Reviews of Railroad Museum-New England (Museum)

Holly Nuber

It's an adventure that you will want to repeat over and over again! For only $15/adult, you can take a 1 1/2 hour ride on a 100+ year old train. There were lots of kids on board and once the train started, the rhythmic clickity-clack of the wheels on the rails and the gentle sway calmed every single child and adult! What an experience! Beautiful scenery!

Jacob Blanck

Good people, fascinating operatable trains and good exhibits of everything railroad & trains. Good food as well (based on tonight's event)! Worth a trip!

Meg Carriero

Didn't check out the museum,vwent for the santa train ride. They did a great job with it!

Erin O'Brien

Okay but rather disappointing

Paul Norton

Lots of fun. Enjoyable train ride.

Jessica Forte

Great place! We went on the pumpkin patch train and my nephew had a blast. There's a guided tour and they give you donuts and cider before. Beautiful views too!

Jennifer Roy

Tells the history of railroad

Penny Kelly

Fun experience!!!

Donna Mennillo

The volunteers are very acknowledable of the train & area. Fun ride!

W F

Unkind and unhelpful staff. Short ride for the cost.

Eric Sherokow

Clean well kept.

Anita Coullard Dziedzic

It is a nice ride.. I would recommend a fall rode.

usmcjrey45

Great experience

ghfgytg gyhfyhhuy

Amazing people and trains! Would definitely go there

Kathy Musiak

We went on the Santa Express here and while the train ride was enjoyable the name museum is misleading. There is a station and then the platform to wait for the antique train. It said there would he a sing along with the elves, but the elf in our car did nothing until Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived when they handed out bells and small toys. It was definitely fun though!

Daniel Ruiz

Wonderful time with family. Love old trains. Can't wait to go again.

Al G

Great Place to for the family to see, touch, and experience REAL New England Railroad History!

Katie Grove

A little pricey for what was included in Santa train. Ad said there would be a sing along but there wasn't one.

Donna Petrucelli

Nice ride and pumpkin patch was fun.

aaron feldman

Not much there, but the train ride was fun.

Mark Mizenko

Had a great Fathers Day train ride. Everyone was very friendly and informative!

Melody G

Fun ride

Joe LeClair

Interesting small museum.

vicky britt

So fun and educational

Joshua Flewelling

Another one of my kids favorite places.

Sophia John

Visted the Railroad Museum on CT open house day on a discounted price. It was worth every penny. The train ride to Fascia and the chocolate tour were fantastic. We also had an opportunity to see some of the old trains.

haley flk

Came here for the pumpkin patch train ride. They said to come a half hour early but they ended up being 30 minutes late so we waited an hour. The train was also very cramped inside. Its definitely made more for smaller children. The museum itself was really nice on the inside and lots of really neat history. Cute little town as well! Wouldn't go back on the train though unfortunately.

Nnaemeka A

Great fun and informative time for an individual or family, get some great chocolate along the way as well

Winde Whit

We had a great time on the Easter Bunny train ride today ;) staff was super courteous.

Jonathan Hassan

Great times and staff is so friendly. Def going again for the fall.

C Lundblad

Great time. Nice events. Supporting our local history.

Stephanie Beaudet

We're drove 3 hours (and endured 2 car sickness explosions all over mommy from our 3yr old) for the northern lights train ride and it was our first time. It was worth every second and the throw up on my shirt. Everything was so well done, staff was all friendly and helpful. We didn't really know what to expect and we were so pleasantly surprised with all that was done. We were in first class and the Santa & Mrs. Claus interactions was so personable and not rushed. They spent so much time with our daughter and all the families. We already can't wait for next year!! Highly recommend this!

Nicoleta L

The Easter Bunny Ride was ok.

Dani R

A must visit if you're in NH.

Sherri Mahon

So much fun ....

Katherine S

Did the Northern Light ride it was an amazing time the "Elf" staff was highly entertaining and attentive to each child. Highly recommend going

Keith Wilcox

Attended a birthday party and went for a train ride.

