FAQs

The North Shore Scenic Railroad and Lake Superior Railroad Museum feature and utilize historic artifacts for display and operation. The coaches used on the North Shore Scenic Railroad are older and most were not designed to be wheelchair accessible. The Railroad does have wheelchair accessibility via a lift at the Duluth Station, which is used to allow access to the baggage/concession car of the train where staff members are present. Patrons in wheelchairs cannot access any other cars than the baggage/concession area due to limited space between the train car connections. Restrooms are not available because of this at any time during the ride. Windows and open doors are available, as well as access to refreshments in the concession car. Guests can ride along in this section on folding chairs.

The railroad offers wheelchair accessibility on the Duluth Zephyr Excursion and Music & Pizza Train only, on a regular basis. All other trains require steps to board or deboard the train.

Patrons with limited mobility (and elderly) can be helped onto and off of the traincars with staff members present to assist. Train cars have approximately 4 steps to board/deboard.

At this time there is not a lift at the Two Harbors station. This means wheelchairs cannot be offloaded in Two Harbors. In order to make sure we can accommodate you promptly upon your arrival, please call the North Shore Scenic Railroad ticket office at (218)-722-1273.

Inside the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, patrons of any mobility can view most of the exhibits from the cobblestone brick (uneven, but still fully accessible) historic train platforms. There are options to read, or in some cases can dial into an audio tour, about our preserved train equipment. The Depot Square exhibit, the Zelda Theater, the gift shop, and the ice cream shop are all fully accessible.

There are no restaurants in the Duluth Depot. There are only a few within walking distance. The Depot and trains have light snacks (candy/chips) available for purchase.

Depends on the excursion you choose. Our daily Duluth Zephyr trip goes about six miles up the track to the Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth. The Music and Pizza train and the Summer Barbecue train travel up to around Knife River, about 17 miles, before heading back to the Depot. A full routemap can be found here.

Yes. Restrooms are available on all excursions, except holiday/Christmas winter short trips

Pets are not allowed on any excursions or in the museum. Service animals, as defined by the Americans with disabilities act (ada), are allowed in/on trains and Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities – such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. This does not include therapy or emotional support dogs.

The trains operate rain or shine.

You are welcome to bring snacks and nonalcoholic beverages on the train. However, we do have a concession car where those items will be available and we encourage passengers to take advantage of that.

Strollers are not permitted on the trains due to space limitations. The operating conductor on duty has the authority to approve or deny the loading of any items such as strollers, bags, suitcases, etc. Strollers are suggested to be left in a vehicle or at the station, where they can be parked near the ticket office for pickup after the excursion.

Seating is not assigned for most excursions, and works on a first come, first served basis. You are welcome to sit with any other groups you come with. Seats are assigned on dinner trains and some first-class trips.

There is parking for RV’s located across the highway from the Depot at the DECC (Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center). It is about a 10-15 minute walk away. More information can be found here.

There are two paid parking ramps on both sides of the Duluth Depot building. There are pay stations at the edge of each ramp, these are operated by the City of Duluth. Follow signs accordingly. More information and directions can be found here.