Ohio Railway Museum is one of the state’s longstanding railway-preservation institutions. Its roots lie in meetings of the Central Ohio Railfan’s Association at Columbus Union Station in 1945. By 1948, the group had established a museum at Worthington on the former Columbus, Delaware & Marion railway roadbed. That early foundation places it within a period when enthusiasts were beginning to save equipment that ordinary transport companies regarded as obsolete.
The collection represents steam, diesel and electric railway power. This article concentrates on conventional railroad material, but the range is useful for understanding that railway technology did not develop through a single uniform sequence. Different systems were adopted for different traffic, distances and operating conditions. The museum’s own description distinguishes equipment available for operation from steam machinery preserved for display, an important qualification when planning a visit.
The display room contains objects associated with railway culture and technology. Smaller artifacts can explain aspects of work that disappear when attention is directed only at large engines. A tool, signal-related object or document may reveal a particular employee’s responsibility, while a locomotive represents the combined work of many such people. Guided interpretation can help connect the objects with the equipment outside and the historical route on which the museum stands.
The museum is entirely volunteer-run. Its continuing work includes maintaining the collection and the infrastructure needed to support it. That is a significant part of the story at an institution founded so early in the preservation movement. Saving a vehicle is only the beginning; maintaining track, electrical or mechanical systems, storage and public access requires repeated decisions over many decades. The site therefore preserves both railway objects and a long history of community involvement.
The collection is broader than its conventional railroad material, and not every vehicle should be assumed operational or accessible inside. A rewarding visit looks at the relationship between the museum’s early preservation origins, its surviving railway corridor and the practical care of historic equipment today.
Visitor information
Researched November 2026.
Sources
More railroad museums in Ohio
- Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum — Sugarcreek: Major locomotive collection and working roundhouse
- Bradford Ohio Railroad Museum — Bradford: Railroad history museum
- Conneaut Historical Railroad Museum — Conneaut: Railroad museum and equipment collection
- Dennison Railroad Depot Museum — Dennison: Depot and railroad history museum
- Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum — Bellevue: Railroad museum and rolling-stock collection
- Marion Union Station — Marion: Depot and railroad museum
- Orrville Railroad Heritage Society Depot Museum — Orrville: Depot and railroad heritage museum
- All 8 railroad museums and sites in Ohio
Keep exploring
- All heritage sites — museums, stations and landmarks
- Midwest — the trains you can ride in the region