george l. carter railroad museum

This is an awesome train museum. Even if you don't know much about trains, you will enjoy looking at the villages, etc. There is also a game for kids to locate certain items in the landscapes, such as the hobo, etc. There is also a play room with trains for little tykes.

A nice small railroad museum with interesting photos and narrative about railroads in the area. It is primarily a wonderful model train layout. It is on the East Tennessee State University Campus. It is open only on Saturdays when parking is no problem; however, unless you are very familiar with the area or have the museum's brochure which includes a map, the museum can be very difficult to find.

On the campus of East Tennessee State University, the George L. Carter Railroad Museum is a wonderful place to visit for adults who like model trains and for children of all ages. There is an attended playroom for the very young, a huge operational HO-scale layout, a small operational G-scale layout, a medium-sized operational N-scale layout, and an additional large HO-scale that is under construction. When we visited, there were about a dozen club members in attendance. A few were building the new HO layout; the rest were operating the completed HO layout with multiple freight and passenger trains running at the same time. (The G and N gauge railroads were operating, too.) The three kids with us were fascinated. The three adults thought it was pretty interesting too. It was a fun trip for everyone.

It's small and can be hard to find, but this little train museum packs a lot of action and detail and fun into their space. Especially perfect for kids who LOVE VEHICLES or those grown ups who love model trains and careful attention to detail.

open from about 9 to 3 on Saturdays. I would suggest this for kids 2-10, but adults with any interest in trains will enjoy too. For kids under 5 feet tall you may want to bring a step stool, they have one or two but it can save your back.