Cincinnati Railroad Club

Saturday, October 25, 2025 – Club Room Open House & Book Sale
2025-10-25 16:30 - 21:30 (America/Detroit) | Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45203, United States
Explore the Cincinnati Railroad Club & Historic Tower A!
Date: Saturday, October 25, 2025 Time: 5:00 PM – 9:30 PM Location: Cincinnati Railroad Club Room, 3rd Floor, Cincinnati Museum Center (Union Terminal)
Can’t make our regular Thursday meetings? Don’t let a busy schedule keep you from experiencing the heart of Cincinnati’s railroad history!
Join us for a special Saturday evening open house. We’re opening our doors for you to explore our unique club room and, most excitingly, to visit the legendary Tower A.
What to Expect

Browse Our Collection: Discover our vast collection of railroad books, with many available for purchase. It’s the perfect place to expand your library or find a unique gift.
Relax in the Club Room: Unwind in our welcoming club room, a true haven for rail enthusiasts.
Visit Historic Tower A: From the club room, you’ll head up a short flight of stairs to the legendary Tower A, which will be open exclusively for this event.
See Stunning Views: Prepare to be captivated by breathtaking, panoramic views of the bustling Cincinnati railroad yards. It’s an experience that truly brings the history of railroading to life.

How to Find Us
Finding the Cincinnati Railroad Club room inside the Cincinnati Museum Center (Union Terminal) is easy:

Enter the Cincinnati Museum Center and head straight across the main concourse.
Look for the restrooms on your left.
Directly opposite the restrooms, on your right, you will spot a small alcove with an elevator.
Take this elevator up to the 3rd floor.
When the elevator doors open, our club room will be immediately on your right.

We look forward to welcoming you!

115 years ahead of its time, or what are those rails during under Bluffton's Main Street?
2025-11-06 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Detroit)
The Cincinnati Railroad Club & Fred Steiner Presents – 115 years ahead of its time, or what are those rails during under Bluffton’s Main Street?
PowerPoint presentation with maps, photos, timetables, and interesting stories, focusing on three railroads intersecting in Bluffton, Ohio, located in Allen County, between Lima and Findlay. The story reveals how railroads helped a small village grow during the Oil Boom of the 1890s-1900s and expand it connections in the United States.
The three rail lines are:
• Lake Erie and Western, later Nickel Plate Road, today Norfolk Southern
• Northern Ohio Railroad, eventually Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad
• Western Ohio (interurban)
Railroad Program includes:
• Paper handouts listing historical data involving railroads in Bluffton
About the speaker:
Railroads became a fourth grade obsession with me, when my teacher handed me a list of all the Class I railroads in the U.S. Soon, when other friends were memorizing sports statistics and collecting baseball cards I was writing to railroads, collecting timetables. As the editor of my hometown newspaper and later an on-line news website that I created I researched news articles about these railroads and interviewed men who worked on them. I’ve authored five history books on Bluffton, Ohio, and have included several railroad references in them.
All Cincinnati Railroad Club meetings are held in the Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center and are open to the public at no charge. We’ll begin the evening at 7:30 pm with brief club updates & announcements, followed by our featured program presentation at 8:00 pm. Parking will be validated for attendees parking in the Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center parking lots.
Directions to Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal:
Enter through Union Terminal’s main entrance into the rotunda, turn left toward the Cincinnati History Museum, and the Newsreel Theater doors will be on your left between the escalator and the History Museum. Just look for our club banner outside the door. Again, the meeting begins at 7:30 pm with our featured program starting at 8:00 pm

Daniel Hadley Presents: “Becoming A Professional Railfan
2025-12-04 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Merging a person’s hobby and their profession is not always easy.
A major railfan video producer was looking to expand, and we found one another at an opportune time. The program explains how this came about and explores many of the videos I produced. The program was originally done for The Center for Railroad Photography and Art. One aspect requested was that I speak about the differences between shooting stills and video. Now that’s a real can of worms, but I believe there’s an answer here.
About our speaker
As far back as I can remember, I’ve been interested in railroading. I owe that to my father who, though not a railfan in the modern sense, seemed to enjoy taking me down to the roundhouse, station, or switching tower. An early memory was being lifted into the cab of a steam locomotive and seeing the gates of hell open as the fireman shoveled coal. I was hooked!
In college, I majored in Broadcast Communication Arts and worked at various TV jobs. In 1980, I landed at WLS TV in Chicago where I worked directly for the ABC television network, doing segments for Good Morning America, Nightline, and local news. In 1990, that came to a screeching halt when ABC began layoffs. Being an avid railroad photographer and a professional videographer and editor, I decided to try marrying these two aspects of my life and, amazingly, it worked.

