Train Museums in Louisiana: Every Railroad Museum by Town
- 8 museums
- 6 towns
- 3 with train rides
- 2 free
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Your Louisiana train museum passport: tap “We’ve been here” on any museum to start it.
New Orleans' St. Charles Avenue streetcar line began running in 1835, and it is recognized as the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world, so a Louisiana rail outing can be as simple as hopping on a green car. This page gathers 8 Louisiana rail museums, historic sites and preservation groups across 5 cities and towns, plus one statewide group, and it is one stop in our state by state guide to train museums for kids. Type your town into the finder to see what is nearest.
The state's rail stops are spread out. In the southwest, the free DeQuincy Railroad Museum fills a 1923 Kansas City Southern depot, while the Southern Forest Heritage Museum in the piney woods near Alexandria pairs a sawmill roundhouse with railbus rides. Baton Rouge has a science museum inside a riverfront depot, and New Orleans has a working 1954 terminal and its streetcars.
Three listings are groups rather than places to visit: the Louisiana Steam Train Association is moving to Garyville, and the Kansas City Southern Historical Society and the Louisiana Railroad Heritage Trust have no public museum. Check each card before you plan a drive.
Look inside the book
Big engines, little legs. 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 a Louisiana train museum.
Rally Takes the Train
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Quick picks: where to start in Louisiana
Best first visit with a toddler
DeQuincy
Admission is free, a running model of 1940s DeQuincy sits inside, and a playground is right next door for a picnic afterward.
Biggest site and a train ride
Southern Forest Heritage Museum
Long Leaf
The 57-acre sawmill complex has a roundhouse, three steam locomotives and an M-4 railbus that carries riders along about 2 miles of track.
Best ride in the city
New Orleans
The green St. Charles Avenue cars run on the world's oldest continuously operating street railway, for the price of a transit fare.
Free train watching
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal
New Orleans
The public areas are free, the murals cover Louisiana history, and three long-distance Amtrak trains use the platforms.
Rainy day pick
Louisiana Art & Science Museum
Baton Rouge
Hands-on children's galleries and planetarium shows fill the 1925 Baton Rouge depot, and admission includes unlimited shows.
Map of every train museum in Louisiana
Every train museum in Louisiana, town by town
8 museums in 6 towns, A to Z by town. Tap any museum for its own page: the full story, what to see, what kids can do, hours, tickets, contact details and 20 answers to the questions families ask.
Baton Rouge
Museum with a major rail exhibit
Louisiana Art & Science Museum
Art galleries, kids' science spaces, an Ancient Egypt gallery and the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, all inside Baton Rouge's 1925 railroad depot on the river. Open Wednesday to Sunday; admission includes planetarium shows.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsDeQuincy
Depot museum
DeQuincy Railroad Museum
A free museum in DeQuincy's 1923 Kansas City Southern depot, with restored waiting rooms, brass model engines, a 1913 steam switch engine, a Pullman coach, two cabooses and a playground next door. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsLong Leaf
Historic rail site
Southern Forest Heritage Museum
A 57-acre historic sawmill complex in the Louisiana piney woods with a roundhouse, machine shop, three steam locomotives and train rides on a vintage railbus. Check News or Facebook for closures before driving out.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsNew Orleans: 3 train museums
New Orleans has two rail stops about a mile apart: the 1954 Union Passenger Terminal with its Louisiana history murals, and the city's historic streetcar lines. The Rampart-Loyola streetcar stops at the terminal door, so one morning covers both.
Rail preservation group
Louisiana Steam Train Association
The volunteer group that brought steam locomotive Southern Pacific 745 back to life. LASTA is moving from Jefferson Parish to Garyville, so there are no regular public hours; follow its Facebook page for news.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsTrolley and streetcar museum
New Orleans Streetcars
Not a museum but a working piece of history: the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line has run since 1835, making it the world's oldest continuously operating street railway. Ride it alongside the Canal line and others run by the RTA.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsHistoric rail site
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal
A working 1954 train station on Loyola Avenue where colorful murals trace Louisiana history. Amtrak's City of New Orleans, Crescent and Sunset Limited all stop here, and the Rampart-Loyola streetcar runs right to the door.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsShreveport
Rail preservation group
Kansas City Southern Historical Society
A nonprofit historical society, listed in Shreveport, that preserves Kansas City Southern Railway history through rosters, blueprints and an annual convention. There is no museum building; see KCS history in person at depots like DeQuincy's.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsStatewide and regional groups
Rail preservation group
Louisiana Railroad Heritage Trust
A statewide group focused on preserving railroad equipment and leasing it for continued use. There is no museum to visit; to see Louisiana's preserved trains, head to one of the state's rail museums instead.
