Northern Ohio Railway Museum facts for kids
A railway crane at the museum in 2005.
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| Established | 1965 |
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| Location | 5515 Buffham Road, Chippewa Lake, Ohio |
| Type | Railway museum |
The Northern Ohio Railway Museum is a special place near Chippewa Lake, Ohio in Ohio, United States. It's like a big home for old trains! This museum is a non-profit group. This means it's run for public benefit, not to make money. It started way back in 1965. Many people who love electric trains are members. They live across the U.S. and Canada.
What the Museum Does
The main goal of the Northern Ohio Railway Museum is to save and care for old streetcars. They also collect train parts and other railway items. These items show how public transport started and grew in northern Ohio. The museum also wants to build a working railway. This way, visitors can see the old trains run. It's all about teaching people and letting them have fun with railway history!
Where the Museum Is and What's There
The museum is located on 42 acres of land. It's in the Chippewa Valley, close to two major highways. It takes about 45 minutes to drive from Cleveland. From Akron, it's about 30 minutes. The museum has two miles of old train tracks. These tracks were once used by the Cleveland and Southwestern interurban railway. There's also a 30-acre area for buildings and visitor spaces. This property is at 5515 Buffham Road in Westfield Township, Medina County, Ohio.
At this site, the museum collects and restores old streetcars. They also display other railway equipment. Once restored, many of these will be shown to the public. They will even be operated for visitors to enjoy. The museum stores its collection in two large "carbarns." These are like big garages for trains. The Anson W. Bennett Carhouse was built in 1997. The John R. McCarthy Carhouse was built in 2003. These buildings protect the trains from weather. They also serve as places to restore them.
The museum plans to have a demonstration railroad. This will be the main part of the museum's operations. Once finished, it will have over three miles of track. This will allow for a five-mile round trip ride. So far, over a mile of track has been built. The museum also needs special vehicles to maintain its property and tracks. These include trucks and tractors. In 2000, the Rowen S. Prunkard Maintenance Facility was built. This building houses all these work vehicles.
The museum has a big plan for its future. All new buildings and areas follow this plan. The plan includes areas for visitors. These will have a visitors' center and displays. There will also be service areas. These areas will have carbarns for fixing and storing streetcars. The plan allows for both open tracks and street running. It can store 42 large interurban cars indoors. More smaller city cars can be stored too. Three of the seven planned buildings are now complete.
Trains and Equipment
As of 2020, the museum had ten streetcars. They also had one interurban coach. An interurban coach is a type of electric train that traveled between cities. The museum also has several maintenance cars. These cars are used to work on the tracks.
