Reviews of Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario (Museum)

Victoria Phillips

My husband an I arrived Saturday at the train museum to spend the night in the steel caboose, it was our first time in Smith's Falls and we were greeted by a very nice young lady named Catherine. She was an excellent host and so very polite! The train station is all set up like the old days. I was very surprised at the cleanliness of the caboose. Separate bathrooms from the other guests made us feel very safe during this pandemic. Very welcoming! We had a great time exploring Smith's Falls and watching the locks. Sunday morning Catherine gave us a tour of the museum and shared fun facts with us, she introduced us to some of the volunteers and of course they were more than happy to share their knowledge! As an adult, I had a great time! I highly recommend spending a night at the museum! And while you're in Smith's Falls, Centennial Beach is a very clean sandy beach with loads of space for social distancing!

Mike Tomkins

Went for the North Pole Expeess event. It was cute and had some fun crafts for the kids and free (donations) cookies and hot chocolate. But the main reason for going was the train. We expected maybe a 15 minute ride or something. But the train simply backed up about 50 yards.. then stopped. They switched the tracks and we moved forward about the same distance. Stop again and back up to repeat and back to the start to get off. No christmas display outside to look at while train moved. Interior wasn't even decorated. Pretty disappointing for $10/person . We would not do this again unless some major improvements were done. Saving grace which brought it up to 3 stars was the gentleman playing on violin. Real good guy and you could tell he enjoyed what he was doing. Even got him to play me some Barrets Privateers

Jared Dykler

I attended the railway museum for a wedding and what a place to get married. Really nice place, surrounded by trains. A lot of fun.

Bonnie Thompson

Great little museum and part of the railway history in Canada.

Doug Bailey

We did a tour during COVID that you can book online for 1 hour. The tour was really good and we had good tour guide. They have some cool equipment but a lot of it is still being refurbished. I'd like to come back on a couple of years when a lot of the work is completed. I think there are lots of good things to come at this museum!

This is What Brian Thinks Adventures

I've been to the Railway Museum Before on my Previous Visits to My Grandparents Before, Also remembered my First visit the first Time I came to visit the Railway Museum, used to Call "Shining Time Station" in Summer 2000 when I was 7 years old. Because of Thomas the Tank Engine & His Friends. It was way back the Time I was younger. Before I was Old Enough to Take ETS EdmontonTransitSystem in Edmonton Alberta, Also taking the VIA RAIL on my Own at Union Station, Also Flying On My own & Taking PublicTransit Buses & PublicTransit in Toronto On my own, Also the GO Train On GO Transit as well. Also went in September 2003 when I was 10 years old, at the End of the Summer before I was on my First year Living in Edmonton Alberta in Fall 2003. Also have been to Railway Museum in Summer of 2008 when I was 15 years old in my MidTeens, That's when I finally became a YoungAdult Before I was in HighSchool in LYCairns. Especially I got to go there to the Railway Museum with my Grandparents on Monday August 20th of 2012 which was 3 years ago the last year before, Which was also before the Start of My LastYear in Senior HighSchool in Miss Meheden's Program which was also My FinalTime at LYCairns. This was also during my Last Day of My 3 Weeks visit with my Grandparents. This Place, the Railway Museum Brings me Back Lots of Memories of my Previous Times I've visited, really love the Diesel Train Locomotive & The SteamEngine Locomotive. It Brings Me Back Wonderful Memories, also Wonderful History.

Matthew Lane

Fun museum, especially for kids. Not enormous (you can probably see everything in about an hour), but some interesting examples of different types of train cars and an old station. Tour was included in the price, and they did a great job of making it suitable for our family. There are some big steps of you want to go inside the trains.

Carla Brown

Harry Potter themed event was sad. This was an opportunity to do something huge. We arrived at 6:30 and there were 3 vendors 2 of which were selling buttons. These were the only themed items we saw besides a paper poster/sign in the gift shop. There were things offered earlier in the day that weren't offered later. The hours were from 2-9 it isn't rocket science to figure out you need to offer everyone the same opportunities. Plus not one single character from the movies there in costume. Whomever planned this needs to not be in charge of planning the next big event. Not sure we could be persuaded to come back after this.

