Danbury Railway Museum

The Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, Connecticut, is housed in the beautifully restored 1903 Union Station — a magnificent Beaux-Arts railroad depot that serves as one of the finest surviving examples of early 20th-century railroad architecture in New England. The museum preserves and displays a large collection of historic railroad equipment on the former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railway yard in the heart of downtown Danbury, including steam locomotives, diesel power, passenger cars, freight cars, and maintenance-of-way equipment from railroads that served the northeastern United States. A restored turntable and roundhouse provide an authentic backdrop for the museum’s operating equipment. Weekend excursion trains depart from Union Station on seasonal excursions through the Connecticut hills aboard vintage diesel locomotives, offering a pleasant introduction to New England heritage railroading in a beautifully preserved historic setting. Special events include the popular Day Out with Thomas, Halloween Haunted Train, and Christmas Polar Express excursions that draw families from across the Tri-State metropolitan region. The museum also maintains a research library and archives related to the railroad history of western Connecticut. The restoration of Union Station itself is a landmark achievement of adaptive reuse, transforming an endangered historic depot into a thriving cultural institution at the heart of Danbury’s revitalized downtown.