Director

The Oakwood Depot was constructed by the Kansas City, Mexico &amp; Orient railway line in 1905 in Oakwood, Oklahoma Territory. The Santa Fe railway leased the Orient line in 1929 and operated the station until 1958. In later years it was acquired by the Dewey County Historical Society and moved to a property just west o Watonga, Oklahoma. The Depot was purchased by the Oklahoma Railway Museum and moved to the present location in 2000 and was completely restored.

Oakwood Depot

The Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) was founded in 1970 by railroad enthusiasts who had interests in modeling, photography, historic preservation, and riding trains. In the eighties, the chapter operated the Watonga Chief dinner trains on the AT&amp;L Railroad. In the spring of 1997, the Chapter began working on the establishment of a railway museum. A five-year plan was developed and approved by the members. A three-acre property was purchased in 1999, and the museum was created. The property was secured with a fence, a parking lot created, restrooms were built, and the master plan for the Museum began to develop. Members raised $50,000 to improve the site, purchase track materials, acquire a 1905 depot, and to make plans to move the engines, freight and passenger cars, and other smaller artifacts to the site. The museum opened to the public in 2000 The Museum’s mission is to provide an educational experience of railroads and how they shaped Oklahoma and the nation. We provide educational programming centered around our operating railway and displays of equipment and railroad artifacts. Between 2000 and the present, the Museum has grown from one operating locomotive to five. The passenger car fleet can handle over 400 passengers per train. Our passenger count grows annually, from approximately 150 in 2003 to over 38,000 in 2019 in addition to thousands of museum visitors.  Today, the Oklahoma Railway Museum is expanding and creating a prototypical railroad site. We will build many aspects of a working railroad including a roundhouse and operating turntable. Additional buildings including a freight house museum building, passenger depot, and a restoration and maintenance facility will all be functional and serve as teaching tools for our visitors and members. Displays of artifacts on our grounds will educate the public on their use by the railroads. Oklahoma Railway Museum’s 20-year master plan features a functional rail yard for the public to experience. As we create our museum complex, we will continue to host events that engage and benefit our community.

Opened in 2000, the Oklahoma Railway Museum provides an educational experience of railroads and how they shaped Oklahoma and the nation. The museum brings railroad history to life with our antique operating railway and displays of equipment and railroad artifacts.

The Jim Murray Maintenance Shop building is approximately 7400 sq. feet with two track bays, office, restrooms and mailroom. It was built in 2005 and is named for Jim Murray one of the museums founding members and Director of Maintenance from 2004 to 2013.

Jim Murray Maintenance Shop

Built in 1949 as an F7A ,#202L, a covered wagon similar to the museums F9A, OKRX 814. It was converted to a CF7 road switcher configuration in 1972 by AT&amp;SF at their Cleburne TX shops. Donated to the ORM in 2012 by Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.In the 1970's, AT&amp;SF needed road engines that could also function as switch engines but could not afford to buy new ones. They had many aging F7's lying around that could be used but the "covered wagon" body would have made switching work difficult. AT&amp;SF determined that the F7 could be converted to look more like a freight engine where the engineer could see well in both directions. The converted F7 units were given the new designation "CF7"Weight: 249,000 lbsFuel: 1250 gallons

Santa Fe 2571

Built as Canadian Pacific GP9 8637 in 1957, the unit was rebuilt by CP in the mid-1980s and utilized in regular service until 2006, when the unit was converted to a “Green Goat,” an early form of battery-electric switcher. In 2007, the unit was acquired by BNSF and rebuilt at BNSF’s Topeka, Kansas, locomotive shop facility as part of a public-private partnership between Vehicle Projects Inc., Ballard Fuel Systems, and the U.S. Department of Defense.The unit was officially unveiled as a hydrogen fuel cell switcher on June 29, 2009, and moved to Pueblo, Colorado, for extensive testing at the Association of American Railroad’s Technical Training Center Institute test facility (renamed MxV Rail in 2022) prior to entering service at BNSF’s Hobart Yard in Los Angeles, California.The objective of this most recent project was to determine if hydrogen-powered fuel cell switcher locomotives could meet the operational demands and duty cycles of yard service, while producing zero emissions. After several years of operation and data collection at Hobart Yard, the unit was retired in 2014, and recently donated to ORM by BNSF. The test unit set the stage for future developments in alternative energy technology at BNSF, which is also planning a mainline hydrogen fuel cell locomotive demonstration with Progress Rail and Chevron in 2024.ORM took delivery of this historic alternative fuel testbed locomotive in August of 2023.

