Heritage railroads in the United States are a vital part of preserving the nation’s railroading past. These railroads, often operating restored steam or vintage diesel locomotives, provide scenic and historical experiences for visitors. They serve not only as entertainment but also as living museums, offering insight into the era when rail was the primary means of travel and commerce across the country.

These railroads are closely tied to America’s history—especially the monumental effort behind who built the railroad across America. Immigrant labor, including Chinese and Irish workers, played a pivotal role in completing the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s, uniting the east and west coasts and changing the face of transportation forever.

Below is a list of heritage railroads in the United States that continue to carry passengers, memories, and history through the heart of America:

List of heritage railroads in the United States

Alabama

• Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, Shelby & Southern Railroad and Calera & Shelby Railroad
• North Alabama Railroad Museum, Mercury and Chase Railroad
• Wales West Light Railway

Alaska

• Tanana Valley Railroad Museum in Pioneer Park (1899 engine)
• White Pass and Yukon Route

Arizona

• Arizona Railway Museum (No excursions listed)
• Arizona State Railroad Museum (In planning stages)
• Arizona Street Railway Museum (Phoenix Trolley Museum)
• Grand Canyon Railway
• McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale
• Old Pueblo Trolley
• Superstition Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Verde Canyon Railroad

Arkansas

• Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
• Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway
• Fort Smith Trolley Museum
• Metro Streetcar

California

• Angels Flight
• Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, uses repurposed narrow gauge steam engines and is partly the inspiration for Walt Disney’s theme park, Disneyland
• Calico and Odessa Railroad
• California State Railroad Museum
• California Western Railroad, also called The Skunk Train
• Disneyland Railroad (three locomotives are historic)
• Fillmore and Western Railway – short line used by Hollywood film industry. (Lease agreement ended in 2021)
• Ghost Town & Calico Railroad in Knott’s Berry Farm
• Golden Gate Railroad Museum (No excursions listed)
• Napa Valley Wine Train
• Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad & Transportation Museum
• Niles Canyon Railway
• Nut Tree Railroad
• Pacific Coast Railroad in Santa Margarita
• Pacific Southwest Railway Museum
• Placerville & Sacramento Valley Railroad, oldest railroad west of the Mississippi
• Port of LA Waterfront Red Car, a rebuilt part of the original Pacific Electric Railway system (Closed in 2015)
• Poway–Midland Railroad
• Sierra Railway – Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
• Red Car Trolley (Closed in 2025)
• Redwood Valley Railway
• Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Sacramento RiverTrain
• Sacramento Southern Railroad
• San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society (For AT&SF 3751 excursion trips)
• San Diego Trolley Silver Line
• San Francisco Municipal Railway
• E Embarcadero streetcar line
• F Market & Wharves streetcar line
• San Francisco cable car system
• San Jose Steam Railroad Museum (Proposed)
• San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum
• Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway
• Sierra Railroad
• Sonoma TrainTown Railroad
• Southern California Railway Museum (Formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum from 1956 to 2018)
• Western Pacific Railroad Museum
• Western Railway Museum
• Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

Colorado

• Colorado Railroad Museum
• Como Roundhouse, Railroad Depot and Hotel Complex
• Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
• Denver Trolley (formerly the Platte Valley Trolley)
• Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Fort Collins trolley
• Georgetown Loop Railroad
• Leadville, Colorado and Southern Railroad
• Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway
• Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation
• Rio Grande Scenic Railroad (Currently in receivership)
• Royal Gorge Route Railroad
• Ski Train (now operated by Amtrak as the Winter Park Express)
• Tiny Town Railroad

Connecticut

• Connecticut Trolley Museum
• Danbury Railway Museum
• Essex Steam Train operated by the Valley Railroad Company
• Naugatuck Railroad and Railroad Museum of New England
• Shore Line Trolley Museum

Delaware

• Wilmington and Western Railroad

Florida

• Florida Railroad Museum
• Gold Coast Railroad Museum
• Kirby Family Farm Train
• Orlando & Northwestern Railway (Closed in 2020)
• Seminole Gulf Railway
• Serengeti Express in Busch Gardens Tampa
• Sugar Express
• TECO Line Streetcar
• Tavares, Eustis & Gulf Railroad (Closed in 2017)
• Walt Disney World Railroad (four locomotives are historic)
• Wildlife Express Train at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Georgia

• Agrirama Logging Train
• Azalea Sprinter
• Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
• Chickamauga Train from Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
• Georgia Coastal Railway
• River Street Streetcar (Out of service)
• Georgia State Railroad Museum
• SAM Shortline Excursion Train
• Six Flags Over Georgia Park Railroad in Six Flags Over Georgia
• Southeastern Railway Museum
• Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad
• Tallulah Falls Railway Museum (commemorates the Tallulah Falls Railway)

Hawaii

• Grove Farm Plantation Museum Railroad
• Hawaiian Railway
• Kauai plantation railroad
• Lahaina Ka’anapali & Pacific Railroad (Closed in 2014, currently defunct)

