The National New York Central Railroad Museum, located in Elkhart, Ind., recaptures the glory days when the America's railroads were symbols of progress and goodwill ambassadors across the country. The Museum was founded in 1987 and is an ever-growing preservation site of both local and national railroad heritage pertaining to the New York Central System. The New York Central was once the second-largest railroad in the United States, with 11,000 route miles of track in eleven states and two Canadian provinces. Elkhart is a natural home for the Museum: the New York Central's Robert R. Young Yard (now Norfolk Southern Railway's Elkhart Yard) is the largest railroad freight classification yard east of the Mississippi River. Just as when the railroad first arrived in Elkhart in 1851, Elkhart functions as a vital link in the chain connecting the Atlantic Seaboard with the Midwest and beyond.

The Museum's goal is to tell the story of the vast New York Central System, and its predecessors and successors into the modern era.