The North Pole experience is terrible. First class seats are advertised as being assigned seats. They aren't. Thank goodness we got there early so we could sit together. The ride out took close to an hour thanks to a mysterious 20 min stop in the middle of the ride. Very lackluster entertainment at the actual pole itself. Then another 45 minute delay to leave this frozen hell and now that it's well past 10 we are fighting to get in the climate controlled cabin we paid for because everyone else is smart and realizing they aren't checking tickets so why wouldn't everyone sit here? read more

What a fun ride and a nice day out! This was a Christmas present for my husband and he seemed to really enjoy the ride and we both enjoyed the small museum of local railroad history. A local gem well worth checking out. read more

Florida Railroad Museum - Museums Near Me - Parrish, Florida

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What a fun little place to visit. We took our 3 year old grandsons for their 1st train ride here. They were in awe of everything (and a little scared). As we viewed some of the old cars, what was interesting to us scared them a bit as they were dark and creaky. The train ride was a nice lazy ride. A gentle rocking motion through swamps and woodland to a tiny town called Willow. Then back you went. Our day was rainy so grandpa and the twins fell asleep from the quiet rocking. It was awesome. They had a small gift shop, not over priced. They also had a picnic area outside where you could bring a lunch to dine on before your ride. However, there was a quite nice dining car on the train which sold snacks and sodas, so I would advise eating in there. Make sure to explore all the cars on your ride, for each is very different. 2 out door cars, the dining care, and an historic Jim Crow car (look it up) where we spent most of our time because the seats were incredibly comfortable, and a little red caboose that can be rented for parties.. $10 for kids 3-11 and $14 for adults. The ride lasted about 90 minutes. A nice way to spend a few hours. read more

What a great event for the family. A train ride, campfires with smores, kids making reindeer food, hot cocoa and sausage and pepper hoagies.... Uhhh....winning!!! read more

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A very cute family fun pumpkin festival, a fun breezy train ride to an area where kids can pick a pumpkin and play in a maze, face paint and tattoos, a hunted house, building blocks, photo area, food, crafts and a hay ride where you see and learn about some old trains from early 1900's. Overall a cute place with lots to do read more

The Florida Railroad Museum was a nice little piece of history. We enjoyed the train ride a lot and the volunteers were wonderful. We're looking forward to visiting again in the future and seeing the continues improvements. read more

Florida Railroad Museum - Museums Near Me - Parrish, Florida

The train is absolutely amazing, whether it's for a routine weekend ride or one of their special events. We loved the train before kids, and now we attend any and all the special events we can. We have made some incredible memories on this train and I look forward to years ahead full of Wild West robberies, cowboy cookouts, pumpkin patch rides, and visits to the North Pole. read more

Great historical train ride experience; fun for the kiddos and relaxing for the adults. Very exciting for kids who love trains. All of the volunteers were amazing and funny (you can tell that they truly enjoy what they do). This is a economical weekend activity. Try it then have a lunch picnic afterwards. read more

We loved it. Can't believe this is so close to home and never knew it was here. $14 for 1 1/2 hour train ride in the old cars with stop in Willow to see more rail cars and the museum station. All the conductors, Mark, Karen and Shane were enthusiastic and shared both local history and train knowledge with us. All volunteers who obviously love what they do. We are planning on coming back with friends for the Train robbery event and the Christmas Train. You can purchase tickets on line but make sure you arrive 20 minutes before departure to pick up your tickets and to board the train. Just go! read more

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Good time with the family. Train is very dirty. Timing on leaving and return needs to be more accurate. They advertise you board at 6:30 and leave promptly at 7:00. Boarded after 7:00. The ticket said board at 9:25 to return. We boarded at 10:00 left at 10:15 and returned at 10:45. Much too late for kids. Advertised you would be back at 9:45. read more

Not disabled friendly at all...helicopter mosquitoes...not enough benches to sit and Santa's North Pole needs a makeover....needs higher benches for older people to sit down on both sides....popcorn was stale....hot chocolate was so sweet kids wouldn't drink it....all the money it costs seems like you'd put some in making it a better place....I'm one and done. read more

$77.00 for 2 adults and one child in the open air car for polar express and Santa. Great time and extremely friendly staff. Somores at North Pole are $8 prepared Kate of 8. Soda is $2 and fruit juice is$1. read more

It was a great experience but wouldn't go back unless the train cabs where you sit are actually clean. My son loved it and the museum part is great but walking into the the ac parts of the two cabs open stunk , the red seats smelt like pee. the other cab with AC was way to crowded and freezing cold for a kid. We stayed outside practically the whole time. If they were to attend more and clean we would definitely come back meaning my son loves trains. read more

Great experience! My family had a wonderful time on the Pumpkin Patch Express. Kids loved the animals and the food was also good.