Idaho

• Silverwood Theme Park
• Thunder Mountain Line (Closed in 2015)

Illinois

• Fox River Trolley Museum
• Illinois Railway Museum
• Monticello Railway Museum
• Silver Creek & Stephenson Railroad

Indiana

• Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (For NKP 765 excursion trips, future)
• French Lick Scenic Railway
• Hesston Steam Museum (For Hesston and Galena Creek excursions)
• Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum
• Indiana Railway Museum
• National New York Central Railroad Museum
• Ohio River Scenic Railway
• Whitewater Valley Railroad
• Nickel Plate Express

Iowa

• Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad
• Fourth Street Elevator
• Midwest Central Railroad
• Midwest Electric Railway

Kansas

• Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad
• Midland Railway

Kentucky

• Big South Fork Scenic Railway
• Bluegrass Railroad and Museum
• Kentucky Railway Museum
• Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation (For C&O 2716 excursion trips)
• My Old Kentucky Dinner Train (Between Bardstown station and Limestone Springs)

Louisiana

• Canal Streetcar Line
• Streetcars in New Orleans
• Riverfront Streetcar Line
• St. Charles Streetcar Line
• Louisiana Steam Train Association
• Old Hickory Railroad

Maine

• Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad
• Boothbay Railway Village
• Downeast Scenic Railroad
• Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
• Midcoast Railservice (Coastliner; operated 2023 to 2024; replaced by Maine Switching Services in 2025)
• Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad
• Seashore Trolley Museum
• Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway

Maryland

• B&O Railroad Museum
• Baltimore Streetcar Museum
• National Capital Trolley Museum
• Walkersville Southern Railroad
• Western Maryland Scenic Railroad

Massachusetts

• Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum
• Cape Cod Central Railroad
• Edaville Railroad
• Lowell National Historical Park Trolley Line
• MBTA Mattapan Trolley

Michigan

• Coopersville and Marne Railway
• Huckleberry Railroad
• Lake Linden & Torch Lake Railroad (Track is on museum grounds)
• Little River Railroad
• Michigan Transit Museum
• Neo Wilson Memorial Railway
• Quincy and Torch Lake Cog Railway
• Southern Michigan Railroad Society
• Steam Railroading Institute
• Weiser Railroad

Minnesota

• Como-Harriet Streetcar Line
• Gopher State Railway Museum
• Excelsior Streetcar Line
• Ironhorse Central Railroad
• Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad
• Minnesota Transportation Museum
• North Shore Scenic Railroad
• Northfield & Cannon Valley Railroad (Closed in 2007)
• Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway

Mississippi

• Cleveland Train Museum

Missouri

• Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad
• Branson Scenic Railway
• Delmar Loop Trolley
• Frisco Silver Dollar Line in Silver Dollar City
• St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway
• Tommy G. Robertson Railroad in Six Flags St. Louis
• Worlds of Fun Park Railroad in Worlds of Fun
• Neil F. Norkaitis Demonstration Trolley Line in National Museum of Transportation
• Southwest Missouri Electric Railway Empire County Line Empire County Line in King Jack Park, Webb City

Montana

• Alder Gulch Shortline Railroad, in Virginia City, Montana
• Central Montana Rail, Inc.

Nebraska

• Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad (Ended service)
• Nebraska Railroad Museum (In transition to move to permanent home)
• Omaha Zoo Railroad in Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium

Nevada

• Nevada Northern Railway
• Nevada State Railroad Museum
• Nevada Southern Railroad Museum
• Virginia and Truckee Railroad

New Hampshire

• Conway Scenic Railroad
• Granite State Scenic Railway (formerly known as Hobo Railroad)
• Wilton Scenic Railroad
• Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad
• Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train
• Mount Washington Cog Railway
• Silver Lake Railroad
• White Mountain Central Railroad

New Jersey

• Black River and Western Railroad
• Cape May Seashore Lines
• Delaware River Rail Excursions
• New Jersey Museum of Transportation
• Woodstown Central Railroad
• Whippany Railway Museum

New Mexico

• Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
• New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society
• Sky Railway

New York

• Adirondack Railroad
• Arcade and Attica Railroad
• Buffalo Cattaraugus and Jamestown Scenic Railway
• Catskill Mountain Railroad
• Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad
• Delaware and Ulster Railroad
• Medina Railroad Museum
• New York Museum of Transportation
• New York Transit Museum
• Railroad Museum of Long Island
• Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum
• Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway
• Saratoga and North Creek Railway (Closed in April 2018)
• Trolley Museum of New York
• Troy and New England Railway

North Carolina

• Craggy Mountain Line
• Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
• Handy Dandy Railroad
• New Hope Valley Railway
• North Carolina Transportation Museum
• Tweetsie Railroad

