The Scottsdale Railroad Museum preserves full-size railway history within McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. The historic Peoria Depot provides the museum entrance and much of its interpretive setting, while preserved railway cars connect the park with national and international events. This is a different attraction from the recreational rides around it: the museum’s strongest stories concern real passenger travel, railway buildings and the people who used them.
The Peoria Depot served the Santa Fe from 1894 until 1972 before moving to the park in 1974. Its preservation illustrates how a station could find a new public role after service ended at its original location. Inside, artifacts and memorabilia place Arizona railway history within a broader account of transport. The building’s practical layout is worth considering as well as the exhibits: a depot had to accommodate information, waiting passengers and the business of a railway town.
One major highlight is the Roald Amundsen Pullman car. Associated with presidents from Herbert Hoover through Dwight D. Eisenhower, it recalls an era when railcars could function as secure traveling workplaces as well as luxurious accommodation. The car was donated to the park in 1971. Its presence adds a political and social dimension to a collection that might otherwise be approached only as railway technology.
Another notable object is Arizona’s Merci Car. France sent these gift-filled railway cars to the United States in 1949 as an expression of gratitude after World War II. Arizona’s example has been displayed at the park since 1989. It connects a familiar freight-car shape with an unexpected international story: an object normally used to carry goods became a vehicle for thanks, remembrance and personal gifts.
Together the depot, Pullman car and Merci Car offer three distinct approaches to railway heritage: everyday community service, high-level passenger travel and international commemoration. That combination makes the collection worth exploring even for visitors who are not interested in the park’s other attractions.
Visitor information
Researched November 2026.
Sources
More railroad museums in Arizona
- Arizona Railway Museum — Chandler: Railroad museum and rolling-stock collection
- Southern Arizona Transportation Museum — Tucson: Depot museum and locomotive display
- All 3 railroad museums and sites in Arizona
Keep exploring
- All heritage sites — museums, stations and landmarks
- Southwest — the trains you can ride in the region