Wanted to really really love this place but extremely under-whelmed. My 7yr old loves trains and was SO excited when we told him were going on a train ride (we've been on many trains through Europe so we reminded ourselves to set different expectations). We went during a standard Sunday on a general admission ride. He was bored to death and so were we. Went in Feb and weather was great so we sat in the open car which was pleasant. I was expecting some kind of narration explaining the passing landscape during the ride and perhaps something explaining the train were riding in, as well as the history of the rail system we were on and the station. NOPE, I still know nada about what I spent $16x2 + $12 for this family ride experience. My son kept complaining he was bored, didn't know what we were passing through, no one is explaining anything, etc etc... We got a boring uninformative train ride to another station and I had google or find out the information on my own after the experience or specifically ask. Sure there were volunteers walking the trains talking to some of the passengers, but you could only hear them if they are within earshot if you. And with 5 cars it's not doable without a P.A. system. Hopefully that's something the museum is going to upgrade with their renovations. Glad we went otherwise we would never know. Needless to say despite living only 35 mins away, we will not be going back especially for that price tag. Nor will we plan to attend any of the higher priced special events. Not worth it at all. read more

This was a fun and informative family outing. Our conductor, Mark, was funny and full of knowledge. We sat in the open car and and enjoyed the fresh air and a little rain storm. The ride was a good length for kids. My 5 year old loved Mark and he made her feel special and answered all of her questions! read more

Fabulous entertainment, train crew and meals, a must-do activity! :-)

Murder Mystery Dinner Train was a huge disappointment. Terrible food and I am no foody. Just give me basic cafeteria style food and I wont complain. The food was barely edible. Show was ridiculous and cheesy. Not funny or entertaining in the least. The train felt like I was on a slow moving bus. Seating is just like a bus. Don't be fooled..Ticket purchasing very very misleading. When choosing seats you are lead to believe this is a traditional dinner train with seating around tables. I feel this was intentional and why I decided to go on with my honest review. I hesitated due to the fact that this is a very small volunteer run organization. I appreciate the efforts of the volunteers. But for 50.00 a person this is a complete rip off!! Don't waste your entire day or money on this experience. read more

We were so disappointed in our experience yesterday with their North Pole Express train experience. First, they say you can't bring a stroller but several people did and there was a ton of overhead storage for one. Our mistake for following the rules. Then it says the train leaves at 7pm sharp and to get there 45mins early, but it didn't show until 7:15, and by the time we loaded it left around 7:30. Our seats were supposed to be together because they were booked together, but they weren't clear about that- we were a party of 6 in Excursion Seating with assigned seats but they gave us 4 together then the other 2 behind the 4, facing the other way! Then halfway to the "North Pole" the train stopped on the tracks and for over 15 mins no one was updating us until I asked what was happening. We didn't get there until 8:30, an hour late. There was some bubble "snow" which was neat but they set up the blowers next to a bed of rocks and I witnessed several kids fall and hurt themselves on the rocks. Besides that, there was only some blocks and Lincoln logs for kids to pay with which was a chaotic mess. The fire pit was ok, the food was terrible and flavorless and way way overpriced- the "family" chicken finger basket had 4 overcooked chicken fingers and a handful of fries- for $15! The line to see Santa was obscenely long and we did not wait in that line- there's no way the kids would make it being that late standing in an hour long line. Then the train didn't come back to get us until 10pm and we were counting down the minutes to leave! We saw they were handing out Christmas Bells when exiting the train but ran out so my kids didn't even get their bell. For the $203 we paid, I feel it was not worth it and we will not be choosing this event again. read more

I had never been here until yesterday. I have always wanted to do the pumpkin patch or Christmas ride. Before we were even on the train the older women taking our tickets to board was rude. I wish I caught her name. This was a bad first impression on a place I had never been to but was hoping to return to for Christmas. Because it's FL and both my daughter and myself don't do well being in the heat, we opted to pay the almost $60 EXTRA for our family just to have the reserved seating with a/c. Upon boarding we noticed it was stuffy inside the cart and thought maybe the a/c doesn't kick on until we leave the station. Wrong. A compressor went and they were unable to fix it there and said they would work on it while at the pumpkin patch and "hopefully get it going and make it up to you guys...." whatever that meant. Nothing was ever "made up" to us. While at the pumpkin patch they were able to get the a/c going but we were only able to feel the a/c for the last 1/4 of the ride. That's not what we paid for. We would've been better off purchasing the open air cart. Because of the rude woman AND the fact we didn't get what we paid for, I would not give this more than 1 star. read more

Anyone living or visiting the area should visit the museum and take a train ride. The ride is 80 minutes long and it's no expensive at all. If you want to drive your very own engine, well that's $250 but where else can you do that??? read more

Staff wouldn't use microphones even when asked. Couldn't look at stuff at rail yard or depots. Wouldn't recommend coming. Waste of time.

