Brunswick Heritage Museum, Maryland
Museum with a major rail exhibitOpen Saturdays 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays 1 pm to 4 pm
In a three-story 1904 lodge hall a block from the tracks, the Brunswick Heritage Museum shows how the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the C&O Canal shaped a Potomac River company town, crowned by a large HO model of the B&O's Metropolitan line.
- Started as the Brunswick Railroad Museum
- Housed in a 1904 lodge hall
- HO layout of the B&O MET line
- Children's hands-on play room
- C&O Canal visitor center inside
- Suggested donation $5, $20 family
Brunswick Heritage Museum at a glance
- Hours
- Saturdays 10 am to 4 pm, Sundays 1 pm to 4 pm
- Admission
- Suggested donation $5 per person or $20 per family
- Plan for
- About 1 to 2 hours
- Best for
- Families with young kids and model railroad fans
- Best ages
- Ages 2 to 12
Hours and prices as the museum posts them, checked October 19, 2026. Confirm before you go.
Contact and directions
- Address40 West Potomac Street, Brunswick, MD 21716(opens in a new tab)
- Phone(301) 834-7100
- Websitebrunswickmuseum.org(opens in a new tab)
Follow Brunswick Heritage Museum
Look inside the book
Taking the kids to Brunswick Heritage Museum? Bring Rally along.
In Rally Takes the Train, a corgi's little legs can't manage the big train stairs, so Dad gives him a boost. It takes about five minutes to read, a good fit for the drive to Brunswick.
Rally Takes the Train
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See who’s waiting at the station
Grandmommy and Papa are at the last stop. Get the full hand-painted book, $13.99 on Amazon.
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From railroad museum to the story of a B&O company town
Brunswick grew up as a company town of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and in 1907 the B&O completed its Brunswick classification yards here. They stretched about 5 miles, and at the time they were the largest and most modern yards in the nation serving only one railroad. Generations of local families worked on the railroad, and the town's fortunes rose and fell with it.
The Brunswick Potomac Foundation was born during the town's 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee. Its volunteers first focused on local events, including Railroad Days, a street festival held the first full weekend in October. In 1974 the foundation bought a building for a museum and opened it as the Brunswick Railroad Museum, focused entirely on trains. In 2013 the name changed to the Brunswick Heritage Museum, and the mission widened to cover the whole history of the town, still centered on the B&O and the C&O Canal.
The building has its own story. The three-story brick hall went up in 1904 for the Delaware Tribe No. 43 of the Improved Order of Red Men, a fraternal lodge, and passed to the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1936. The founders chose it because it stands less than a block from the MARC Brunswick Line and four tracks of the CSX main line, so trains still roll past the museum today.
Three floors, from play room to model railroad
The ground floor holds Pete Harper's Children's Hands-On Activity Room, a play and dress-up space for younger kids, and the Brunswick Visitor Center, run by the National Park Service as part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Upstairs, the second floor covers daily life in Brunswick across different eras and the history of the C&O Canal, with railroad equipment and memorabilia, photographs, Victorian costumes and furnishings, and exhibits on toys, baseball and medicine.
The top floor is the reason many rail fans make the trip: a large, interactive HO-scale layout of the B&O's Metropolitan Subdivision as it ran in the late 1950s, from Washington's Union Station out to the Brunswick freight classification yards. The museum also shows Brunswick: Then and Now, a short film students made with the Brunswick Library about how the old railroad town has changed.
Don’t miss
- The Metropolitan Subdivision HO layoutA large, interactive model of the B&O from Union Station in Washington to Brunswick in the late 1950s, filling the third floor.
- The model Brunswick yardsThe layout recreates the 1907 classification yards, which ran about 5 miles and were once the largest in the nation serving a single railroad.
- Pete Harper's Children's Hands-On Activity RoomThe first-floor play and dress-up space for younger kids.
- The C&O Canal visitor centerA National Park Service center inside the museum, with photographs and interactive exhibits about the canal.
- Brunswick: Then and NowA short film made by local students about how the town has changed since its railroad heyday.
Dress-up downstairs, trains upstairs
Little kids can start in Pete Harper's Children's Hands-On Activity Room on the first floor, with play and dress-up areas made for them, before heading up to the big interactive HO layout on the third floor. The museum is spread over three stories, so plan for stairs with small children and strollers, and ask staff about access if that is a concern.
