Travel though the beautiful St. Croix River Valley in vintage railway equipment -- children are allowed and encouraged to explore the cars which usually includes a variety of coaches, a box car or two (with grates over the open doors), a mail car, and a caboose. Volunteer crew members are always happy to meet passengers and answer questions.
Phone: 715-755-3570
Off-Season: 651-228-0263
Email: admin [at] mtmuseum [dot] org
Contact Person: Pat Kytola, Railway Operations Director
Hours of Operation: Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays from May through October
Minimum Group Size: unknown
Maximum Group Size: 450 passengers
Costs: Group rates (usually more than half price) are available in the spring but generally not in the fall during the popular leaf viewing trips. When receiving the steeply discounted group rate, the museum asks that you purchase a ticket if your child is old enough to know that s/he's on a train and to appreciate being there. Otherwise, children under the age of 5 arefree.
Target Age Range/Prerequisite Skills: Great for all ages!
Gathering Place Recommendations: By the tracks, but if it is raining or otherwise foul, inside the Depot in the lobby area ... not in the gift store.
Parking Information: Free parking. There are a few spots right by the Depot and many more down the hill (a half-block walk).
Driving Directions: Osceola is about a one-hour drive from the Twin Cities area. Take I35E or I35W north out of the Twin Cities. Take the first exit (highway 97) after I35W and I35E merge and go east until you come to highway 95. Travel north on highway 95 about 5 miles to highway 243 where you'll see a sign for Osceola. Turn right (East) and proceed across the St. Croix River into Wisconsin. Osceola is immediately east of the St. Croix River. Once in Osceola, you'll come to Wisconsin Highway 35. Turn right (South) and proceed under the railroad bridge, and immediately turn right again onto Depot Road. The Depot is one block ahead. You will find visitor parking spaces along Depot Road leading up to the depot.
This is not a sit in the seat and watch the scenery go by ride (although you may do so if you wish). Families may be up, moving and exploring the entire length of the train. You'll want to travel from one end of the train and back again as each car is likely to be quite different from the next. (I do not recommend investing a lot of effort into selecting your seats when you board as you will spend very little time sitting in them. Put your picnic lunch and other belongings in the rack above, so as not to be burdened with them, and explore!)
Exactly which cars will be part of the train is hard to predict as it will depend on what's in the shop for repair, refurbishment, or restoration and how many other trains are running at the same time as ours. You can find a list of available cars at <http://www.mtmuseum.org/jsr/roster/>. Click on the car name for its history and technical specifications.
You can expect to see:
- a variety of different dining cars (NOTE: So that other families may enjoy the experience of dining-car dining, I suggest that families clear their table in the dining cars when they have finished eating and move to coach seating. Food is permitted in the coach cars as well if you are unable to find an empty table in the dining car.)
- a variety of different coach cars from different eras. We love to try out each one. Look for the Great Northern 1213 Streamlined Coach, a 60-seat coach designed for short-distance passengers with two restrooms/lounges and a small office for the conductor, this is one of the nicest streamlined cars in the museum's collection. There's also four additional Great Northern Streamlined Coaches, two Rock Island commuter coaches, and way too many more to list here.
- the windy open baggage doors of the Great Northern 265 Streamlined Baggage/Express Storage-Mail Car (parental anxiety note: there are grates over the open doors, so your children won't fall out, but crew members will ask your children to not climb on or rattle the grates). This is also where you'll find the concessions stand (snack food and trinkets)
- the Northern Pacific 1102 Heavyweight Triple Combine - my favorite and a very typical branch line car from between the world wars which includes coach seating, a baggage compartment, and a small railway post office which has been restored to look like it did in operation and is used for mail-catch demonstrations at 1:00 PM following our train trip -- I strongly encourage you to stick around and watch the mail catch from the side of the track -- buy a postcard before the trip and your own mail can be included in that bag.
- viewing platform at the back (or the front) of the Great Northern A-11 Streamlined Business Car (children may be allowed to sound the horn with the assistance of the conductor or other crew member)
- a variety of tiny bathrooms!
- nesting raptors on the bridge
- meet all the crew -- conductor, trainman, brakeman, fireman, and even the engineer.
- the connections between cars (these are old cars, you can see the plates moving, and you can stand at the doors (half-doors; top open, bottom closed) and feel the breeze (parental anxiety note: toddlers should be watched when traveling between cars)
- The train turns around after 45 minutes; you may be able to watch the uncoupling and coupling of the engine as it is moved from old front to new front, however there is a very limited viewing area. If you wish your child/ren to see this, I recommend that you get to one end of the train early. (Please help your child/ren ensure that as many children as possible can witness this exciting part of the trip.)
- the engine can be toured after the train trip, and can usually be seen from the first car of the train during the ride
The William O'Brien State Park is located about 7.5 miles or 15 minutes south on MN-95, near the town of Marine-on-St. Croix (the train ride passes through O'Brien and sometimes even stops to pick up campers).
Franconia Sculpture Park is about 7 miles or 10 minutes north on MN-95
Heading in the same direction is Interstate State Park / Taylor's Falls less than 9 miles or 15 minutes north also on MN-95
Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway and the Osceola Depot also participate in Osceola's Annual Wheels & Wings Celebration which is held each fall.
