Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum

Founded in the wake of the Canadian Railway Historical Association's creation in 1932, when members began amassing tens of thousands of documents and artifacts related to Canadian rail history, the Canadian Railway Museum—commercially known as Exporail—has progressively built the country's most important collection of railway equipment, now featuring over 160 locomotives, cars and streetcars, plus nearly 10,000 small objects and 400,000 archival documents. Located in Saint-Constant in the Montérégie region, the site offers a rare immersive learning experience in Quebec's museum landscape: beyond the static display of historic vehicles, visitors can board an authentic Montreal streetcar from the 1950s—the last of its kind in service before the city's complete streetcar network closure in 1959—take a passenger train excursion, or ride a charming miniature railway loop that families particularly love. Among the collection's crown jewels is the Royal Hudson locomotive, built in Montreal and honored to carry King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their cross-Canada tour of 1939, illustrating the historic importance the railway industry once held in Canada's economic and social development. Easily accessible by commuter train from Montreal's Vendôme Station, the museum makes for an ideal family getaway that combines seamlessly with a visit to the greater metropolitan area.