Hours, tickets, contact and 20 FAQsCompare every Louisiana train museum side by side
Type, train rides, admission, hours and who each one suits, in one table. Tap a column to sort it, or a museum to open its page.
| Hours | Best for | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Art & Science MuseumBaton Rouge | Rail gallery | No | Adults $16, children 3 to 12 $13, seniors 65+ $13, members free, plus tax | Wednesday to Friday 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm; closed Monday and Tuesday | Families with young children and school groups |
| DeQuincy Railroad MuseumDeQuincy | Depot museum | No | Free; donations welcome | Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm; closed city holidays | Families with young kids and depot history fans |
| Southern Forest Heritage MuseumLong Leaf | Historic site | Yes | Adults $8, ages 6 to 12 $5, 5 and under free | Not posted online; check the website News page or Facebook before you go | Families, rail fans and lumber history buffs |
| Louisiana Steam Train AssociationNew Orleans | Preservation group | No | Not posted; events and rides announced individually | No regular public hours during the move; check Facebook | Steam fans, volunteers and supporters |
| New Orleans StreetcarsNew Orleans | Trolley museum | Yes | Transit fare; check the RTA for current prices | Lines run daily; check the RTA for current hours | Families, visitors and rail history fans |
| New Orleans Union Passenger TerminalNew Orleans | Historic site | Yes | Free to enter the public station areas | Station hours vary; check Amtrak.com before visiting | Rail fans, history lovers and families taking the train |
| Kansas City Southern Historical SocietyShreveport | Preservation group | No | No museum to visit; membership available | No public museum hours | KCS rail fans, modelers and researchers |
| Louisiana Railroad Heritage TrustStatewide and regional groups | Preservation group | No | No public site to visit | No public hours | Rail preservationists and equipment researchers |
No museum on this page matches every filter you picked.
Louisiana rail day trips
Trip 1
A New Orleans rail morning
- New Orleans Union Passenger TerminalNew Orleans
- New Orleans StreetcarsNew Orleans
The Union Passenger Terminal and the streetcar lines are about a mile apart, and the Rampart-Loyola streetcar stops right outside the station. Look at the murals and time your visit near an Amtrak arrival, then ride a streetcar and finish with the green cars on St. Charles Avenue. Plan for commuters at busy times.
Trip 2
Depots and piney woods in western Louisiana
- DeQuincy Railroad MuseumDeQuincy
- Southern Forest Heritage MuseumLong Leaf
DeQuincy and Long Leaf are about 65 miles apart, a long but doable day from Lake Charles or Lafayette. Visit the free depot and playground in DeQuincy in the morning, then ride the railbus among the sawmill buildings in the afternoon. Go Tuesday to Saturday, since DeQuincy is closed Sundays and Mondays, and call Long Leaf first.
Streetcars, timber and the Kansas City Southern
Railroads made Louisiana towns and kept its biggest city moving. In New Orleans, the St. Charles Avenue line went from steam to horses to electric cars in 1893 without stopping, and until 1954 the city's passenger trains used five separate depots, when the Union Passenger Terminal brought them under one roof. In western Louisiana, the Kansas City Southern finished its line from Shreveport to Lake Charles in 1897, and DeQuincy grew up at the junction where a branch split off toward Texas.
In the piney woods, rails and lumber depended on each other. Mills such as the Crowell & Spencer plant at Long Leaf ran their own roundhouses and machine shops to keep logging trains rolling, and the Lyon Lumber Company at Garyville had its own Garyville Northern Railroad. Even Baton Rouge's 1925 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley depot shaped how the capital grew along the river.
Each stop tells part of that story. The New Orleans streetcars and the Union Passenger Terminal cover city travel, the DeQuincy Railroad Museum and the Kansas City Southern Historical Society keep the KCS story, the Southern Forest Heritage Museum shows the timber railroads, and the Louisiana Steam Train Association cares for Southern Pacific 745, a 1921 steam locomotive with roots in Algiers.
Good to know before you go
- The Southern Forest Heritage Museum does not post hours online, so call (318) 748-8404 or check its News page before the drive; the railbus ticket is sold separately from admission, and kids 5 and under ride free.
- DeQuincy is free but closed Sundays, Mondays and city holidays; pack a picnic for the park and playground next door.
- The Louisiana Art & Science Museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, weekend last entry is 4 pm, and it schedules sensory-friendly hours with quiet areas.
- The Union Passenger Terminal is a working station, and some of its murals show hard history, so preview them and keep children close near the doors and platforms.
- New Orleans streetcars are everyday transit: expect commuters, hold hands at stops, and know that older cars may have steps.
- The Louisiana Steam Train Association has no regular public hours during its move to Garyville; follow its Facebook page for news of Southern Pacific 745.
