Cleburne Railroad Museum

The Cleburne Railroad Museum is a free museum celebrating the history of the railroad in Cleburne and the men and women who built it. Traditional and interactive exhibits tell the story of the railroads that were vital to the Cleburne Santa Fe Shops and Cleburne’s history.

After many years of planning, the Cleburne Railroad Museum opened to the public in November 2016 and now boasts a collection that encompasses over 2,000 railroad artifacts. The museum was renovated and reopened in February 2022.

Activities throughout the museum will provide fun for the whole family. Visitors can travel to a magical world as they watch as multiple model trains run throughout the C&JC Railroad, our HO scale model train room. Visitors can also take a virtual tour that provides information about the exhibits and visits to historic railroad locations throughout town, such as Engine #3417, also known locally as “The Spirit of Cleburne.”

  1. Railroad Museum History
  2. What to Expect
  3. The Studio

On October 21, 1881 the first railroad pulled into Cleburne and was greeted by 1,000 spectators, one-quarter of the town’s population.

In 1897, Cleburne won out over Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple to become the location of the biggest Santa Fe shops west of the Mississippi, where they repaired and manufactured locomotives and other rail cars. 

The Cleburne Santa Fe Shops brought prosperity to Cleburne and were the largest employer for a century. While the Shops closed in 1989, the story of the Railroad is an integral part of the history of Cleburne.

After many years of planning, the Cleburne Railroad Museum opened to the public in November 2016 and now boasts a collection that encompasses over 2,000 railroad artifacts.