Tennessee Central Railway Museum reopens following pandemic closure

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A small non-profit dedicated to preserving the heritage of rail transport in Tennessee is doing its best to stay afloat. Like many places, the Tennessee Central Railway Museum is trying to rebound from the pandemic.

Back in the spring, the museum had to shut it all down due to the restrictions and lockdown. They lost a lot of revenue during the closure.

The Tennessee Central Railway Museum has a mission to preserve Tennessee’s history and they’ve been doing it for dozens of years.

For example, they've taken on the preservation of Locomotive 576, which was retired in the 1950's and put on display in Centennial Park. Johnny Cash even used it for several album covers and a magazine shoot.

When the pandemic hit, they had to close up shop and stop excursions.
A spokesperson for the museum says thankfully the public has supported them through these hard times, but they still lost a lot of money.

Excursions are resuming Friday, and for the first time since closing the museum, it's hosting an open house. The public is invited to come out for free to see all the upgrades and attend model train show Saturday.

"This is a chance for people to really get an idea of what helped create Nashville back at the turn of century back all the way to the 1950s," said Joey Bryan, Communications Manager of the Nashville Steam Preservation Society.

The open house runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They will be following health and safety guidelines, so don't forget your mask.

Also, if you’re interested in the excursions their North Pole Express Excursions are back, so you can take a train ride with Santa and his elves.