Gold Coast Railroad Museum

The Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, Florida, is South Florida’s premier heritage railroad institution, preserving a remarkable collection of historic railroad equipment at the gateway to the Florida Keys and Everglades in a region not typically associated with railroad history. The museum’s crown jewel is the Ferdinand Magellan — the only railcar ever custom-built for the exclusive use of the President of the United States, a magnificently appointed Pullman car used by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan for whistle-stop tours and official travel. The bulletproof presidential car, with its secret communications room and observation platform from which presidents delivered speeches to trackside crowds, is open for visitor tours and represents one of the most historically significant pieces of rolling stock in the United States. The museum’s collection also includes vintage diesel and steam locomotives, historic passenger cars, and freight equipment representative of the many railroads that served Florida’s agricultural and tourism industries. Miniature train rides on the museum grounds provide a fun experience for younger visitors. The museum is operated by the Gold Coast Railroad Museum Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the railroad heritage of South Florida.