We Hear the Train A-Coming

Way down south by Metrozoo, at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, you can ride an old-time freight train and feel the breeze on your face as the choo-choo chugs along the two-gauge track. It’s good, old-fashioned fun, and it’s a perfect way to celebrate the museum’s 50th anniversary.

If you’re more of a railroad historian, and not much of a thrill-seeker, check out the exhibits inside the large naval airship hangars and step aboard locomotives from the early 1900s. Admire the NASA freight cars, which transported chemicals and components for space flight in the early Forties. The Ferdinand-Magellan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s custom-built personal railcar, is a National Historic Landmark. In the hands-on area, children can learn about railroad operating procedures while watching motorized model train sets. The 50th-anniversary fun includes free admission every Wednesday from 10:00 to 4:00 until the end of the year.
Wednesdays, 2007