Painesville Railroad Museum set to open for 2026 season
Published by: The News-Herald
Original article found here
The Painesville Railroad Museum will open soon for its 2026 season, giving visitors a chance to check out an interactive display that was added at the end of last year and attend community events.
Museum Vice President Tom Pescha recently demonstrated the new display in the museum’s engine barn. The barn is next to the historic train depot at 475 Railroad St., which serves as the museum’s main building.
As Pescha pressed the display’s buttons, sounds of trotting horses and train horns came from the display. Other buttons could play videos discussing the history of the museum’s trolley, the building of its engine barn and more.
“It’s really nice, because if people come here, if the tour guide’s busy, they can learn about it themselves,” he said.
The museum also has a redesigned website at painesvillerailroadmuseum.org.
Both changes were supported by the Lake County Visitors Bureau, also known as Tour Lake County, according to bureau Executive Director Neil Stein. The county commissioners awarded the bureau a $75,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant, which it used to support local museums.
“The folks who like the history of railroads and trains are extremely passionate about it and will travel to go see and experience that history,” Stein said in an email. “Having a well-put-together museum with some great history and artifacts is definitely a draw to folks within the railroading and train community.
“Adding the interactive display and more kid-oriented programming will be great to draw in families with young kids too,” he added. Next to the new screen, the museum displays its Collinwood 999 engine. The museum says the engine was built in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood in 1932, and Pescha said the museum plans to bring the engine to the local Lake County Fair, Mentor CityFest and Last Stop Willoughby parades this year.
He added that the barn also features a 19th century horse-drawn trolley that was built in East Cleveland. The museum plans to begin work on restoring it this summer.
A 1927 B&O Railroad caboose is stationed out in the museum’s front yard. Pescha said the museum plans to build a wooden staircase to make it easier to get into the caboose, pending approval of permits.
Elsewhere in the yard, the museum has a CSX boxcar. Display cases highlighting railroad history are located inside the depot.
According to the museum, the depot opened in 1893 and served as a passenger stop until 1971.
Community events
The museum is also planning a number of community events this year, starting with the Model Train Day and Flea Market on May 23.
Pescha said he will present on the history of the Cleveland, Painesville and Eastern Interurban on June 7. The museum will also host its first of two Railfanning Days and Flea Markets on June 27, with the second scheduled for Sept. 19.
The museum will also hold HoBo Day on July 25, an Art and Craft Show on Nov. 28 and a North Pole Express event for children and their families on Dec. 12.
Two model trains are being raffled off this year to support the museum, Pescha said. The winners will be announced at the fundraising buffet dinner on Oct. 17.
An event calendar, including admission information, can be found on the museum’s website.
Local partnerships
The museum is hosting Northeast Ohio Historical Day on Aug. 22. Besides the railroad museum, representatives from other local museums will also be present.
Some of those museums have also received visitor bureau support. Stein said the bureau’s $75,000 ARPA grant also supported the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Museum, Fairport Harbor’s Finnish History Museum and the Lake County History Center in Painesville Township.The bureau asked these museums to find ways to expand their hours, he added.
“From a tourism perspective, the more hours these museums are open the more opportunities visitors have to go check them out and that helps tremendously with packaging a two or three-day itinerary visiting different places within Lake County,” Stein said.
The Painesville Railroad Museum is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, and the first and third Saturdays of the month, from May through October. It is also open on Fridays from 6-9 p.m. during those months.