Lauren Rhodes

I expected more honestly dont get me wrong it was fun, but the hype got me ready for something much more extravagant. The area around there is very run down and ghetto, most places and a few towns were just abandoned or the main attraction was a pawn shop. They also need better parking.

Sheryl Occulto

My family enjoyed the Northern lights so much. The kids want to go again.The Elf's are wonderful, Mr and Mrs Claus were amazing.

Loretta Tremblay

Historic, fun and relaxing!

Kathy Lertora

What a fun experience! The train station sets up a small buffet and you get a full glass of wine to start the evening at the train station. Then you board the train for a ride to see the dam, unfortunately both times I have gone on this excursion it has rained heavily, but I'm sure on nicer weather it would be more scenic. Then you have the nicest and knowledgeable wine maker and chocolate maker serving up pairings to taste on your way to the chocolate factory where you have 2 more pairings and tastings, creare your own chocolate bar, and learn about the chocolate making process. There were 2 more pairings and tasting on train ride back to the station to end the evening!

Jocelyn Rivera

Train rides are only $15 per adult! The trip is about an hour and a half and has some great views. A great length for kids as they don't get too bored! The engine switches sides at one point and the kids are encouraged to move around the train to see. After the ride you're welcome to walk the yard and there are some trains you can walk through and view. The staff is friendly and easy to talk too!

Robert Marshall

Had a really great time with the kids here. Everyone in the museum as well as the conductors were all incredibly welcoming and genuinely excited about their jobs.

josemiletty29

Good price

Murat SARI

Friendly staff, cute and small museum and nice gift options.

Jenn M

So much fun!

Nate Herring

Great place to see and explore the handful of trains they have in the yard and take a ride along the Naugatuck river. Rides normally go down to Waterville and then up to the Thomaston Dam. Good for kids. The volunteers are fantastic and very knowledgeable.

Patrick Butler

Take a ride on # 41 LRC car has a light rocking motion.

Paola Finelli

Good time .they should serve hot chocolate and cookies in both carts just because you pay more for a ticket kids should her the whole experience of the train.definitely would come back next year

Heather PuzzledParent

Review for train ride, the museum is tiny. Christmas train was fun, great things to see and the staff was a lot of fun.

Heidi Kitch

I was extremely disappointed with the Tequila Tasting Train ride!! 1st they ran out of water bottles at 5:15, so you had to eat mexican food with about a quarter shot of what tasted like to me, sour mix. When i asked if we can get more water, i was told "Nope, we don't have anymore" 2nd, each tasting was about a tablespoon of tequila, some were even less, and you are only allowed to have one of each, so you really don't taste the tequila. 3rd, if you took more than one, they cut you off! So on the way back from the chocolate factory, we had nothing to drink. We didn't even go back in the station for the " dessert tequila" , wasn't in the mood to wait in line for another tablespoon full, because we were very thirsty! So basically, if you actually like to drink tequila, don't waste your money on this ride! FYI This is the 1st bad review I have ever written, I just think people should know what they are spending their money on.

Kev Dev

Ton of fun, but the Pumpkin Train we were told while on it that adults couldn't get pumpkins. Not the end of the world, but then it is just a train ride.

Sharon Paradis

Shar

R G

Wonderful little museum. Able to go in yard and enter a locomotive and caboose. The train ride was worth every penny. Affordable and fun for the kids. The crew was there to assist and answer any questions. Overall a great experience.

Paul Goodman

Wonderful ride, especially the trip to the dam. Everyone (except Conductor Dave who only seemed interested in the children) was friendly and helpful. There was little narration and during the stop I mentioned it to the female Conductor (whose name I don't recall ) and she handed me the narrative notes which gave awesome information. For a volunteer organization this is well run. They are to be commended.

Rebecca Wareing

Took the Chocolate Decadence Wine Tasting tour, and it was a wonderful experience! The train was very comfortable, the wine was good and Fascia's chocolates were delightful. Highly recommended.

Chelsea Wilson

An amazing scenic train ride and reasonably priced rides. Awesome! I will be coming back!!

Linda Spray

Great place to visit especially with children!

Code Array

Beautiful ride. Great family day or a good date place.

Katie Archer

Great time with the kids!