Since real MARC commuter trains and CSX freights pass less than a block away, it is worth stepping outside afterward to watch the full-size trains go by.
Plan your visit: tips for Brunswick Heritage Museum
- The museum is open weekends only, so plan a Saturday or Sunday trip.
- Admission is a suggested donation, which makes it an easy, low-cost family outing.
- Leave time for the National Park Service C&O Canal visitor center on the first floor.
- Group tours can be arranged; see the museum's group tours page or call 301-834-7100.
A foundation and its volunteers
The museum is run by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that grew out of the Brunswick Potomac Foundation, and it relies on visitor generosity to keep its doors open. You can help by leaving the suggested donation, giving online, or volunteering; the museum's website has volunteer and donation pages, including information on the President's Volunteer Service Award.
Rail stops within a short drive of Brunswick
The Walkersville Southern Railroad is about 19 miles away for a train ride, and the B&O Roundhouse in Martinsburg, West Virginia is about 21 miles up the line. The Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum is about 24 miles away. For more, see Maryland's train museums.
- Walkersville Southern RailroadWalkersville, MD · about 19 mi
- Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Roundhouse historic siteMartinsburg, WV · about 21 mi
- Frederick Railroad Museum / historic rail collectionFrederick area, MD · about 22 mi
- Hagerstown Roundhouse MuseumHagerstown, MD · about 24 mi
- Gaithersburg Community MuseumGaithersburg, MD · about 26 mi
- Western Maryland Railway Historical Society MuseumUnion Bridge, MD · about 30 mi
Bring Rally along: a train book for the drive
The museum sits by the Potomac, with real trains rolling past less than a block away, and I can picture kids pressed to the glass waiting for the next one. Rally does the same in our book, looking out an arched train window at the ocean and greeting a white bird. My mom dreamed up that window scene, and you can read how her story became a book on our story page.
Free for train families
Print the Rally coloring pages before you go
Watercolor coloring pages from the book, free to print. Tuck a few in a folder with crayons for the drive or the wait for the next train.
Get the free coloring pages
A train story for the ride homeRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi's first train trip to see his grand-paw-rents. Hand-painted in real watercolor. $13.99 on Amazon, for ages 0 to 8.
Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)More for train families
- Train museums in Maryland: every museum by town, with a map
- Train museums in every state: search by town or near you
- Christmas train rides in Maryland
- Halloween train rides in Maryland
- Every Amtrak route with kids
Work or volunteer at Brunswick Heritage Museum?
We want this page to be the best introduction to your museum on the web. Send new hours, event dates, corrections or photos to kelsey@rallytakesthetrain.com and we will update it. You are welcome to share this page with your members.
Sources
- Brunswick Heritage Museum official website(opens in a new tab)
- Brunswick Heritage Museum on Facebook(opens in a new tab)
- Brunswick Heritage Museum on Wikipedia(opens in a new tab)
Everything on this page comes from the museum’s own website and social pages and, for history, Wikipedia, checked October 19, 2026.
Brunswick Heritage Museum: 20 questions visitors ask
What is the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
The Brunswick Heritage Museum is a railroad and local history museum in Brunswick, Maryland. It focuses on how the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the C&O Canal shaped the town, with three floors of exhibits, a children's play room, a National Park Service canal visitor center and a large HO model railroad.
Is the Brunswick Heritage Museum the same as the Brunswick Railroad Museum?
Yes. The museum opened as the Brunswick Railroad Museum after the Brunswick Potomac Foundation bought its building in 1974, and it focused only on railroads at first. In 2013 it became the Brunswick Heritage Museum and widened its mission to the whole history of Brunswick as a B&O company town.
What are the Brunswick Heritage Museum hours?
As of October 2026, the museum is open Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays from 1 pm to 4 pm. It is a weekend museum, so weekday visits are generally not possible unless you arrange a group tour. Check the museum's website or Facebook page before holiday weekends.
How much does the Brunswick Heritage Museum cost?
As of October 2026, admission is a suggested donation of $5 per person or $20 per family. The museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and relies on that generosity to stay open, so the donation goes straight to keeping the exhibits and model railroad running.
