Three Railroads, One Museum

Narrow Gauge Railroad

Hesston keeps the memory of narrow gauge steam railroads alive.  Geared locomotives like this 1929 Shay were a common site in logging camps and gold and silver mines in the west.

Like all steam engines, our locomotives burn fuels such as coal or wood to produce steam to drive the wheels.  You'll love the sights, sounds and smells of real steam engines.  Ride along with us on a beautifully wooded railroad traveling over hills and past lakes and farm fields on a 2.5 mile journey. 

1/4-scale Railroad

These 1/4 scale locomotives are steam or gasoline powered and were mainly built for amusement parks from the 1920's to the 1950's. These trains were meant to haul kids and their parents half a century ago and are still steaming along today.

1/8 scale Model Railroad

Our smallest railroad is populated by miniature steam trains that operated just like their big brothers. Turning water into steam using a real coal fire, these "little trains" take as much skill to operate as the real thing. Painstakingly built by the people who run them, these trains run on track with rails only 7.5" apart and travel through the heavily  wooded hills and under a bridge in a mile long winding route. Great fun for kids of any age!.

More than just Railroads

Hesston Saw Mill

Our mill is typical of the mills dotting the countryside in the 1890's. These mills provided much of the lumber used to build towns and cities. Our mill was built in 1900 by the Hill-Curtis Machinery Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The mill features a 60 inch insert tooth blade, meaning that we can change teeth instead of changing the blade when it becomes dull. We saw our own lumber for restoration projects here at the museum. Some of the lumber we produced was used in the reconstruction of the Shay logging locomotive and in the construction of a new narrow gauge caboose.

Electric Power Plant and Stationary Engine

Our power plant was first to provide power to the LaPorte County Court House. It produces 60KW of DC power. A great deal of coal is shoveled into the boiler everyday to run the steam engine. The huge Allis-Chalmers engine originally ran the Sanders Saw mill in Elkhart, Indiana. In fact, it replaced the smaller Smith Mayers and Schneer next to it at the same location.

HISTORY