Miriam Pardo

Not all what we expected

rosemarie green

did their Christmas lights ride...very disappointed

Omar Zarzuela

Amazing ride full of interesting information

Jon Hart

Great place to bring your kids, little cousins, nephews ,nieces, godkids. Great overall experience for all kids under 7 probably..

Billy Woodruff

Awesome place, especially if you are really interested in older trains.

Heidi Johnson

We had such a good time at the Northern lights. We bought coach tickets because we were a larger group, so my only suggestion, I wish they would have at least sold us some hot chocolate. It comes with a 1st class ticket in a mug, we would have loved some too in a paper cup.

Anastasija Lebron

Honestly the kindest people you'll ever encounter works there, they're a little unorganized and sometimes the service a tiny bit lack luster but they'll show you a good time.

Michael Sisko

Visited the Railroad museum, with a 5 year old boy, the weekend before Easter for the "Easter Bunny Express" event. He enjoyed himself but was skeptical of the easter bunnies authenticity. So if he was 6 he probably would've been too old to enjoy this event. The staff was incredibly kind and pleasant and sweet. Dealing with a trainload full of little kids can be hectic but they were all so graceful. The ride was scenic and enjoyable for a Grandmother, Uncle, and Grandson. The only downside is there were no bathrooms on the train so to the frequent users, be ware.

jorge l. vazquez

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Michael A Cubria

Great train ride, great staff and a great experience!

Mike Jan

Yes, we know it was not steam but the trip was excellent! The Engineer took the train the furthest north than they normally do and the scenery was fantastic! Even had to stop a couple times to clear the tracks of fallen branches.

Robert Johns

Great, friendly, informative, clean and very helpful train crew.

Kyle Civitello

Great way to spend the day and see the foliage.

Christina Smith Hannon

Very fun and educational place

Frands Charles

Decent place to enjoy a moment with family and friends. The ride itself isn't bad

Shaun Samaroo

Train ride was fun. Kids loved it

Miranda Vallor

Great little trip for the kids on the Easter Bunny train!

Heather Vonhagen

$10 for litterally 10min self guided tour. Only good part 5min trolly ride

Adam Elmquist

Great museum and staff

Kenny

Small railroad Museum. but if your a rail fan check it out

Milton Fernández

Personal muy atento a los clientes y excelente viaje entren para disfrutar con los más pequeños de la familia!

John Harrison

Fun train ride, knowledgeable staff.

Edith Pawlicki

We went on one of the Easter rides (there's a bunny, a rubber duck hunt, and candy for children). The views were lovely and the conductors and museum staff were cheerful, friendly, and informative. We went with a toddler and three babies under one, all of whom loved it. The train cars are quite old, so while they are clean and well maintained, there's definitely signs of wear - I can see some people not liking it. The museum itself is a little hard to find at first - it's under a bridge and hidden by other worn-down buildings. We had a great time - it was very relaxing and fun. I would definitely recommend it to all ages.

Laurie Kuerlemann

Great Santa's train ride!

Paxton Berardy

Great train ride fall foliage tour and pumpkin picking for kids.

Sandi Manna

Fun piece of history. The refurbished rail cars are amazing!!

Heather DeVona

Went and saw Santa! It was such a great experience. Clean train and really friendly people all around.

