Where Kentucky's Railroad History Comes Alive
Ride the Rails
Relive the History
THE MUSUEM
The Museum on the Iron Road
Nine and a half acres of living railroad history — first-generation diesel locomotives, vintage passenger coaches, freight cars, and a working restoration shop, all open to walk through and explore.
MUSEUM
FOUNDED
1976
IRON HORSES
(LOCOMOTIVES)
6 DIESEL UNITS
ROLLING
STOCK
30+ PIECES
MUSEUM
GROUNDS
9.5 ACRES
GROUND ADMISSIONS
ALWAYS FREE
Where History Sits on Real Steel
Unlike many transportation museums where equipment sits behind glass, the Bluegrass Railroad Museum puts you right next to — and in many cases aboard — the real thing. Walk the grounds, peer into cab windows, run your hand along the riveted flanks of a Norfolk & Western diesel, and feel the scale of machinery that once moved Kentucky.
The museum operates from 9.5 acres at Woodford County Park in Versailles, with additional equipment stored at our Tyrone facility at the end of the rail line. Equipment is displayed outdoors in a working railroad environment — not a polished showroom. That's exactly the point.
Walking the grounds is free, every day. The indoor exhibits are included with your excursion ticket. Guided group tours are available by appointment for schools, scouts, and organizations.
THE COLLECTION
Over Four Decades of Preservation
Every piece in our collection was rescued, restored, and kept alive by the hands of volunteers. From Kentucky's major railroads to U.S. Army surplus, the collection spans the full breadth of mid-twentieth-century American railroading.
6
DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES
Three fully operational first-generation diesel units and three on static display, representing EMD and Alco power from the N&W, Illinois Central and industrial railroads of Kentucky.
4
CABOOSES
Including a rare Monon caboose, Louisville & Nashville bay-window caboose, and a wide-vision cupola caboose — each representing a distinct era of train crew operations.
10+
PASSENGER COACHES
Heavyweight and lightweight coaches from the 1920s through the 1950s, including open-platform cars, enclosed coaches, and a rare RPO mail car — several in active excursion service.
15+
FREIGHT & WORK CARS
Boxcars, gondolas, flatcars, and maintenance-of-way equipment spanning multiple railroads. Several pieces carry original paint schemes and lettering from their operating railroad days.
4
U.S. ARMY RAIL CARS
Military-specification boxcars and flatcars from WWII-era Army Transportation Corps surplus, acquired from Fort Knox-area operations and preserved in their military markings.
30+
TOTAL PIECES
All equipment is distributed across three locations along the Louisville Southern corridor — Woodford County Park, the Tyrone facility, and intermediate storage sites along the line.
FEATURED EQUIPMENT
Highlights of the Collection
A closer look at some of the most significant pieces in the museum — each one with a story worth knowing.
DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE
Illinois Central Gulf GP8 No. 7738
The crown jewel of the collection and the museum's primary excursion power. After an 18-month volunteer restoration completed in 2014, No. 7738 returned to service in its Illinois Central Gulf livery — one of the most complete restorations in the museum's history.
PASSENGER COACH
ACL No. 203
Built in 1939 by the Budd Company for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad for service on their premier train the Champion between New York and Miami. Very original and complete on the interior and good stainless steel body.
CABOOSE
Monon Wide-Vision Caboose
Monon caboose no. 81526 was built in 1956 by the Monon in their shops in Lafayette, Indiana. It was one of 8 such wide vision cabooses constructed by the railroad which makes it very rare. The caboose eventually joined the Louisville & Nashville roster, later the Seaboard System followed by the Clinchfield Railroad.
MILITARY EQUIPMENT
U.S. Army Transportation Corps Boxcar
One of four military-specification rail cars in the collection, this WWII-era Army Transportation Corps boxcar was built to standardized military specs for rapid worldwide deployment. Acquired from Fort Knox-area surplus in the 1980s, it retains its original Army olive drab markings and hardware.
Kentucky's Railroad Story
INDOOR EXHIBITS
The indoor museum traces Kentucky's vital role in America's railroad network through artifacts, photography, documents, and interactive displays spanning 150 years of rail history.
Kentucky's Iron Network
A large-format historical map display tracing every rail line that once operated in Kentucky — from the earliest antebellum routes to the peak of the Louisville & Nashville system in the 1920s. Includes timetables, route guides, and original rail company documents.
PERMANENT COLLECTION
The Age of Steam to Diesel
An interactive exhibit tracing the great diesel transition of the 1940s–60s, when steam locomotives were retired en masse across American railroads. Includes original EMD and Alco sales materials, technical cutaway displays, and sound recordings from operating steam and diesel locomotives.
PERMANENT COLLECTION
Railroads in Wartime Kentucky
The story of Kentucky's railroads during the Civil War and both World Wars — when rail lines became strategic assets and Kentucky's network was critical to supplying Union forces and, later, Fort Knox and Camp Breckinridge. Artifacts include military rail passes, signal equipment, and period photography.
PERMANENT COLLECTION
Life on the Line: The Railroaders
Oral histories, personal effects, and photographs from the men and women who worked Kentucky's railroads — engineers, brakemen, conductors, station agents, and section gangs. A tribute to the working people who kept the trains running for a century and a half.
PERMANENT COLLECTION
The Photography Archive
Over 3,000 historic photographs document the railroads of Kentucky and the surrounding region from the 1870s through the 1980s. Rotating selections from the archive are displayed in the main gallery, with the full digitized collection available by appointment for researchers.
ROTATING SELECTIONS
The Children's Railroad Room
A dedicated hands-on learning space for young visitors — featuring a working model railroad layout, a conductor's uniform dress-up station, simple signal-block puzzles, and age-appropriate railroad history activities. Open on all weekend and excursion days.
FAMILY PROGRAMMING
THE RESTORATION SHOP
Where History Gets Its Hands Dirty
Behind the museum's public face is one of the most active volunteer restoration programs in the region. Our shop operates year-round, with crews of volunteer machinists, welders, painters, and carpenters working to rescue, stabilize, and restore equipment that would otherwise be lost. On most weekend mornings, you can walk up to the shop, watch the work in progress, and talk to the people doing it. That access — seeing real work happening on real railroad equipment — is one of the things that makes this museum unlike most others.
CURRENT PROJECTS
L&N 'Duncan Tavern' Dining Car No. 2716
1941 heavyweight dining car. Window Replacement. Estimated costs is$16,000. Once we ensure it's weather tight, we can begin focusing on restoring the interior.
Alco MRS-1 Switcher
Returning the museum's Alco MRS-1 to operational status. New lifters installed and fired up in May.
GM&O Milk Car
Body work has been completed, and we are waiting for cooler weather to start painting.
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Coming to the Museum
LOCATION
Woodford County Park
175 Beasley Road
Versailles, Kentucky 40383
GET DIRECTIONS →
HOURS
Grounds (Free)
Daily · Sunrise to Sunset
Museum Building
Sat & Sun · 10 AM – 4 PM
Open on excursion days
Restoration Shop
Sat mornings · 9 AM – Noon
ADMISSION
Museum Grounds. Always Free
Indoor Exhibits
Free with train ticket
Group & School Tours
By appointment
bluegrassrailroad@yahoo.com
Parking, Free on site