Ohio

• Age of Steam Roundhouse (Several operating steam locomotives, but no excursions listed)
• Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad in Cedar Point
• Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
• Hocking Valley Scenic Railway
• Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad in Kings Island
• Lake Shore Railway Association (Lorain and West Virginia Railway)[4]
• Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad
• Toledo, Lake Erie and Western Railway
• Zanesville and Western Scenic Railroad
• Cincinnati Union Terminal

Oklahoma

• El Reno Heritage Express
• Oklahoma Railway Museum

Oregon

• Astoria Riverfront Trolley
• Eagle Cap Excursion Train
• Mount Hood Railroad
• Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad
• Oregon Electric Railway Museum
• Oregon Pacific Railroad
• Oregon Rail Heritage Center
• Santiam Excursion Train
• Sumpter Valley Railway
• Train Mountain Railroad
• Willamette Shore Trolley

Pennsylvania

• Allentown and Auburn Railroad
• Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society
• Colebrookdale Railroad
• Dry Gulch Railroad in Hersheypark
• Duquesne Incline
• East Broad Top Railroad
• Everett Railroad
• Horseshoe Curve Incline
• Johnstown Inclined Plane
• Kiski Junction Railroad (Operations suspended 2016)
• Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway
• Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad
• Monongahela Incline
• New Hope and Ivyland Railroad (New Hope Railroad)
• Northern Central Railway of York
• Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad
• Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train [2]
• Railroaders Memorial Museum
• Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad
• Reading Railroad Heritage Museum
• Rockhill Trolley Museum
• SEPTA Route 15
• Steamtown National Historic Site
• Stewartstown Railroad
• The Stourbridge Line
• Strasburg Rail Road
• Tioga Central Railroad (Closed in 2019)
• Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad
• Wawa and Concordville Railroad (Closed in 1968)
• West Chester Railroad
• Westmoreland Scenic Railroad (Closed in 2004)
• Williams Grove Historical Steam Engine Association
• Quakertown and Eastern Railroad (Closed in 1970)

Rhode Island

• Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad

South Carolina

• Rockton, Rion and Western Railroad/South Carolina Railroad Museum/Rockton and Rion Railroad Historic District

South Dakota

• Black Hills Central Railroad
• Prairie Village, Herman and Milwaukee Railroad

Tennessee

• Dollywood Express in Dollywood
• Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
• MATA Trolley (Memphis)
• Southern Appalachia Railway Museum
• Tennessee Central Railway Museum
• Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
• Three Rivers Rambler

Texas

• Austin Steam Train Association (presently runs only diesel equipment[5])
• Galveston Island Trolley
• Grapevine Vintage Railroad
• Jefferson and Cypress Bayou Railway
• Longhorn and Western Railroad (Texas Transportation Museum)
• M-Line Trolley
• Rosenberg Railroad Museum
• Six Flags & Texas Railroad in Six Flags Over Texas
• Six Flags Fiesta Texas Park Railroad in Six Flags Fiesta Texas
• Texas Railroad Museum (Proposed)
• Texas State Railroad

Utah

• Golden Spike National Historic Site (Promontory Summit, Utah)[6]
• Heber Valley Railroad
• Lagoon Wild Kingdom Train

Vermont

• Green Mountain Railroad
• Steamtown, U.S.A. (Moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania as Steamtown National Historic Site)

Virginia

• Busch Gardens Railway in Busch Gardens Williamsburg
• Southwest Virginia Scenic Railroad (Closed in 1975)
• Virginia Scenic Railway (Buckingham Branch)
• James River Rambler (Buckingham Branch)
• Virginia Museum of Transportation

Washington

• Anacortes Railway (Defunct)
• Chehalis–Centralia Railroad
• Chelatchie Prairie Railroad
• George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line (Closed in 2005)
• Issaquah Valley Trolley (Closed in 2020, reopening proposed)
• Inland Northwest Rail Museum
• Lake Whatcom Railway (Out of Service since 2019)
• Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad
• Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (Ended excursion service in 2016)
• Snoqualmie Valley Railroad
• Yakima Electric Railway Museum

West Virginia

• Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
• Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad
• Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad

Wisconsin

• East Troy Electric Railroad
• Kenosha Streetcar
• Kettle Moraine Scenic Railway (Closed in October 2001)
• Lumberjack Steam Train
• Mid-Continent Railway Museum
• National Railroad Museum, Ashwaubenon (includes a small rail loop)
• Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway
• Riverside and Great Northern Railway
• Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad

Wyoming

• Evanston Roundhouse
• Union Pacific Steam Program (Cheyenne, Wyoming)
• Wyoming Transportation Museum

These heritage railroads in the US offer more than just rides—they preserve a rich cultural legacy and keep the story of American railroading alive. Whether you’re interested in the technology, the history, or the scenic routes, there’s something for everyone.

As you explore this list of heritage railroads in the United States, you’ll be stepping into a moving tribute to the ingenuity and determination that helped build the railroad across America. From coast to coast, these railways continue to inspire, educate, and connect generations.

So if you’re looking to ride through history, don’t miss out on visiting these heritage railroads in USA—where the past comes alive on steel rails.