All Cincinnati Railroad Club meetings are held in the Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center and are open to the public at no charge. We’ll begin the evening at 7:30 pm with brief club updates & announcements, followed by our featured program presentation at 8:00 pm. Parking will be validated for attendees parking in the Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center parking lots.
Directions to Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal:
Enter through Union Terminal’s main entrance into the rotunda, turn left toward the Cincinnati History Museum, and the Newsreel Theater doors will be on your left between the escalator and the History Museum. Again, the meeting begins at 7:30 pm with our featured program will start at 8:00 pm

Josh Cohen Presents: How I've Been Able to Photograph Two Small Railroads and Keep it Interesting
2026-01-08 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
My discussion will cover my last seven years of photographing the Youngstown Steel Heritage Museum and the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum. I will demonstrate how I document these locations by using light, weather, and people to create diverse and compelling images that change over time, even within the constraints of small spaces.
About the Speaker, Josh Cohen:
I have loved trains since birth. My first Lionel train, gifted to me by my dad’s best friend, set me on a path toward railroad photography and preservation.
I am most proud of my time as a fireman on the J&L Narrow Gauge Railroad. I enjoy the challenge of switching cars, whether I’m working on my model railroad or operating full-size trains. My passion is photographing steam locomotives, and the most rewarding part of this work is sharing it with friends.
About the meetings
All Cincinnati Railroad Club meetings are held in the Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center and are open to the public at no charge. We’ll begin the evening at 7:30 pm with brief club updates & announcements, followed by our featured program presentation at 8:00 pm. Parking will be validated for attendees parking in the Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center parking lots.
Directions to Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal:
Enter through Union Terminal’s main entrance into the rotunda, turn left toward the Cincinnati History Museum, and the Newsreel Theater doors will be on your left between the escalator and the History Museum. Just look for our club banner outside the door. Again, the meeting begins at 7:30 pm with our featured program starting at 8:00 pm

Photographing the Long Island Rail Road | February 2026
2026-02-05 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Long Island native Joe Stroppel shares his photography of the Long Island Rail Road, the busiest commuter rail system in North America. Visit busy stations and interlockings at the outer reaches of New York City, travel to scenic landscapes of the North and South Fork, and explore the LIRR’s rapidly changing infrastructure – including its endangered PRR-style Position Light signals, control towers, and stretches of non-signaled dark territory.
About the speaker
Joe Stroppel was born in Glen Cove, NY, on the North Shore of Long Island. He lived only a few blocks from the Oyster Bay Branch, which is where his fascination with the railroad began. On weekends, his mother would take little Joe on train rides to Oyster Bay. At age 13, he got his first camera, and he’s been photographing the LIRR ever since. Joe was one of the youngest docents to attend the Center for Railroad Photography & Art (CRP&A)’s Conversations conference in 2016, and he returned on another scholarship in 2025. His favorite aspects of the hobby include railroad photography, the sounds of the railroad (especially train horns), and train travel. Outside of the railroad hobby, Joe is a classically-trained singer and actor, and he performs around the New York City area.
About the meetings
All Cincinnati Railroad Club meetings are held in the Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center and are open to the public at no charge. We’ll begin the evening at 7:30 pm with brief club updates & announcements, followed by our featured program presentation at 8:00 pm. Parking will be validated for attendees parking in the Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center parking lots.
Directions to Newsreel Theater at Union Terminal:
Enter through Union Terminal’s main entrance into the rotunda, turn left toward the Cincinnati History Museum, and the Newsreel Theater doors will be on your left between the escalator and the History Museum. Just look for our club banner outside the door. Again, the meeting begins at 7:30 pm with our featured program starting at 8:00 pm
