Washington has no operating railroad museum, but two national museums cover railroads in depth. The National Museum of American History holds major railroad exhibits, and the National Postal Museum interprets the railway mail service.
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 District of Columbia — 2
National Museum of American History — Railroad Exhibits
The National Museum of American History places railways within the broader transformation of American travel, work and commerce. Its transportation interpretation connects the machinery with the people and economic systems around it, making it useful for visitors seeking more than a technical account of locomotives. The railway material forms part of a much larger national collection. The rail history sits within the museum’s many subjects, so look for the railroad exhibition specifically. A particularly significant exhibit is Southern Railway locomotive No. 1401, which hauled President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s funeral train over part of its journey to Washington. The museum also displays a different Jupiter: an 1876 Santa Cruz Railroad locomotive, not the replica Central Pacific engine at Golden Spike. These objects connect familiar names with distinct railway histories.
Read the guide →National Postal Museum — Railway Mail Interpretation
The National Postal Museum explores the role railways played in moving and sorting the mail. Its railway-mail interpretation shifts attention from passengers and locomotives to the postal employees whose work helped keep a national communications system running. A replica railway car provides an interpretive setting rather than an original surviving vehicle. This is a valuable related museum for readers interested in the work performed aboard trains and the relationship between transportation and public services.
Read the guide →Keep exploring
- All heritage sites — flagship sites and state guides
- Northeast — the trains you can ride in the region
- Railroad museums in Connecticut
- Railroad museums in Delaware
- Railroad museums in Maine
- Railroad museums in Maryland
- Railroad museums in Massachusetts
- Railroad museums in New Hampshire
- Railroad museums in New Jersey
- Railroad museums in New York
- Railroad museums in Pennsylvania
- Railroad museums in Vermont