A Harvest Time Tradition

Finding your Halloween pumpkin is more fun at Mid-Continent Railway Museum. Climb aboard the Pumpkin Special and make your way to Quartzite Lake where pumpkins from a local grower await your arrival. The conductor is available to help load your pumpkin for the return to North Freedom.

Purchase of pumpkins is optional. Pumpkins are made available via an independent local vendor and are not included in the ticket price. Pumpkin sales are cash-only.

Included with This Ticket

• 55-minute train ride in early-1900s Coach Cars pulled by a diesel locomotive.
• Admission to museum display buildings
• Self-guided tour pamphlet (provided at ticket window)

Duration

Train ride takes approximately 55-minutes. Suggested additional time to allow for taking the self-guided tour of the museum displays and a visit to the gift shop is about 1 hour. The museum areas can be explored before or after the train ride.

About our Museum and Train Excursions

Take a memorable, seven-mile, 55-minute round-trip train ride on a former branch line of the Chicago & North Western Railway nestled in a valley between the Baraboo Hills in rural Sauk County. Passengers ride in restored steel coaches built a century ago. An authentically-attired conductor will call “all aboard!” before the train leaves from a historic wooden depot, built in 1894.

Mid-Continent is much more than just a train ride. Our Coach Sheds are filled with restored wooden passenger cars, freight cars and displays from the turn of the century. There you will find examples of Mid-Continent’s nationally-renowned wood car restorations such as the Badger #2 “Fish Car”, the exquisite Art Nouveau-motif of the Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western #63, the 1903-built Copper Range coach #60. In our outdoor display yard, you can inspect century-old steam locomotives up-close, including Copper Range locomotive #29, Soo Line #2645 and Kewaunee Green Bay & Western #49. In all, there are nearly 40 train cars and locomotives on prominent display with many more awaiting restoration.

What to Know

While Booking

• Museum grounds are open from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
• All trains are powered by diesel locomotives.
• A wheelchair lift providing handicap accessibility to the train is located at the North Freedom depot (origin station) but is not available at Quartzite Lake (end of line) where the pumpkins are located, preventing the alighting of handicapped passengers.
• Depending on crowd size, time at the end of the line may be extended to allow adequate time to browse/purchase pumpkins.

Onboard the Train

• Seating is not assigned. Passengers select their own seat upon boarding. Reservations ensure that seats will be available for you.
• Windows can be individually opened for ventilation. Train cars are not climate-controlled. Onboard temperatures can be chilly during fall events. Be prepared by wearing clothing appropriate to the outdoor temperatures, especially in the morning.

Food Availability

• A picnic shelter is located next to the depot.
• A food truck will likely be near the depot (a specific food truck has not yet been confirmed for 2025). Food items are not allowed on the train.