kankakee railroad museum

A very enjoyable private tour and great layouts to see with our 19 month old son. The guys in the museum clearly love what they do and were excited to show our son each different train layout. Only a $2 donation per adult. There was a birthday party finishing up just as we arrived; looked like fun. Definitely worth a visit.

We visited the museum with our kids, ages 10 to 14. The museum was interesting and enjoyable for the kids as well as adults. Younger children would definitely love the exhibits also. It is wonderful that they offer hours on Sundays as many museums (especially smaller ones) do not. We took the advice of other reviews and called ahead to make sure that they would be open.The exhibits in the depot include model train layouts, railroad memorabilia and historic items, and a small gift shop section. One of the volunteers led us through the caboose, trolley exhibit, and Pullman car. He was very knowledgeable and also patiently answered our family's many questions! The volunteers seemed happy to be there and glad to share their enthusiasm for trains with visitors.The museum was worth much more than the suggested donation of $2 for adults. We gladly slipped more than that in the box to help this organization keep going. We look forward to visiting again!

The museum isn't open all the time but they will accommodate you as well as they can. The small little museum is great for kids. My boys loves trains and he always wants to go back. The staff are great. The restoration of the trolley and the train cars are great.

I wish I had seen the reviews on TripAdvisor before we tried to visit the RR museum, then I would have known to call ahead. We were there last year and it was not completely open. We were able to see the room in the depot with the large model train setup but not able to tour the train cars. The men there said the boss had gone out of town and they didn't have the keys. They were very apologetic and told us we didn't have to pay the admission fee but we put in the $ anyway, jokingly told them to use it to get a spare set of keys. It's a small community museum run by volunteers trying to do their best, most likely with limited resources so I give them an E for effort hence my rating of Very Good. An Average rating seemed too coldhearted and I think they should be supported in their efforts. Lesson learned - when visiting small local museums, call ahead.

I found out about this museum and knew that I must take my 3yr old Thomas the Train lover and he had a blast, the model train sets and the tour was wonderful. I would suggest it 2 parents with train loving kids like mine or even adults who love model and real trains. The staff 2 was friendly and the tour guide was great and detailed.

We visited this museum on a Saturday morning. After reading the TA reviews, we called at 10:45 to ensure they would be open for the 11 am - 4 pm time schedule. There were at least 3 docents on hand to answer questions, give tours of the caboose, trolley, and pullman car. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and spent over an hour listening to the docent's first hand experience about trains.The original dishes from many train lines, the printed menus, uniforms, books, and photos are very interesting to view. This museum is run by a local model railroad club and they are very knowledgeable about both the model trains and railroad history. The model train layout is located in one room of the Amtrak station. There are several steps to climb into the trolley and train cars. This was a great visit and the cost was a suggested donation of $2.00 per person. This museum is a great find!

I felt bad for the folks who came up from Paxton to see the train museum with their grandson. This museum is not really a commercial enterprise but a labor of love by the local "Kankakee Model Railroad Club." They are open limited hours thanks to volunteer docent-types, often primarily for field trip groups or birthday parties; we have been there for both and enjoyed them. The caboose, streetcar, model railroad display and Pullman car are all good, but I would very strongly suggest calling ahead 815-929-9320 before making a trip to Kankakee to visit this attraction. They will be happy to tell you what's going on for the week. It's not realistic to rely solely on the hours provided on the website.Also, you must be able to go up a few stairs to get into the train cars.

After being excited all week we took the 50 mile trip to this Museum. MyGrandson loves trains. The sign said open but the cabbose was locked, thesmall building with layouts was locked and the pullmann car was having aprivate party, which of course I do not find fault with. So we saw nothingoutside. We went into the Museum, paid our 8 dollars ( 2 dollars per person) and saw nothing. No trains were running, the guy that was there did not say hello, welcome,nothing. To say my grandson was disapointed is an understatement.All he kept asking was are they broke? He was so excited when i told him wewere going to see trains. So this trip cost me 35.00, not countingrefreshments along the trip and we spent 5 minutes in the place. I wantedto rip open the box and take my money back out. Isn't this supposed to befor kids? The guy there sure didn't seem to care if we were there or not.

This small local train station and adjacent museum is gradually developing into a nice place to visit during local art and music festivals. However those who are into seeing the collection of railroad artifacts and model trains might enjoy it any time it's open.

This is a hidden gem in Kankakee. Kids and adults would enjoy this. You could easily complete the tour in 30-45 minutes. Check hours online to see when they're open.

The Model Railroads are located at the end of the Depot Building furthest from the car park and was not very well signed but I'm glad I persevered and the museum section is adjacent to the Depot.During my visit the owners of the 3 layout were present so I was able to get first hand knowledge of their operations and then had a guided tour of the small but very interesting museum, which made my visit well worthwhile.I intend returning when I'm back in this area.