How do I get tickets to Midwest Central Railroad?

Tickets and current schedules are available on the operator's official website at http://www.mcrr.org.

Photo by Douglas W. Jones, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Midwest Central Railroad

MOUNT PLEASANT, IA

4.8· 64 Google reviews

Upcoming Events

No ticketed events are currently listed for Midwest Central Railroad. Many heritage operators publish schedules seasonally or run on regular open hours instead of dated events.

Check the operator’s website for current hours and special runs, or subscribe to event alerts and we’ll email you when something is scheduled.

About Midwest Central Railroad

A three‑foot narrow‑gauge steam railroad runs a clockwise, one‑mile loop through McMillan Park in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The line passes two stations—the historic Hillsboro depot with a Milwaukee Road signal tower at the north end and a newer wood‑frame/metal‑sided building at the south end—under an electrically signaled block system. Operational steam locomotives pull passenger cars along the scenic route, offering a concise heritage experience amid the Old Threshers Reunion grounds.

📍 MOUNT PLEASANT, IA 52641

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History

The Midwest Central Railroad is a three-foot narrow-gauge line that loops through McMillan Park in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on the Old Threshers Reunion grounds. Its route passes the historic Hillsboro depot, topped by a Milwaukee Road signal tower, under an electrically signaled block system.

The Trains

The Midwest Central Railroad runs a 1‑mile (1.6 km) clockwise loop of 3‑ft (914 mm) narrow‑gauge track in McMillan Park, with the north‑end station at the original Hillsboro, Iowa depot and a Milwaukee Road signal tower and the south‑end station in a newer wood‑frame/metal‑sided building. Its roster includes steam locomotives No. 6 (2‑6‑0 Baldwin, 1891), No. 9 (Class C 80‑ton three‑truck Shay, Lima, 1923), No. 16 (0‑4‑0 tank Henschel, 1951), No. 2 (2‑6‑0 Baldwin, 1906), Coahuila y Zacatecas No. 1 (2‑8‑0 Baldwin, 1897), Argent No. 1 (2‑6‑0 Porter, 1914), Plymouth diesels No. D14 and No. D9 (regauged from 3 ft 2 in), and Frederick Snare No. 2 (Vulcan Iron Works gasoline switcher), complemented by a Ford Model A fireman truck and a Ford Model T foreman truck; passenger cars are fabricated from Southern Pacific flat cars, East Broad Top coal hoppers or custom chassis, and the freight fleet includes three cabooses (a White Pass & Yukon all‑metal unit, the Bellevue & Cascade caboose #055 and a wooden caboose built on an SP flat‑car frame), D&RGW boxcars 3366 and 3007, a D&RGW gondola, and a range of D&RGW and WPYRR flat cars such as the restored D&RGW Nos 6216 and 6206.

Nearby

Set in Mount Pleasant, the Midwest Central Railroad is a working steam line worth a deliberate Iowa stop, especially during its threshers reunion season.