Jennifer Nauffts

I love the idea. Love the experience and the kids love it too. Appreciate the picnic area. Our only complaint was the garbage. The cans were overflowing. Obviously dust is going to be a thing in an open museum but there was actually litter on some of the trains.

Kevin McCargar

A great little museum for kids. They have a working diesel engine and cabooses that run on certain days of the year like their annual Polar Express Day.

Jubilee Rebekah

Very friendly staff THEY LET YOU TOUCH THE TRAINS!!!

Myra Marie

It's a nice little museum, especially for a fanatic kids like mine. They were all excited to see each trains, few crossing signs and traffic lights. We also went to see the caboost. It's a great place for kids, who loves trains. And apparently, it's free.

Michael Ryan

This was a very nice stop. The trains are impressive and the folk who are on site are incredible!

Vlad Stone

Great spot ! Especially if you're a railfan

Michelle Lee

We took our 4.5 year olds and had a super fun time! Our guide, Sam, was generous with information and smiles. Our party asked a lot of questions :) Even without being able to be in the trains, we had a great time peeking into windows and examining the exterior of all these fascinating trains. It's quite a drive, but we made an afternoon of it and visited Centennial Park too.

Gailene Green

A lovely little historic museum. Friendly and helpful staff. Very informative and lots of train engines and cars to visit and enjoy.

Mike Frappier

Went to the museum for the North Pole Express event. Kids loved it, they got to ride the train and play at some activity stations. Also Santa was on site for pictures. Will have to return in the summer to visit the museum when it's not setup for a specific event. Staff was very friendly as well.

Thomaz Figueiredo

Amazing place with impressive historical value and a super honest and welcoming atmosphere. Staff was AMAZING and even though the structure is quite humble, the effort and dedication they put into it does shine through. Only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is the lack of an AC inside (and this was agreed with the staff I’d mention ????). Make sure you stop by when you’re in the area!

Warren Hubert

Very hands, on super fun being able to Go Any where on the train. Unlike Most museums, You Can Climb up onto the train. 10/10

J Wolf

Great place to take the kids for a day out. Never to busy and plenty for the kids to learn and do.

Emily Parker

Open May to October, this Museum has such amazing programs, events and historical content for people of all ages to enjoy. During the off season, visitors are welcome to contact the Museum by phone, email or Facebook to inquire about bookings, events, donations, history or any other information!

Sean

Loved the atmosphere at the train museum it may look like there isn't much to see but there's alot of history we can all learn, the staff is awesome also there's a fun train ride only 5$

Corey Reynolds

Being able to explore and sit high up in three different cabooses is cool. I've always wanted to do that since I was a kid. Handcar ride is fun. The place is a bit tired and needs some major investment to keep it going to preserve this important history.

Mathieu Gagnon

Really liked this museum! It's a guided tour and honestly they fell a lot of information and historic stories also! The staff is really amazing and my son loved this museum!!

Chae P

Drove from Niagara to visit Smiths Falls and this museum. It was pretty cool for us. Some rare and old cars. Dental car & dining car interesting, rare wooden boxcars 100+ years old. A lot of really cool paintings and artwork of trains and history books. They had a couple encased G scale models. They also sell cool pins and insulators in the gift shop. We stayed in the airbnb which came with a tour and I think its worth getting a tour, it's pretty fun. Sonam did our tour, he was very knowledgeable. Majority of the staff/tour guides when I was there are history/tourism students. Overall pleasant experience and there's a CP yard a couple blocks away at the other old train station that they do crew changes where you can take photos.

Candice Ross

Great place to visit with kids. My 3 year old loved it. There isn't a whole lot to do aside from walking through a few trains, but it was a fun outing

Beth Tyler

Great place to bring children of all ages. Lots to see and do.

