Kemper Railfan Park

06/06/2026

You have asked about Union Pacific Railroad’s Big Boy No. 4014, the largest operating steam locomotive in the world, and we have the answers.

The massive locomotive will travel both east and west along the old Nickel Plate Road mainline, now part of Norfolk Southern, through Ohio. That means it will come through Bellevue past our Kemper Rail Park twice!

Follow the link to our complete guide on how to safely see the Big Boy in Bellevue - https://madrivermuseum.org/kemper-rail-park/

Historically, the City of Bellevue was considered to be the Heart of the Nickel Plate as all east and westbound trains on the railroad passed through town. The Kemper Rail Park is located where the Nickel Plate Road, Wheeling & Lake Erie, New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad companies all crossed each other. Today it remains a vital railroad interchange point with tracks going in all directions of the compass.

Should you want to make a day of it the Museum will of course be open during the Big Boy’s time in Bellevue. At the Museum you can get up close and personal either all of our historic locomotives, rolling stock and so much more.

Plus you won’t want to miss the MR&NKP Museum 50th Anniversary Celebration on June 20th. There will be caboose rides!

https://madrivermuseum.org

06/02/2026

Norfolk Southern L11 passing Monday Evening 6/1/2026 around 8:21 P.M.

05/31/2026

Nickel Plate Road 765 rolling past the railfan park this evening, captured from a distance; apologies for the camera angle. We will secure a better position for next weekend when the UP 4014 Big Boy Locomotive passes the park next Saturday afternoon. Stay tuned for updates.

05/30/2026

NKP 765 will be eventually passing the Railfan park currently waiting on NS Traffic

05/16/2026

On Friday May 15th 2026 Union Pacific Railroad's "Pink Ribbon" happen to pass the Railfan Park around 7:30 P.M. this unit is a specially painted locomotive (UP No. 7400) created in 2010 to support breast cancer awareness and Susan G. Komen for the Cure

You will never know what to expect when you visit We Love to see your photos please feel free to tag us and we will reshare them with everyone

While you visit the Railfan Park stop and Visit the Museum this weekend

05/06/2026

Just a Reminder That The Kemper Railfan park and Properties of Mad River & NKP Are Smoke Free we want to make sure this is a safe environment for everyone
Thank you for your corporation
🚭

11/12/2025

On Tuesday, November 4th, Norfolk Southern 19M was positioned south of town, preparing to enter the yard, which featured not just one heritage unit but two. At the lead was Norfolk Southern 4602, followed by NS 8099 (The Southern), and trailed by NS 4851 (Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia Railway, also known as TAG).

11/03/2025

10/29/2025

09/23/2025

The Holiday Train is coming to Bellevue!

Like it or not the holidays are on the way which means ticket sales for our annual Holiday Train begin on Monday, September 29th.

Trains run from 12-5 pm on November 29 & 30, December 6, 7, 13 & 14. Tickets are just $7 per person regardless of age and includes a caboose ride, hot chocolate, cookies, and most importantly a visit with Santa Claus. All tickets are pre-sale.

To get all the details and to sign up for our email list to get notified as soon as the ticket link goes live visit - https://madrivermuseum.org/events/