk Western and Ann Arbor historical displays. Amtrak’s Blue Water still stops. The hours are the ones the station posts.

Dearborn

The Henry Ford, at 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, is a museum of American industry with a railroad collection inside it. The pieces the scenic guide names are Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny No. 1601, a Detroit, Toledo & Ironton steam locomotive, and Ford No. 1 Edison. Greenfield Village runs its own steam train when that railroad is operating. The ride calendar is on the scenic guide. Plan on museum admission.

Mount Clemens

The Michigan Transit Museum is a volunteer organization at work since 1974 in the Grand Trunk depot at 198 Grand Street. The building is Italianate brick, completed in 1859, on the railroad’s line between Port Huron and Detroit. The National Register, which lists it on October 26, 1981, as reference 81000311, records that Thomas Edison learned telegraphy at this station. The city bought the depot in 1980.

Passenger service ended in the early 1950s. The museum offers depot tours and says it is preparing to resume train rides on a line of about a mile toward Selfridge Air National Guard Base. When a date is posted, it belongs on the scenic guide.

Other rides and depots

The Huckleberry Railroad is the three-foot-gauge line at Crossroads Village, a Genesee County Parks site at Flint. The scenic guide names Denver & Rio Grande Western K-27 No. 464 among the steam. The name recalls a slow Pere Marquette-era branch. The calendar is on the scenic guide.

The Little River Railroad at Coldwater runs Little River Lumber 4-6-2 No. 110, a Baldwin of 1911, often cited as the smallest standard-gauge Pacific, at about 57 tons, and 0-4-0T No. 1. Coopersville & Marne has run family specials since 1990 on a former Grand Trunk Western line between those two towns. The Southern Michigan Railroad Society, since 1982, rides about 13.5 miles of former New York Central from Clinton toward Lenawee Junction, with Ann Arbor RS-1s and a GMDH-3 diesel-hydraulic of 1960. Those calendars stay on the scenic guide.

Capac’s historical society keeps a restored Grand Trunk Western depot of 1914, open on the days it posts. The Clinton Northern Railway Museum occupies a Grand Trunk Western brick depot of about 1920. The Flushing Area Museum interprets an 1889 depot and keeps a model layout. The Lost Railway Museum at Grass Lake, opened in 2017, is devoted to Michigan’s interurban era. The Adrian & Blissfield dinner trains have been suspended since 2020. Michigan dinner trains with a posted calendar are on the dinner page.

Sources

Steam Railroading Institute, michigansteamtrain.com, 405 South Washington Street, Owosso, in the former Ann Arbor steam shops. Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225, Lima 1941, the Berkshire that inspired the film The Polar Express. Specifications stay on the 1225 page. Chicago & North Western 175 is under restoration. Frisco-lineage 2-8-0 No. 76 is named on the scenic guide. Public trips stay on that guide. Select dinner evenings, and the note that those cars are not wheelchair accessible, stay on the Michigan dinner-train page.
Durand Union Station, durandstation.org, 200 South Railroad Street. Spier & Rohns. Opened 1903 for the Grand Trunk and the Ann Arbor. Almost destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1905. Station history: 42 passenger, 22 mail, and 78 freight trains a day. National Register May 6, 1971, reference 71000419. Michigan historic site November 6, 1970. Grand Trunk Western left in 1974. City purchase, 1979. Durand Union Station, Inc., 1982. Legislature selected the Michigan Railroad History Museum in 1991. Amtrak’s Blue Water still stops. Hours follow the station.
The Henry Ford, thehenryford.org, 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn. The scenic guide names Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny No. 1601, Detroit, Toledo & Ironton steam, and Ford No. 1 Edison, plus steam rides in Greenfield Village when that railroad is operating. Ride dates stay on the scenic guide.
Michigan Transit Museum, michigantransitmuseum.com. Volunteer nonprofit since 1974. Grand Trunk depot, 198 Grand Street, completed 1859. National Register October 26, 1981, reference 81000311, which records that Thomas Edison learned telegraphy here. City purchase, 1980. Passenger service ended in the early 1950s. The museum says it is preparing to resume rides on a line of about a mile toward Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Dates, when posted, stay on the scenic guide.
Huckleberry Railroad at Crossroads Village, Flint, three-foot gauge. The scenic guide names Denver & Rio Grande Western K-27 No. 464. Little River Railroad, Coldwater: Baldwin 4-6-2 No. 110 of 1911, often cited as the smallest standard-gauge Pacific, about 57 tons, and 0-4-0T No. 1. Coopersville & Marne, family specials since 1990. Southern Michigan Railroad Society, since 1982, about 13.5 miles of former New York Central from Clinton, with Ann Arbor RS-1s and a GMDH-3 of 1960. Capac, a restored 1914 Grand Trunk Western depot. Clinton Northern, a Grand Trunk Western brick depot of about 1920. Flushing Area Museum, an 1889 depot. Lost Railway Museum, Grass Lake, opened 2017. Adrian & Blissfield dinner trains, suspended since 2020. Calendars stay on the scenic guide. Erie & Kalamazoo charter April 22, 1833, and opening November 2, 1836, and the mileage figures, match the scenic guide. Pere Marquette’s January 1, 1900 formation and the June 6, 1947 Chesapeake & Ohio merger match those company pages.

Confirm hours and which locomotive is on the property before you travel.

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