Jerry Jacobson retired in 2008 from the railroad industry, selling his entire 525-mile OCRS freight railroad. However, Jerry kept all the old equipment, especially the steamers. Needing a place to safely house and restore his old-timers, Jerry acquired 34 acres of land adjacent to the OC track and constructed his Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum. He built two miles of storage tracks, a depot, store house, coal loader, wood water tank, ash pit, back shop and, the jewel of the site, a working, 18-stall brick roundhouse that surrounds a 115-foot turntable. This was the first full-sized working roundhouse built in the U.S. since 1951.

The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum has three roles: maintaining its roster of 23 steamers, teaching future generations these fast-disappearing job skills, and bringing America’s railroad history alive.

Click here for our Mission Statement

The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum was constructed and is maintained with private funds donated by the Jerry and Laura Jacobson Foundation, Inc., a tax-exempt educational 501(c)(3) entity.