Ft. Wayner Railroad Historical Society Reviews

Came here to check out the Berkshire Locomotive made in the historical Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio right next door to where I work. Came here on a horse drawn wagon that was included with your admission to the Steam Show that was going on next door to the Historical Society. They have some cool train projects inside of their building that they are currently working on getting restored back to their original glory. The volunteers that work here were all very informative and great to listen to. They would answer any question that you may have had about the locomotive and knew all of the history about it as well. Great place to come and check out some locally made historical train items, both young and old would enjoy to see this.

Amazing steam engine they had showing it off. People were very informative about anything train. Was really cool and the kids enjoyed it.

What a Treasure ! The Fort Wayne Railroad society deserves an Award for their work!! Living history, that you can see, hear, touch & smell!! Im always amazed at the open house Great people to speak with & learn more from too!! Wondeful to see another steam locomotive this year as well !!!

Wonderful organization! I plan on volunteering someday. They are open to new volunteers all the time. The engine does operate during there open house event every year! Stop on in and check them out!

We took our kids to ride the Santa train. The wait was short, the price was cheap, and the experience was great!

It's amazing to see how much this place has grown. And what a wonderful experience it is to have something so special in our town.

Really neat ,steam trans are huge didn't realize how big they are.

765 Nickel Plate Steam Engine. Farm implementation of steam and diesel engines! Also Blacksmith Shop and sawmill steam powered!

If you are interested in trains this is one place you don t want to miss

Richard Melvin, engineer of the 765 steam locomotive, a hack, and truly horrible person to be around, works for this railroad, uncaring, racist, and a individual who portrays himself as a know it all who really is just a fool, take your business elsewhere if you are a decent person and don't support this company.

This was a great opportunity for the price. The kids enjoyed the experience. There are other opportunities out there for adults to enjoy a longer more relaxed train ride, but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy this trip!

I took the New River train two different times, it was great both times! If you haven't experienced this you should it is doubtful you will ever forget.

This place is amazing destination for young and old. It's a real live steam and diesel heavy repair shop in action. You can visit year around, they do fall excursions, August open house, pumpkin trains, santa trains, and much, much more! They are located just East of 469 on US 24 at the Webster Road Exit. Once you are on Webster Road head South two miles and turn Right and they are located on the left side a quarter mile to the West. Stop by and check them out!

Awsome place thank you engineers of 765 for traveling atround America so that we can see the mighty steam!!!!

I have a few rides on the 765, last was Youngstown to Cleveland. Always a blast

Went to the annual Santa train event. I expected more. This was a pole barn with a train and some other stuff inside and they were selling some merchandise. Nobody was checking tickets we bought and it was disorganized. Also, someone thought it would be a great idea to have all the lights off so it was very hard to see anything and they also kept blasting a smoke machine to simulate train stream... all while the building was enclosed so it was a smoky haze everywhere. The train ride was about 15 mins and you are stuffed in a small train car with few windows and Santa was only on the car half the ride and moved to another car the other half. This was a pretty disappointing experience and we wont be back. If you go I suggest you dont buy the ticket just show up and get on the train, I think several did that while we were there!

Friendly, neat place to get up and close to living historic railroad equipment. Caboose rides are offered a few times a year.

the nickel plate road is awesome and i'd wish to work here

Great place helpful and informative staff on weekends. One can watch repairs and other work in progress on Steam engine and other railroad equipment

I went to check out the 765. Very impressive. I love the railroad history and that they have kept it in working order.

The place brings back childhood memories of steam and diesel engines and rolling stock. It's just amazing what the have done and the much bigger plans for the future! Keep up the great work preserving history!

I paid to ride last Sat went and paid for a hotel in Chicago went to union station to only find out after 2 hrs of trying to find where the train was that they cancelled I never got a notice except a refund notice from the ticket seller 17 hr before we were to leave needless to say I never got it so I wasted gas and money do to lack of planning and management they have told one lie after other for the cancellation they said it was due to low ticket sales but several cars were sold out then they said if they ran they would have lost 100000 but if you do the math even if they sold all the seats it doesn't add up to 100000 so how do you lose 100000 also they say they cancelled a week before but they still brought the train to Chicago for the trip the truth is they got cold feet and decided that running the train at 70 mph avg as BNSF needed them to do was not something they wanted to do so they cancel and made little effort to notify people that took time off work

Great to see the old trains and tour the passenger cars. Merchandise is very reasonably priced.