Drive times from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette
These times are rough estimates without traffic, so add a cushion for I-10 and bridge backups.
| Museum | From New Orleans | From Baton Rouge | From Lafayette |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Union Passenger TerminalNew Orleans | 5 min | 1 hr 40 min | |
| Louisiana Art & Science MuseumBaton Rouge | 1 hr 40 min | 1 hr 10 min | |
| Southern Forest Heritage MuseumLong Leaf | 3 hr 45 min | 2 hr | 1 hr 25 min |
| DeQuincy Railroad MuseumDeQuincy | 3 hr | 1 hr 55 min |
Train museums near the Louisiana line
From Lake Charles, the Galveston Railroad Museum, five acres of real railcars around a restored 1932 depot, is about 2 hr 35 min west. From Shreveport, the Texas & Pacific Railway Museum in Marshall's 1912 depot is only about 50 min away. Both are on our Texas train museums page.
From Baton Rouge, the McComb Railroad Museum, with Illinois Central steam locomotive No. 2542, is about 1 hr 35 min northeast; see our Mississippi train museums. Shreveport families can also reach the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, home of Cotton Belt steam engine 819, in about 3 hr 30 min; it is on our Arkansas train museums page.
Holiday trains and seasonal days at Louisiana museums
Louisiana's rail museums keep a quieter calendar than many states. As of October 2026, none of the museums on this page lists regular pumpkin trains, Santa trains, Polar Express rides or Thomas days. The big rail event is the Louisiana Railroad Days Festival in DeQuincy on the second weekend in April, with carnival rides around the depot. The Louisiana Steam Train Association has run Santa trips in past years, so follow its Facebook page for any return once it settles in Garyville. For holiday and fall ideas around the state, see our Louisiana Christmas train rides and Louisiana Halloween train rides guides.
Watching out the window
In our book, Rally sits by an arched train window and watches the ocean roll by, and a white bird keeps pace with the train. Rally is our real corgi, and the train is the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from San Diego. My mom dreamed up his story and died in 2021 before she could write it down; you can read how it became a book on our story page. I think of that window whenever I picture kids pressed to the glass of a New Orleans streetcar. For quiet time after a rail day, print our free train coloring pages.
A train book for the drive
The City of New Orleans train leaves from the Union Passenger Terminal, and our guide to the City of New Orleans with kids helps you plan a family ride north from Louisiana.
Free for train families
Print the Rally coloring pages before you go
Watercolor coloring pages from the book, free to print. They fit in a folder with a few crayons for the drive to the museum or the wait for the next train ride.
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 every state: search all 50 by town
- Christmas train rides in Louisiana: Santa trains and holiday rides
- Halloween train rides in Louisiana: pumpkin trains for next October
- The City Of New Orleans with kids: ride a real Amtrak train
- Every Amtrak route with kids: find a train by city or station
- Train books for toddlers for the drive home
Louisiana train museum questions
What is the biggest train museum in Louisiana?
The Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Long Leaf is the largest rail site, a 57-acre historic sawmill complex with a roundhouse, a machine shop and three steam locomotives. The museum calls it the most complete historic sawmill complex in the South. For a classic depot museum, the free DeQuincy Railroad Museum holds thousands of railroad artifacts in its 1923 Kansas City Southern station.
Are there free train museums in Louisiana?
Yes, the DeQuincy Railroad Museum is free, with donations welcome, and it is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm as of October 2026. The public areas of the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal are also free to enter, so families can see the murals and watch Amtrak trains without a ticket.
Where can kids ride a train in Louisiana?
The Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Long Leaf runs an M-4 railbus along about 2 miles of track, at $6 per person with kids 5 and under free as of October 2026. In New Orleans, families can ride the historic streetcars on St. Charles Avenue, Canal Street and other lines for a transit fare.
What is the best Louisiana train museum for toddlers?
The DeQuincy Railroad Museum is the best fit for toddlers. It is free and compact, with a running model of 1940s DeQuincy and shelves of toy train sets inside. Outside, a steam engine, a Pullman coach and two cabooses sit under a pavilion, and a playground next door helps little ones burn off energy.
Is there a train museum in New Orleans?
New Orleans has rail history to see and ride rather than a traditional train museum. The 1954 Union Passenger Terminal is free to enter, with murals of Louisiana history and Amtrak trains on the platforms. The historic streetcar lines, led by St. Charles Avenue, are rides you can take any day. The Louisiana Steam Train Association is moving to Garyville.
Are there train museums near Baton Rouge?
Yes, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum sits inside Baton Rouge's 1925 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad depot on the Mississippi River. It is mainly an art and science museum with a planetarium, but it has marked the depot's railroad past with special exhibitions. New Orleans' terminal and streetcars are about 1 hour 40 minutes away.
