Arizona’s railroad museums sit in and around its big desert cities. The Arizona Railway Museum in Chandler preserves rolling stock, the Scottsdale Railroad Museum is part of McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, and Tucson’s Southern Arizona Transportation Museum combines a depot with a locomotive display.
Each listing below links to a full guide with the history, what to look for and how to reach the operator.
Railroad museums & sites in Arizona — 3
Arizona Railway Museum
Arizona’s railway history is told through a substantial outdoor collection of passenger cars, locomotives and other equipment. A particular strength is the chance to compare different passenger-car interiors, including Santa Fe lounge, coach, observation and business-car equipment. This makes the museum useful for understanding how travelers actually experienced a train. Its research collection also preserves smaller artifacts and documents, extending the story beyond the large equipment visible in the yard.
Read the guide →Scottsdale Railroad Museum at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
The Scottsdale Railroad Museum preserves full-size railway history within McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. Historic depots and passenger equipment give visitors a way to explore the railroad beyond the park’s family rides. The preserved buildings are particularly useful for showing how stations served travelers and communities. Treat the museum and historic cars as the heritage attraction; the park’s miniature railway is a separate recreational experience and does not represent a full-size historic train journey.
Read the guide →Southern Arizona Transportation Museum
Tucson’s railway museum interprets the arrival and development of rail transportation in southern Arizona from the setting of the historic downtown depot. Southern Pacific steam locomotive No. 1673 is a major outdoor attraction, linking the station’s story with the machinery that served the region. Historical photographs and exhibits place the railroad within Tucson’s growth. The site works well as a focused urban heritage stop rather than a large train-yard museum.
Read the guide →Ride a train in Arizona
Museums are for walking around; these operators run trains you can ride.
- Grand Canyon Railway — Williams: scenic railway
- Verde Canyon Railroad — Clarkdale: scenic railway
Keep exploring
- All heritage sites — flagship sites and state guides
- Southwest — the trains you can ride in the region
- Railroad museums in New Mexico
- Railroad museums in Oklahoma
- Railroad museums in Texas