Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati facts for kids

The Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati is a cool place in Covington, Kentucky, where you can see and learn about old trains and railroad cars. It's like a special home for historic railway equipment!

The museum started in 1975 because a group of local train lovers wanted to run their own passenger cars on Amtrak trains. Some of these members even bought their own cars to do this!

How the Museum Grew

In the late 1980s, Amtrak made its rules for private passenger cars much stricter. This made it too expensive for most people to keep their cars running on the main lines. Even though the Amtrak trips stopped, these special cars became the start of the museum's amazing collection.

The museum's main goal then changed. Now, it focuses on saving and taking care of these important pieces of railroad history. Tom Holley, a former leader of the museum, said that the main purpose is to collect equipment from the seven different railroads that used to come into Cincinnati.

What You Can See

The museum has many interesting trains and cars. One of them is the Pennsylvania Railroad E8 locomotive #5888. A locomotive is the engine part of a train that pulls all the cars. This one has been getting fixed up for the past few years.

Right next to the locomotive is a special baggage car called the Juliet. This car was built between 1917 and 1922 and was used to carry things like theater props. Now, it helps the museum workers fix up the locomotive.

The museum also has many cars made by a company called Pullman-Standard. These include the Metropolitan View, which was built in 1938 for the famous Broadway Limited train. There's also a special mail car, PRR #6518, which was used to sort mail while the train was moving!

Other cool items in the collection include:

• PRR #9408, a small train called an EMD SW1 switcher that moves cars around the rail yard.
• A preserved Dinky train.
• A Brookville BMD 15-ton switcher.
• The La Paz, a modern passenger coach from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
• A preserved troop sleeper, which was a car used to carry soldiers.
• An old business car from the Southern Railway.
• RI #428, a dining car called El Comedor.

The museum is located at 315 Southern Avenue in the Latonia area of Covington.

Historic Trains and Cars

The museum has a great collection of different types of trains and cars. Here are some of the highlights:

Diesel Locomotives

These are the powerful engines that pull the trains.

Image	Operator	Road Number	Model	Year Built	Notes
	Pennsylvania Railroad	5888	EMD E8	1951	This engine is currently being restored.
	Pennsylvania Railroad	9408	EMD SW1	1950	This is a small engine used for moving cars.

Passenger Cars

These are the cars where people rode or worked on the train.