suffolk seaboard station railroad museum

Made the 45 mile drive from VA Beach today only to find the museum closed. There were open signs all over the grass but the place was locked up tight. Cut to a crushed 3 year old future train conductor. He had been so looking forward to it. We were ready to give this place 5 stars but unfortunately won't be making the trek again. :( Ended up exploring Cedar Hill Cemetery instead

What a fantastically detailed train room -- with everything you've ever wanted in a train set PLUS lots more like street crossings in Suffolk, the bear at the station house museum, and the delicious cafe at the Arts Center. What happened to The General Store?

A very good, informative railroad museum ably overseen by Kevin who was very helpful in his explanations and certainly enhanced my visit. Whilst fairly small, the building is packed with railway information and includes a model railway layout of the area, and, not to be missed, a visit to the tower, and if you are lucky you'll see a CSX train go trundling by.

The volunteers who resurrected and restored the Seaboard station after it burned and fell into disrepair did a spectacular job. The model train set depicting Suffolk in the nineteenth century is not to be missed - fantastic reproductions of local buildings. [I only wish the artists would expand the diorama to include more of the business district of the era.] Lots and lots of railroad memorabilia and a nice description of the history of the building by the guide. Don't miss a visit to the caboose!

This is a nice little museum housed in the Suffolk Seaboard Airline Railroad passenger station. The station is in nice repair with a nice interior and interesting exhibits. The model train layout shows Suffolk at the turn of the 20th Century with some very nice scenery and authentic buildings. A lot of the cars are those seen on southern railroads of that era, but the locomotives are a mish mash to include diesels. All in all I enjoyed my tour. It would be nice if the N&W caboose outside were given maintenance.

This museum was originally built as a railroad station in 1885 by the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad Company and remained functional under the CSX company until 1983. After a fire in 1994, the City of Suffolk and the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society jointly funded a full restoration project and the station opened as a museum in 2000. The building itself is a Queen Anne style of architecture. I took my 5 year old niece and 3 year old nephew to this museum and they loved it. There is a huge model train display that is very interesting for children. There are also many items in the museum, from lanterns to keys that date back from the late 1880s. The museum has a reading room and the tower is accessible for anyone to climb. The scale train model on the tracks behind the museum is very interesting to walk through. The museum is free. It is not funded by the City of Suffolk and relies strictly on donations and volunteers, so please contribute to this great piece of local history. The gift shop has unique items that are affordable and the volunteers are wonderful. Do keep in mind that they do school and summer rec tours, so if you want to enjoy the museum without having a crowd, call in advance. Also, the tower and train steps are very narrow, so be careful if you or your children have trouble on steps. My three year old nephew barely made it up and down the tower steps and I had to carry him up and down the train steps. There is no food for purchase on the property, but there are many places around the museum to eat. It is stroller and wheelchair accessible, except for the tower and the inside of the train. I have no idea if it had restrooms or not, but again, it is around many businesses that do.

Suffolk was a major railroad hub and having railroad lines was important because of the development of Planters Peanuts. The station was built in 1885 and now houses a small museum that has HO gauge trains, a gift shop and memorabilia from the Seaboard Railroad--lamps, signs, matches, schedules, etc. A nice step back in time. The museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday and closes about 4 PM during the week. Admission is by donations.