Is there a train museum in Shreveport?
There is no public train museum building in Shreveport. The Kansas City Southern Historical Society is listed there, but it shares its history through rosters, blueprints and an annual convention rather than a museum. The closest rail museum is the Texas & Pacific Railway Museum in Marshall, Texas, about 39 miles away in a restored 1912 depot.
What train museums are near Lake Charles?
The DeQuincy Railroad Museum is about 30 minutes north of Lake Charles in a 1923 Kansas City Southern depot. It is free and has a playground next door. The Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Long Leaf is about 1 hour 30 minutes away, and the Orange Depot Museum in Orange, Texas, is about 31 miles from DeQuincy.
Is there a train museum near Alexandria Louisiana?
Yes, the Southern Forest Heritage Museum is in Long Leaf, about 3 miles south of Forest Hill and south of Alexandria. Its 57 acres hold a roundhouse, a belt-and-shaft machine shop, three steam locomotives and steam logging machines. Admission was $8 for adults and $5 for ages 6 to 12 as of October 2026; call ahead for hours.
What can you see at the DeQuincy Railroad Museum?
The DeQuincy Railroad Museum shows a 1923 Kansas City Southern depot with its original waiting room benches and ticket window, an agent's office and thousands of railroad artifacts. Inside are brass Gauge 1 model engines and a running layout of 1940s DeQuincy. Outside are a 1913 steam switch engine, a 1947 Pullman coach and two cabooses.
How old is the St. Charles streetcar line in New Orleans?
The St. Charles Avenue line began running in 1835, which makes it the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world. It started on steam power, switched to horses after the Civil War, and went electric in 1893. Its classic green cars are a national historic landmark, and the RTA runs the line today.
Where is Southern Pacific 745 now?
Southern Pacific 745, a 1921 MK-5 class steam locomotive, is cared for by the Louisiana Steam Train Association, which began moving from Jefferson Parish to Garyville in December 2025. Its new base is beside the Garyville Timbermill Museum, where a new engine house is planned. There are no regular public hours during the move, as of October 2026.
When is the Louisiana Railroad Days Festival in DeQuincy?
The Louisiana Railroad Days Festival is held in DeQuincy on the second weekend in April. It is the DeQuincy Railroad Museum's biggest event of the year, with carnival rides around the 1923 depot. The museum's regular exhibits, model trains and outdoor rolling stock make it a good time for a family visit.
Are there Christmas train rides at Louisiana train museums?
As of October 2026, none of the Louisiana rail museums on this page lists a regular Santa train or Polar Express ride. The Louisiana Steam Train Association has run Santa trips in past years, but it has no public schedule while it moves to Garyville. Follow its Facebook page for any holiday news.
Does the Southern Forest Heritage Museum have train rides?
Yes, the Southern Forest Heritage Museum offers rides on a rare M-4 railbus, a self-propelled rail vehicle that travels about 2 miles of standard gauge track. Tickets were $6 per person as of October 2026, sold separately from admission, and children 5 and under ride free. Call ahead to ask about ride times and closures.
What is inside the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal?
The New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal is a working 1954 station whose walls carry a long series of murals on Louisiana history. When it opened, it was the only air-conditioned station in the country. Amtrak trains, intercity buses and the Rampart-Loyola streetcar all use it, so kids can see real trains up close.
Is the Louisiana Art & Science Museum in an old train station?
Yes, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum occupies the 1925 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad depot on the Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge. For the depot's centennial it held an exhibition on a century of the railway in Baton Rouge. Today it holds art galleries, children's science spaces, an Ancient Egypt gallery and a planetarium.
Why did DeQuincy Louisiana become a railroad town?
DeQuincy grew up because of the Kansas City Southern. The railroad finished its line from Shreveport to Lake Charles in 1897, and the route split at DeQuincy, with a branch toward Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas. The town incorporated in 1903, and in 1923 the railroad built the Mission Revival depot that now holds the museum.
Can you visit the Kansas City Southern Historical Society?
The Kansas City Southern Historical Society has no museum building or public hours. It shares KCS history through downloadable locomotive rosters, the Folio 43 blueprint collection and an annual members' convention, which met in DeQuincy in 2026. To see Kansas City Southern history in person, visit the 1923 KCS depot at the DeQuincy Railroad Museum.
Which Amtrak trains stop at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal?
Three long-distance Amtrak trains use the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal: the City of New Orleans, the Crescent and the Sunset Limited. The station counted 188,132 Amtrak riders in fiscal year 2025. Families can time a visit near an arrival or departure to see a train on the platform.
Keep exploring
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