| For the past year I've been compiling a list of | | | | Valley Railroad and the Nebraska Railroad Museum |
| Railroading Museums for my model railroading | | | | in Fremont, Nebraska; Hoosier Valley Railroad |
| website. These museums all look like fantastic | | | | Museum in North Judson, Indiana; Hub City |
| places to visit, but what are the most popular? | | | | Heritage Corporation Railroad Museum in Oelwein, |
| I'll continue with this list for the Midwestern region | | | | Iowa; Indiana Railway Museum in French Lick, |
| of the United States. The Midwestern States | | | | Indiana; Indiana Transportation Museum in |
| are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, | | | | Noblesville, Indiana; Kankakee Railroad Museum in |
| Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, | | | | Kankakee, Illinois; Michigan Transit Museum in |
| South Dakota, and Wisconsin. | | | | Mount Clemens, Michigan; Mid-Continent Railway |
| The most popular railroading museums (based on | | | | Historical Society in North Freedom, Wisconsin; |
| online chatter) in the Midwest are: | | | | Monticello Railway Museum in Monticello, Illinois; |
| 10. Durand Union Station in Durand, Michigan | | | | North Dakota State Railroad Museum in Mandan, |
| 9. Southern Michigan Railroad Society in Clinton, | | | | North Dakota; Old Depot Railroad Museum in |
| Michigan | | | | Dassel, Minnesota; Poplar Bluff Railroad Museum in |
| 8. Dennison Railroad Depot Museum in Dennison, | | | | Poplar Bluff, Missouri; Railroad Museum of Minot in |
| Ohio | | | | Minot, North Dakota; Rails West History Center in |
| 7. Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, | | | | Council Bluffs, Iowa; Rossville Depot Railroad |
| Minnesota | | | | Museum in Rossville, Illinois; Union Depot Railroad |
| 6. Chatham Railroad Museum in Chatham, Illinois | | | | Museum in Mendota, Illinois; and Union Pacific |
| 5. Transport Museum of Saint Louis in Saint Louis, | | | | Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa. |
| Missouri | | | | There are over 40 railroading museums in the |
| 4. Minnesota Transportation Museum in Saint Paul, | | | | Midwest, making this the region with the greatest |
| Minnesota | | | | number of RR museums in the United States - |
| 3. Florence Depot in Omaha, Nebraska | | | | and so extremely competitive to get into the top |
| 2. National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, | | | | ten. It's nice to see that seven different states |
| Wisconsin | | | | did get museums in the top ranking, meaning that |
| ...and the most popular railroading museum in the | | | | anyone living in or visiting this region should have |
| Midwestern USA is... | | | | something interesting close enough to visit. |
| 1. Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois | | | | I did keep two very popular museums out of the |
| Museums not making my top 10 were Black Hills | | | | top ten, because while they do have a railroad |
| Central Railroad in Hill City, South Dakota; | | | | exhibit they are not primarily railroading or even |
| Bonanzaville USA in West Fargo, North Dakota; | | | | transportation museums. These museums were |
| Bradford Ohio Railroad Museum in Bradford, Ohio; | | | | Prairie Village in Madison, South Dakota and |
| Chicago Great Western Railway Depot Museum in | | | | Kansas Museum of History in Topeka, Kansas. |
| Elizabeth, Illinois; East Troy Electric Railroad | | | | Both have fantastic train exhibits, so be sure to |
| Museum in East Troy, Wisconsin; Eldora Welcome | | | | check them out! |
| Center and Railroad Museum in Eldora, Iowa; Ellis | | | | I compiled this list by searching for the railroading |
| Railroad Museum in Ellis, Kansas; End-O-Line | | | | museums listed on a number of search engines |
| Railroad Park and Museum in Currie, Minnesota; | | | | and ranking them by the number of web pages, |
| Fennimore Railroad Historical Society Museum in | | | | discussion forums, photos, videos, etc that are |
| (Fennimore, Wisconsin; Fort Lincoln Trolley in | | | | available online. |
| Mandan, North Dakota; Fremont and Elkhorn | | | | |