Where is the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
The museum is at 40 West Potomac Street in historic downtown Brunswick, Maryland 21716. It sits less than a block from the MARC Brunswick Line station area and the CSX main line. The museum does not post parking details online, so call 301-834-7100 if you need help.
What is the model train layout at the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
The third floor holds a large, interactive HO-scale layout of the B&O Railroad's Metropolitan Subdivision in the late 1950s, running from Union Station in Washington, D.C. to the Brunswick freight classification yards. It is the museum's signature exhibit and the main draw for model railroad fans.
What were the Brunswick rail yards?
The B&O completed its Brunswick classification yards in 1907. They measured about 5 miles long and, at the time, were the largest and most modern yards in the nation serving only one railroad company. The museum's HO layout includes a model of the yards.
Is the Brunswick Heritage Museum good for toddlers?
Yes. The first floor has Pete Harper's Children's Hands-On Activity Room, a play and dress-up area for younger children, and the interactive model railroad upstairs holds their attention too. The museum is on three floors, so expect stairs with little ones and ask staff about access.
Is the Brunswick Heritage Museum haunted?
The museum does not make any ghost or haunting claims on its website. Its 1904 building does have a long history, first as a Red Men fraternal lodge hall and then, from 1936, as an Eagles aerie, and a statue that once stood at the entrance now sits on the second floor. Ask the volunteers for building stories.
What building is the Brunswick Heritage Museum in?
The museum is in a three-story brick building from 1904, built as a lodge hall for the Delaware Tribe No. 43 of the Improved Order of Red Men. The Fraternal Order of Eagles bought it on June 1, 1936. Its tall arched windows and Flemish bond brickwork reflect an early commercial style.
Is there a C&O Canal visitor center at the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
Yes. The Brunswick Visitor Center on the first floor is run by the National Park Service as part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. It covers canal history with photographs and interactive exhibits, so canal and railroad fans can see both stories under one roof.
What else is on display at the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
Beyond the railroad layout, the second floor shows life in Brunswick across different periods and the C&O Canal story. Exhibits include railroad equipment and memorabilia, photographs, Victorian costumes and furnishings, and displays on toys, baseball and medical history, plus a student-made film called Brunswick: Then and Now.
Are there reviews and photos of the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
The museum's Facebook page, with more than 2,500 followers, is the best place to see photos of the layout and exhibits and to read visitor comments. Tourism listings from Visit Frederick and the C&O Canal Trust also describe the museum and its model railroad.
Can you ride a train at the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
There are no train rides at the museum itself, but real trains run less than a block away on the MARC Brunswick Line and CSX main line. For an excursion ride, the Walkersville Southern Railroad is about 19 miles away and makes a good pairing with a Brunswick visit.
Does the Brunswick Heritage Museum offer group tours?
Yes. The museum's website has a group tours page for scheduling visits by schools, scouts and other groups. Call 301-834-7100 or use the contact options on the site to arrange a date, since regular public hours are limited to weekends.
What is Railroad Days in Brunswick?
Railroad Days is an annual street festival in Brunswick held on the first full weekend in October. The Brunswick Potomac Foundation, which founded the museum, started out hosting local events including Railroad Days. Check the museum's events page or Facebook for this year's details.
How long should I plan for the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
Most families spend about one to two hours exploring all three floors. Allow extra time if you have little ones who settle into the play room, if you want to watch the model trains run, or if you plan to visit the C&O Canal visitor center on the ground floor.
How can I volunteer at the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
The museum welcomes volunteers and has a volunteer page on its website, along with information about the President's Volunteer Service Award. Volunteers help staff the museum on weekends and care for the exhibits. Call 301-834-7100 or message the museum's Facebook page to get started.
How do I donate to the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
The museum accepts donations through its website's Support and Donate pages and at the door through its suggested admission donation. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it relies on these gifts to keep its doors open and its history alive, so contributions are tax deductible as allowed by law.
What train museums are near the Brunswick Heritage Museum?
The Walkersville Southern Railroad is about 19 miles away, the B&O Railroad Roundhouse historic site in Martinsburg, West Virginia about 21 miles, and the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum about 24 miles. The Manassas Railroad Depot Museum in Virginia is about 40 miles from Brunswick.
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