Joelee Cedela

Beware! This entity is a scam! Horrible customer service, mostly Ellen, who lets an issue go on for over 2 months, states a refund will be given, then does not issue the refund, nor return any emails or phone calls. Then, to top it off, states false accusations, almost 2 months later, of a consumer. This is a result of a December 1, 2018 Christmas train ride. We were a party of 12 (3 children under age 3 & 9 adults) and assigned to train 4. Upon our turn to board, the train was completely full (ALL children were sitting in seats, regardless of their “under 3 on laps” rule) and there were only 2 seats for the 12 of us. The conductors were kind enough to try to find room for us on another train, and, after standing out in the cold for 15-20, they finally did. The new seats, however, were 8 seats for 12 of us. We were squished and someone was forced to stand. So the same person did not stand the entire time, ALL 9 of us stood at one point. This ride was very uncomfortable and unpleasant—much different than previous years. Further, it seems that their “under 3 on laps” rule was enforced for my family ONLY (I will share pics of this if needed). I called and emailed to complain on 12/4 and request a refund since none of us was guaranteed a seat, all stood at one point, and the entire night was unpleasant and uncomfortable from the start. Ellen and I had been emailing back and forth until 1/26 when she abandoned all further correspondences. In my 12/4 email, I explained the situation and asked for a full refund. Ellen rambled nonsense that clearly showed she did not read or comprehend my email. Finally, after 2 weeks of emailing the SAME content, she refunded 2 adult and 3 children under 3 tickets, not my full request. I continued to express my dissatisfaction in writing, but, to no avail, Ellen proved she did not read or comprehend. Then, on 1/26, she accused me of taking over 1 month to “demand a full refund” and she was unaware of the ride being unpleasant. She stated that she would issue a full refund on Monday, 1/28. I am still waiting for that refund, as well as a response to my 2 emails and 2 phone calls to Ellen regarding her accusations and the whereabouts of my refund. This entity (or Ellen) is a scam. Please beware! I have contacted the Department of Consumer Protection and Department of Transportation (for safety of stuffing 12 people in 8 seats and telling “1 will need to stand”). I will post email correspondences between Ellen and me in the comments.

Robert Rotondo

Love the wine train

m lou

Small scenic ride through town.......but was very informative on the history. Wish it could have been a little longer but for the price it wasn't bad. It was a nice Father's day gift to my husband while we were here working nearby.

Domenic Trocchi

So well done...highly recommend it.

Ian Merritt

My 5 year old loved the polar express. Looking forward to going back for a day trip.

Travis Martino

Trains are cool and this place has them enough said. Also the Christmas train ride if you have young ones is affordable and well worth the trip.

Annette yadira Rivera

Could be more information and photos

Mark Brouwer

The museum staff is absolute gold. When we arrived I thought we'd be in and out in two minutes, but it ended up being one of the highlights of our almost two-week trip. It was a rainy day so the station building and the few locomotives and cars we saw looked pretty sad, but everything changed when we met the volunteers working there. They were so incredibly friendly, and they were joking around with each other almost non stop which was really fun. Things literally 'clicked' when one of the guys started showing us how this meticulously restored antique tower switch worked. It was standing in a corner of the building and we totally overlooked it before, but to see how much passion and work went into this thing was very inspiring. And as we were watching and hearing it work, the last train (which we had apparently missed by about twenty minutes as we arrived) came rolling into the station. Initially, we were invited for just a quick look inside before it would be rolled into the maintenance depot... but we ended up staying on board and getting a private tour of said depot, with all the time in the world to ask everyone questions and to take lots of pictures - and there was plenty to photograph considering the gems they are keeping "behind the scenes" (for various reasons, not the least of which is lack of space at the actual museum). This was simply a fantastic experience and we really hope the museum will some day be able to shine with the glory it deserves. I'm 100% certain that the museum staff will make sure of that.

Kelly M

I've been going on their Santa train for 4 years now and my daughter loves it! Special gifts are given to each child after they meet with Santa. The bells were an extra special touch this year!

Ryan Glick

They host a nice variety of events for all ages.

Rayna Fisher

The train is old but not classic. There is some serious need for aesthetic restoration. The PUMPKIN patch is a joke. It's a patch of grass along the rails. It was scattered with small store bought pumpkins. Go to Essex.

Pamela Oliveira

I would like to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to the staff and volunteers at Railway Museum of New England. We took the Fall Foliage ride to the Pumpkin Patch where we met Randy the engineer. He offered to take our grandson on a ride to the station on the Diesel Engine. Our grandson Liam is a TRAINIAC and commiserated with Randy on facts about trains. He cannot stop talking about the experience. Other members of the staff in the museum were equally patient and informative. Sorry I didn't get everyone's name. Great job from the engineer, conductor and narrators. We will definitely be back!!