Sebastian Kluth

Every town in Ontario seems to have its own railway museum but the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smiths Falls is particularly interesting. There are exhibits both inside and outside of the main building. One section reminds us of several closed or lost stations. My favorite part of the museum was the dental car that traveled to remote locations in Northern Ontario. It takes about one hour to visit the museum and the entrance fee is currently around seven dollars.

Christina Hayes

Relaxed, self guided tour of our rail history. Train cars and engines can be climbed on and photographed. Some are open to go inside and learn some things you never knew about Canada. A fun little museum to take the kids to.

Chernyshov Yuriy

A piece of national history, something to learn about our past. I wish a ride would take longer.

George Taylor

The RMEO has been around a long time. This weekend was their 10th annual Trainfest, and as per usual they did not disapoint. Great experience!

Betina Roberts

The tour was great and the guide knowledgeable. The hand cast ride was exciting for the kids and the staff was very enthusiastic.

Carol Pealow

Great experience! Spending the night is an authentic railway experience. You won't be disappointed. We loved the whole train station area after dark! Of course the museum is a must see. They are always adding new items.

Robert Laporte

Great little train station museum. Kids loved it. Gift shop items are priced affordably (as compared to usually overpriced items at big museums) take a trip through the history of CN Rail by walking through a caboose, sleeper cars, a fully equipped train station and a fully restored dental car from 1916, old rail service speeders to check out and hand cars. There's also options for overnight stays in a sleeper car!

Heidilyn M

A fun spot to learn about old trains.... explore train cars and browse antique train artifacts

onrr1726

Intresting place to see. They have many displays in side and out side. Plus one of the only known passenger cars out fitted as a home and dentist office that went from isolated community to anouther in the early 1900's.

Mary Garvin

Polar Express was great but we missed the train ornaments from other years. Nice experience!

Bruce Pearson

An awesome place to visit, and be exposed to what railroading used to be like. Excellent display this year featuring "lost stations of Eastern Ontario".

Mike Crouchman

Nice quaint little museum, employing retiree's who love the nostalgia ????

Amber Vanderzwet

Trainfest was amazing. So many activites, live band and multiple live model train sets to enjoy. We were able to see a military reenactment as well. My little had so much fun! Thank you to the organizers and volunteers!

Nathan Landis

Friendly and knowledgeable staff. The dental car was amazing!

Heather Cancilla

Great staff and they are volunteers! Very accommodating. Great price, and enjoyed staying in a caboose over night! Good choice of souvenirs! Would go again!

Tim Vandermeer

Tons of fun for the kids. Lots to see and do. Get right into the history of the railroad. Many special events held here as well!

Jose Ryan Saavedra

Neat place to visit if you end up at Smith Falls. Got detoured on my way to Ottawa took the 15 and spotted this gem. Great for kids who love trains. Real hands on! Son loved it, walking through trains, looking around the train station. Enjoyed it too, felt like a kid

Bellefille Me

Amazing location. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly. It takes you back to when trains were part of life. I learned so much from the staff. It's a must see.

Tim Ferguson

Unfortunately closed at our time of visitation.

Stephen Woodward

Great place to visit with children. Highly recommended. Train Fest was a great experience. The Conductor in the Caboose was fantastic, he gave us an informative details of the history and working on the Railroad. 5 Stars.

Melanie Rogers

A unique experience if you are a train enthusiast. The museum located on William Street, Smith's Falls is an ideal spot to take the family. See the caboose on the tracks which can be rented for accommodations if staying in the area or just take a tour through the museum. The building was built around 1912 as a functional train station serving the community which sadly went out of service. Staff are knowledgeable and friendly.

Lauren Hogan

Was a great and relaxing self guided tour. Lots of information and very well done. Great if you have kids or just a train enthusiast

Kevin & Debby Middleton

Smith Falls Railway Museum offers people an opportunity to step back onto the dawn of the modern transportation system. Reasonably priced it is a good place to bring the family. People can enter the railway cars and catch glimpses into the past.

