Tennessee Central Railway Museum

The Tennessee Central Railway Museum is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. Our mission is to preserve, restore, interpret, and operate historic railroad equipment for the education of the general public about America's railroads.

Tennessee Central Railway Museum currently owns several passenger cars, cabooses, work/camp cars, boxcars, motorcars, baggage cars, locomotives, and a passenger business car. Restoration work on these cars is ongoing by museum volunteers.

The Museum headquarters is located in the former Tennessee Central Railway's Master Mechanic's office at 220 Willow Street near downtown Nashville. The building houses offices, a library, and a rapidly expanding collection of railroad material, including the largest collection of Tennessee Central Railway artifacts to be found anywhere. Monthly membership meetings are held at this facility.

Each year, the Museum operates passenger excursions to various destinations in central Tennessee with the cooperation of local railroads. Trains typically consist of air-conditioned coaches with refreshments and souvenirs. Many trains also include deluxe accommodations in lounge, dome, and private cars available at extra cost.

One of our attractions is our fully restored Operation Lifesaver caboose, used to promote safety at railroad highway crossings. This caboose was built in 1974 for the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad and was donated to the Museum by the CSX Railroad in 1991. The Museum is an active participant in the Operation Lifesaver program and strongly supports this ongoing effort to educate the public about railroad safety