Rich Pro

This was a fun little trip on an old train. Was expecting more history included with the trip but it was not very educational. We rode this during the pumpkin patch time and the pumpkin selection was very poor. This was explained to be because of a poor harvest year but the pumpkins that I bought for myself at my home were far better. Okay day trip. We drove quite a bit for it, and in hindsight it would not be worth the drive. Price was fair. People were friendly.

Samuel Raj

Nice place. Free to visit. Donation is accepted. Great historical railroad artifacts. Different themed train tours in different seasons.

Yadira Sanchez

We love the ride in the train

David York

I like this place. Kid's enjoy the train ride.

Tabitha Christian

I went on a very beautiful day with my mum and sister in law. The train was a little run down but charming none the less. It was fun watching the little kids get very excited. One star off for the staff or “volunteers”, they seemed a bit snotty and very bossy even though everyone was calm and well behaved. Power tripping. Otherwise ride was very nice.

Jean Madden

Easy access, friendly staff, fun

Harold Estep

Great staff! Excellent all the way around! Did one of their tours which includes a stop at the local chocolate factory. Great fun for those with kids. Planning on returning soon! Thank you again!

Anna Papp

We had a fun time. The conductors were so nice

Allyn Young

What a sweet museum! Friendly and knowledgeable staff and awesome trains! They have loads of fun events (especially around the winter holidays). Bathrooms are great and they have refreshments

Shelly Mills

Great except crazy pricing

John D'Addona

A nice Christmas Train ride for the kids

Chris Gaudio

How can you not love trains?

Nige

Love this place totally enjoyed it with my son

Peg Getchell

The train takes you down the track about 15 minutes then stops to put engine on other end of train to take you back the same way. You sit and wait and the view is a dumping ground for old cars, trucks, busses. A big mess. Was not worth it at s.

John Zeek

Good times. Nice people

sarah clare

Fun family outing!

Nichole Warner

Trains bore me but the kids loved it

Michael St John

Nice place to bring children and experience a safe railroad trip. The staff is difficult to get in touch with when they are not there. Told to email but it took over a week to resolve a problem. And then there were still some problems. Pretty crowded on ride days and staff are all volunteers. The staff that was there were very pleasant and helpful.

Tristan Miller

Amazing railroad a must ride for any train lover.

David Wilson

We took the kids on the Christmas train ride. It was a nice ride about an hour and a half long. It's not something I want to do every year but it was pretty good. No bathrooms on the old cars.

Ariel Alvarez

Our son absolutely loved it and the staff answered all his questions! Great place

Debbie Gagne

Had a blast.

C Grabh

We had an amazing day with volunteers who love this place and are well knowledged experts because of thier love for trains! They saw the train fever in my son's eyes and took extra time explaining things to him! We got there early and even had a tour of the engine with the engineer! The people that volunteer are beautiful souls! An absolute must visit for young & train lovers!

Dino Vogiatzis

Very good experience. I recommend going on the train as well. Very friendly staff.

Patrick S Quinn

Great place!!!

Chris Griswold

Took the train from Thomaston to Torrington with a two hour layover, eat lunch at Sliders. Very relaxing and peaceful ride. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff . Got to see part of the Thomaston damn. Good price for a relaxing day's activity.

Wayne Pinkham

I love the Railroad Museum of New England. I live in Thomaston so I usually try to take my grandkids for a train ride when they visit. I was invited on the Northern Lights ride and we had a great time. Wish my grandkids were here to enjoy it. The train was decorated with Christmas lights and Santa's Shop was nicely decorated and even had a beautiful train made of Christmas lights and Rudolph was waving at the train as Santa boarded. The kids were all having fun.

Audrey

Love the history

jose gallegos

Awesome experience

the Letskys

The northern lights express was awesome great interaction with Santa and Mrs Claus. The whole family had fun.

Juan Rivera

Robbery with not a gun did Santa Claus was skinny it wasn't very much thin to look at in the way there and back only two little spot with water and the rest of it was all wood nothing but trees hey was literally a waste of money

Tina Gallo

We had a very nice time One of my top 10 things to do!

Armando Cepero

Love it

Fox Lake

Had a nice time.

Jonathan Bialas

This place is great. All non-profit and employees are train experts.

Shantal Jackson

Lived the Santa train ride