Jean-René Giroux

This is a neat little museum. There are a few wagons you can enter. There are also posters concerning the railway history of Smith's Falls. Lots of artifacts concerning rail stations (telegraph, typing machines, old radios). On occasion, there are short train rides. You get to sit in an old caboose, or even with the conductor in the locomotive.

Jake B

we went to a Harry Potter themed day and had a really nice time. the staff were very lovely and the train ride was a neat experience

Mena Robin

What a great piece of history. We had such a lovely tour with a retired conductor who was so knowledgeable and took the time to explain and share some personal stories of his own! It will be even better when more trains are able to be explored but I understand due to covid they have to take things slow. We will definitely return.

Kandace M

Went here with a school trip when I was younger, still a great place to visit!

Lawrence Harada

Enjoyed this museum. The history of transportation was fascinating. The guides were very entertaining. Small, cute gift store.

Shannon Williams

Very interesting Museum. We did a self guided tour, got to sit in some of the trains and even went for a little ride! There are several information boards which will teach you a lot about the history of the railways. Very affordable, $7 for adults, other rates as well for students, seniors Theres a train car where a group of volunteers are building a railroad model of Smith's Falls, they're also looking for donations for the project so don't forget to donate!

Corey M

Great history to see and learn about. Live demonstration of an operating Telegraph machine. Can walk through and climb on almost all of the equipment on display.

A T

Excellent place! Most important are the people who are working there: passionate and knowledgable! Thank you for sharing stories and answering all my questions! It was very interesting to learn about that period of time when there was almost no highways and roads.

vidyut banerjee

The pictures are from my third visit to this scenic detour. We do this as a mandatory rest stop on the way to Ottawa. The railway museum has a cute curio shop and has old books on sale. Railroad cars, old books and pieces of historical trivia. What's not to love.

Patrick Berrea

Nice little local musume. Every one was friendly and the kids had a fun time

Brian Johnson

Stayed overnight in the caboose in late May 2019. Worked really well for a bike tour through the Rideau Highlands. The Cataraqui Trail (abandoned rail line) is about a kilometer away. A small glitch over breakfast was managed very gracefully. Seems there is a very active team of volunteers - check out their facebook page for almost daily updates! Very much enjoyed the enthusiastic tour of the station and yard. From inside the ticket office they could control the yard arms outside that would instruct the train to slow down, or to stop. Smith Falls had six tracks coming into town back in the 1930's and this museum captures some of the craziness that must have been. Lotsa displays to read, and cars to clamber aboard.

Anthony Clark

Very cute little place to check out, kids of all ages

Ed Brian

Pleasant staff, enjoyed exploring inside the cars and 3 caboose that were open. Great all around.

V Schneider

Awesome collection of old trains that you can climb on and tour around in including a train snow plow. You don't need more than an hour to see everything which makes it a good stop on the way to or from Ottawa. We still had to drag my 4 year old son away ???? which is always the sign of a good stop. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable.

Eduard Ignea

A nice place to go and see the history of Canadian Railways, nice engines some unique and nice cariages. Smiths Falls train station preserved as it was years ago. Great place to spend a sunny day

Stephen Kapusta

Great place for the rail fan and families with kids.

Lucja Falkowski

A wonderful museum! A great place for the family, with lots to learn! Some hands on for kids of all ages. The museum depends on a great group of volunteers to keep everything going. Public donations are welcome since there is very limited government funding. And you can even spend the night in a caboose!

John Neven

So much history and the people were so knowledgeable about the railroads. Listened to many stories and learned a lot.

Randolph Orr

Exibits were nice and the trains and cars were interesting. The model train exhibit was closed. The staff was fantastic.

William Roberts

Promoting on Facebook poorly done for me regarding train rides on last day. Drove in from Ottawa and upon arrival learned tickets were reserved and all were taken. Rechecked site and still no mention of required tickets and should have something about tickets sold out.