There’s A Little-Known, Fascinating Train Park In Wisconsin And You’ll Want To Visit
By Ben Jones|Published July 29, 2022
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Ben Jones
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Ben Jones is at heart an adventurer who delights in inspiring others. A former reporter and photojournalist, he explored towns large and small as a Wisconsin correspondent for USA Today. He later became a lead photographer and senior copywriter for an award-winning destination marketing agency, before founding Boldland Creative, a company that produces photography, video, and other content for travel destinations. Jones has completed photography and content projects in more than 15 states and when he’s not looking through a camera or at his Macbook you’ll find him exploring the world’s lakes and forests.
Wisconsin has a rich railroad history and you can discover it in the heart of Western Wisconsin. In the little town of Colfax, the Colfax Railroad Museum gives visitors a chance to stroll pass old trains and take in a big and fascinating lesson on the state’s railroad past. For years, this place was abandoned, but it’s been completely transformed into an amazing Wisconsin train park perfect for a day trip. Here’s what’s waiting for you at the Colfax Railroad Museum.
The museum is located in the heart of Colfax, pop. 1,100, a village in Dunn County. Train tracks run right through the center of the village and the museum is located at an old stone depot.
The railroad has been a fixture in Colfax for a very long time. The current depot is actually the third in the village – it was built in 1914-15 out of sandstone that was quarried nearby. The facility was damaged by a powerful storm that swept through the area in 1958.
For a time, the depot was abandoned. But today it’s a small but impressive museum with a growing collection of equipment from railroads that once serviced the western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota region.
The museum's property is home to an impressive collection of old train cars and locomotives. The collection includes the Soo Line caboose number 273, the Barney & Smith Soo Line coach number 991, the Soo Line GP-30 number 703, a Porter 2-6-2T steam engine, and more.
The trains and cars aren’t showroom-pristine examples of machinery, and they aren’t shiny replicas either. These were all working trains -- and they bear a few scars from their decades in service.
There are many pieces of railroad history in the museum, including old signs, lights and lanterns as well as a huge collection of railroad china. The artifacts show what railroad customers and employees encountered in day-to-day life and how the technology changed over time.
The Colfax Railroad Museum is open May-October. Group tours are welcome. Learn more on the museum’s website. Once you’ve taken in the railroad museum, there’s a lot more to discover in the area. Here’s a place where you can find some ancient volcanoes!
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