Interesting to watch guys doing hands on work to the trains

My husband has model trains, he enjoys anything railroad. There was history, train rides food. Good day.

We love the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. Dad got our little one interested in trains when she was just a teensy baby, so the Santa Train, Pumpkin Train and the Open House are absolutely compulsory.

The trains themselves are obviously the main attractions, but the volunteers are amazing. This year I had a serious case of Mama brain and thought our Santa Train tickets were for a half hour later than they were. No problem, they adjusted the reservations so the munchkin didn't miss her ride, and no charge!

They have a little train for the kids to ride, usually a table with pictures and crayons for the kids to keep busy before train time, an engine they can climb and tour and plenty of places to get the perfect pictures.

This organization really goes the extra mile to share their passion for trains with the public. They also do longer tours, so check them out!

Enjoyable to visit and see, but no rest area, etc for a public event. Love the trains though.

It's off the beaten path, but worth the trip if you like trains. This behemoth stream engine was up and running. We took a ride on a caboose, got updates on various restoration projects, and watched a couple of blacksmiths at work. There were a couple of food trucks so we didn't have to leave for food and several neat souvenir opportunities.

Home of the Nickel Plate Road 765.
Nothing else needs said!

Definitely a must see visit and to climb into the various locomotives. Grandson was thrilled to experience the sights and sounds and feel of the train yard.

Excursion was canceled without any information being relayed to those who bought tickets, if you go to ride this train beware, they might decide to not bother and cancel last minute and not tell you until you go there....

Super cool. Love the santa train. Kids and grandparents both had a blast

NPR 765 and a small switch engine were both on live steam. Inside I saw the presentation offered to city council with the proposed Pufferbelly Park (or whatever it's called). Original art pieces, knowledgeable rail enthusiasts, blacksmiths... For me that was excellent. I'm sure it's less busy on a regular day, but rail enthusiasts will always find something of interest.

I love visiting the Nickle Plate 765 at its home in New Haven IN!!!!

This is a great place to visit with some awesome history.

Great people preserving history for future generations.

These were precision machines forged and crafted from solid steel. They meant something to those who worked in their shadow. Make no mistake, however, these iron horses, so often romanticized, take hard, unwieldy work to corral and maintain. They lived and breathed, had voices and moods, and hummed with an audible heartbeat; they were the most human of all our inventions.

Very busy, the train ride lasted about 2 minutes. If you have any little ones under two I would say it just isn't worth the time and effort. However older kids would probably enjoy it.

Great atmosphere. The volunteers are so nice and knowledgeable.

A hidden gem in the community. Santa Train is a highlight each year for my son. The trains are amazing too!

Attempted to see the museum on my grandsons 3rd birthday. It was Sunday, October 27th @ 12:30 pm. The website said they were open and the sign at the main entrance displayed the same. However, the gate was closed and locked. My grandson and granddaughter were so excited to see it and cried, in the car, while we tried to call and it went to voicemail. It was very disappointing for us all. There was another man from Pittsburgh that was there too. He was also very disappointed. We also had other family coming to meet up, being a birthday situation. I am not impressed. Please don t advertise you are open and not do so without updating the website, the main entrance signage and an answering machine message that reflects the changes to your normal business hours already advertised. That is false advertisement and inconveniences customers and the plans they make to take the time to visit.

Kent Fingerle

A beautiful ancient mammoth machine.. that's still alive!

Really cool place. I would recommend bringing kids there to visit. My kids loved it.

This is an amazing functional collection of rail history. Several working train engines ( 2 steam and 2 diesel) and one steam engine in the process of being restored when we visited. Keep younger kids in sight as this is a working yard. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff on hand to answer questions. .

Wonderful environment put on by all the staff there

We love visiting and attending the events that they have! So much fun!! Santa train is a must!!!

Played on this train as a kid in Lawton Park, great to it restored and bringing smiles to everyone s faces

My special needs son loves trains...went on a short train ride. He had a fantastic time!

Really neat place with historic trains. Very friendly workers.

Fun little place. Do a santa train ride during xmas holidays

I love trains. It was great seeing up close their steam engine#765. Volunteers on site that day were friendly & willing to answer questions. Was expecting to see some of the passenger cars they pull but no luck. Not a place for my kids since the only thing to see was the 765 & they got bored quickly.

Love the 765 I road behind this locomotive 4 times and loved every minute

Generous show w engines, cars, the volunteers are friendly and informative! Great visit any time of year!

Amazing time! Kids loved the train ride as well as watching the electronic trains inside the building!