Welcome Aboard the Stars & Stripes Special

Included with This Ticket

• 55 minute train ride in early-1900s coach cars pulled by a diesel locomotive.
• An ice-cold snow cone with choice of flavor
• Admission to museum display buildings
• Self-guided tour pamphlet (provided at ticket window)

Celebrating America's Independence

Come celebrate America’s independence at Mid-Continent Railway Museum with our Stars and Stripes Special weekend. What better way to celebrate America than to explore the history of the railroads that helped shape the nation.

The train will be specially decorated in red, white and blue for the occasion. The weekend will also feature:

• FREE train rides for Veterans and Military Personnel Note: To receive the discount when booking online, first add the appropriate ticket type(s) to your cart, then check the box where it says "Is this person in the military or a veteran?"
• One snow cone with each ticket purchased. Snow cones will be available at the depot until 3:00 PM.

Duration

• The 7 mile round-trip train ride is scheduled to take approximately 55-minutes.
• Suggested time to allow for self-guided tour of the museum displays plus visiting the gift shop is about 1 hour. This can be done before or after the train ride.
• A guided tour of Mid-Continent's Engine House, and a locomotive is also available during this event (guided tour tickets are sold separately and are not included with Stars & Stripes ticket).

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.

A self-guided tour pamphlet is available from the depot ticket window.

What to Know

• Museum grounds are open from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on days of operation.
• All trains are powered by diesel locomotives.
• Seating is not assigned.
• Stars & Stripes Special trains are not climate-controlled. Windows can be individually opened for ventilation.
• Wheelchair lift available for boarding. Some seating areas may require the use of a transfer chair (provided).