BNSF Railway Hydrogen Test Locomotive

The EMD FP45, originally built in December 1967 as Santa Fe #100, was donated to the Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) by BNSF Railroad in 2000. It is equipped with a 20-cylinder 6453 engine, providing 3600 horsepower.The locomotive, along with its sister locomotive #102, had the privilege of leading the record-breaking inaugural run of the westbound Super, a high-priority freight train traveling at 79 miles per hour from Chicago to Los Angeles in January 1968. Subsequently, SF 100 began pulling Santa Fe's finest passenger trains. However, with the establishment of Amtrak in 1971, the FP45 locomotives were reassigned to freight duties for the rest of their operational lives, occasionally being used for business or special trains.Throughout its service, this FP45 locomotive underwent several renumberings and eventually ended up as #90. It was the last locomotive of its kind in active service on the BNSF railroad. The locomotive weighs 399,000 pounds and has a fuel capacity of 3200 gallons.

Santa Fe 90

643 was officially built by Hinkley in 1879 for the Santa Fe as a 4-4-0 number 73 name "H.C. Hardon". Santa Fe rebuilt #73 in 1897 into a 2-8-0 and it was numbered 993 when rebuilt. During a general renumbering of steam locomotives by the Santa Fe in 1900 the 933 was renumbered to the 643, the road number it kept until retirement in March of 1953. The engine worked in the Santa Fe's Sothern division in freight service. In April 1953 the engine was donated and put on display at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds which donated it to ORM in 2015.Weight: 125,000

Santa Fe 643 2-8-0

Built in 1927 by American Car &amp; Foundry for service on the Chicago Rock Island &amp; Pacific RR. Car currently houses model train exhibit.It was converted to a tool car #96155 in 1957. The Union Pacific donated this car to ORM.

Baggage Car

Built as a tourist sleeper car in 1913 by Pullman Palace Car Co for use on the Saint Louis San Francisco RR. Frisco railroad purchased car from Pullman in 1950 and converted to maintenance of way bunk and kitchen car. Acquired by ORM in May 2001 from Capital Steel Company. It was going to be cut up for scrap, however Capitol Steel was happy to donate the car under the condition that it be moved as soon as possible.Converted to exhibit car in 2002. Houses railroad artifacts and displays.

Pullman Sleeper Car

Built in September 1942 by H.K. Porter Company for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - road no. 5006, Builders number 7486. It is a 50-ton saddle tank style Steam locomotive Sold to Oklahoma Gas &amp; Electric for use switching cars of coal at the Horse Shoe Power plant in Harrah, OK. Donated by OG&amp;E to ORM.Weight: 100,000 pounds.

Porter 0-6-0T

Built in 1878 by Wells and French for the Burlington &amp; Missouri River. Original Number was 10. Chicago Burlington &amp; Quincy number was 14107 and Burlington Northern number was 11021. Retired in 1973 and sold to George Shirk a former mayor of Oklahoma City who donated it to CORC, a predecessor organization to ORM in 1981. Believed to be the oldest way car in existence in Oklahoma.

Caboose

This building was the only building on the property when ORM acquired the land. It had been the office for a pipe and/or oil service company previously. The most recent owner of the property before the ORM acquired it used it for goats. This building was open to the goats and whatever else that wanted to use it. The ORM volunteers cleaned it out, restored it and added a second restroom.

Oklahoma Railway Museum

Oakwood Depot

Introduction

Images