I was so impressed with the volunteers at this museum. They were all really amazing and friendly. The conductor was especially friendly and great with the kids. It was raining pretty hard today when we went, but we enjoyed it for sure. Kids will definitely love it. The staff for sure make it a good experience. We plan to go back for the holidays! read more

My husband and I took our son to the Railroad Museum for their Day Out with Thomas event. He loves trains, especially Thomas so we made the two hour drive just for him. They had a lot of activities set up for the event, a petting zoo, gift shop, food stands and Thomas play stations. We went into the trains as well. They were in the process of renovating part of the trains so a section was closed off but there were plenty of cars to go in and out of and explore. Be warned inside of the trains is a tight space and accessibly for the disabled is limited inside the trains. Also, if you meet someone coming the other way one of you will have to duck into a cabin or back up. They had a model train set up in one of the cars with some Thomas characters that my son just loved. My son enjoyed the train ride with Thomas as well. This was fun for a morning trip and my son had a great time, however, we would not have come out were it not for the event and probably won't return otherwise. read more

Interactive, fun experience. Very reasonable tickets. Ride the rails in open air or air conditioned cars. Short ride but fun. They also have several special events during the year. (War reenactments, train robberies, etc.) Highly recommend. read more

The Florida Railroad Museum operates on a six mile railroad line between Parrish and Willow. It was founded in 1981 as the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum. Since 1992, it has been offering one hour and a half excursions on weekends from Parrish north to Willow and back. The organization has maintenance facilities at Willow. This railroad line that the Florida Railroad Museum uses is a very small part of a 55 mile route that was built south from Durant to Manatee County and into Sarasota with construction starting in 1895. It was first incorporated in 1902 as the United States & West Indies Railroad and Steamship Company. It became the Florida West Shore Railway on May 9, 1903. In 1909 it was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company. In 1967 the Seaboard Air Line (SAL) and the Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) merged to become the Seaboard Coast Line (SCL.) The Seaboard Cost Line became a part of the Family Lines System, which became the Seaboard System (SBD) which then became a part of CSX Transportation (CSXT.) The rail is 85 lb and jointed. It is class 1 track. Willow is a ghost town located in Manatee County just north of the Little Manatee River. In 1924, a mill was built at Willow by the MoGowin-Foshee Lumber Company. James I. Robbins, Bruce Robbins and James A. Robbins bought it in 1926. The Robbinses also bought 40,000 acres of woodlands that ran south to where State Road 70 is today. The area is believed to have included a sawmill, turpentine still, a planer mill, a dry kiln, Robbins family home, general store (known as the commissary), 70 worker houses with garden plots, a house of prostitution, Snowden's filling station, a post office constructed in 1889, a railroad depot with a water tower and a church, school and juke joint located in the black section of town. At its height, as much as 50,000 board feet a day was cut. There were around 250 workers. They were paid in scrips (small round tokens) that were to be spent in the general store (the commissary.) Willow was separated into white and black sections. The black children went to the school in Willow and the white children went to school north in the town of Wimauma. The town failed with the onset of the Great Depression as the price of lumber dropped and the business moved to Tampa in 1937. The business's steam engine is now on display at the Robbins Manufacturing Co., located in Tampa on Nebraska Avenue. A railroad single truss bridge crossing the Little Manatee River built in 1913 by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company remains, as do the bare foundations of some of the old buildings. The railroad bridge needs repair before it can be used again and some of the rails leading to it on the south side have been removed, so that trains can not currently travel across it. On the north side of the railroad bridge, at about Saffold Road, all of the rails have been removed from the rest of this route north to Durant. This abandonment occurred in 1986. At Willow, there is a railroad spur that leads east off of the mainline to a Florida Power & Light Company plant. CSX Transportation provides rail service to the plant. There is a new railroad depot now at Willow built by the Florida Railroad Museum. The Museum has put a fence around the depot and its maintenance facilities at Willow and has installed security cameras. There are also security cameras installed at Parrish and in their gift shop baggage car. The area of Willow is accessible from U.S. 301, by turning east on Willow road and following it to the end. The original railroad station in Parrish which was constructed in 1902 was consumed by a fire in the mid-1990's. Earlier, in 1988, an attempt had been made to turn the unused depot into a restaurant, but failed. Not long after the station burned down, the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum (as it was named then) moved the railroad station from Bradley, Florida (also known as Bradley Junction), onto the property. That depot was then also consumed by a fire and lost to history. The location of the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish is 12210 83rd Street East. Their website is www.frrm.org. Its reporting mark is FGCX. read more

This was so much fun! We rented the caboose for my sons 3rd birthday party and everyone had a great time. There was plenty of room and padded seating throughout and 2 restaurant style booths with tables which we used to set up our food and drinks on. 8 people can sit up in the top of the caboose. It is all enclosed and you can open the windows if you like. It is not air conditioned but with the train moving we got a good breeze. If you are looking for a party idea for your train enthusiast kid then this is it! read more

Lots of fun for the whole family. My wife and I have annual passes and ride every chance we get. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Many special events during the year and always expanding. Highly recommended! read more