Ohio Railway Museum

On the eastern edge of Worthington, the Ohio Railway Museum preserves a collection of streetcars, interurban cars, and railway locomotives, many of them from Ohio's once-vast network of electric interurban railways. Founded in 1948, the museum is one of the oldest electric railway preservation organisations in the United States, and its collection spans the full arc of Ohio rail history from the horse-car era through the mid-20th century.

What sets the museum apart from a static display is that much of the equipment still runs. On operating days — typically weekends from spring through autumn — you can ride vintage cars along the museum's short demonstration track. The highlight is usually one of the interurban cars, some of which carried passengers between Ohio cities at speeds that briefly rivalled early automobiles. The museum is unpretentious and volunteer-run; staff are knowledgeable and generally happy to explain what's in the car barn if you ask. Check the museum's website for current operating days, as hours vary by season.

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A story
The Ohio Railway Museum was founded in 1948 by a group of enthusiasts determined to preserve the interurban electric railways that had connected Ohio's cities before the automobile era. At its peak in the early 1900s, Ohio had one of the densest interurban networks in the world — by the late 1930s it was almost entirely gone. The museum operates on a short section of track and still runs electric cars under their own power, a rare survival.

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