Exporail

Name

Exporail

Legal name

Association canadienne d'histoire routière (ACHF)

Website

https://exporail.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heritage Railway Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Railway museum services
• Heritage preservation
• Educational programs
• Archival services
• Museum venue rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Quebec

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission Tickets: Individual and family admission fees for museum entry. Pricing varies by age category (adult, senior, child, family). Additional fees for premium activities like tram rides and miniature train rides.
2. Annual Memberships: ACHF membership providing unlimited access to the museum, Rail Canadien magazine (4 issues), newsletters, and discounts at the boutique and archives centre. Members receive free admission and various benefits.
3. Educational Programs: Guided school tours for preschool through secondary levels, day camps, francization groups. Virtual visits (Exporail 360°) at $150 per class. Programs aligned with Quebec education curriculum.
4. Venue and Space Rentals: Rental of exhibition spaces, the Grande Galerie, mezzanine, meeting rooms, the Canada function car, and the Stephen Low projection room for corporate events, banquets, conferences, and film shoots.
5. Film and Photography Production: Commercial filming and photography sessions at the museum's unique railway heritage site with period vehicles, yards, and historic stations.
6. Boutique Sales: Gift shop selling railway-themed merchandise including books, clothing, souvenirs, and games.
7. Donations and Fundraising: Annual fundraising campaigns, major campaigns for specific restoration projects, and donations through the ACHF Foundation. The museum is a registered charity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Exporail operates Canada's largest railway museum on a 50-acre site in Saint-Constant, Quebec, presenting over 180 railway vehicles across eight permanent exhibitions and rotating temporary exhibitions. The museum offers immersive heritage experiences including steam train rides aboard the John Molson locomotive, vintage tramway rides, a miniature railway, educational programs for school groups (including live virtual Exporail 360° tours), venue rentals for corporate events and film productions, children's birthday parties, retail boutique sales, and access to the largest railway archives in Canada operated under the Association canadienne d'histoire ferroviaire (ACHF).

Product overview

Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, operates as a living museum offering a diverse portfolio of products and services centered on railway heritage preservation and education. The core offerings include permanent and temporary exhibitions showcasing over 179 life-size railway vehicles across 8 simultaneous exhibitions, complemented by immersive visitor experiences such as steam locomotive rides, vintage tramway rides, and a miniature railway. Educational programming serves school groups from preschool through secondary levels, including day camps and the Exporail 360° virtual classroom. Event services encompass space rentals for up to 270 guests, commercial filming locations, and children's birthday parties. Supporting infrastructure includes the largest railway archive in Canada with extensive collections and the Rail Canadien quarterly journal. The museum is governed by the Canadian Railroad Historical Association (ACHF) and operates year-round with seasonal outdoor activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Permanent Exhibitions Eight permanent exhibitions displayed simultaneously covering railway history, miniature trains, railway yards, archives, and vehicle reserves across the museum's galleries, intended for general public visitors, families, and tourists.
• Temporary Exhibitions Rotating exhibitions on display for limited periods featuring specific themes from railway history, such as Sir William Cornelius Van Horne's art collection.
• Steam Train Ride (Locomotive John Molson) Operating steam locomotive experiences aboard the John Molson locomotive with passenger cars including the Claude Lesage car, offering tourist rides on museum grounds during the summer season.
• Tramway Rides Vintage streetcar rides operating from May to November, offering outdoor transportation experience on museum grounds with historic Montreal tramway vehicles.
• Miniature Railway HO scale (1/87) model railway layout measuring 4.87m by 12.5m featuring a classification yard, factories, a mine, and a small Canadian town, built by volunteers.
• Locomotive Driving Simulator Interactive simulator allowing visitors to experience operating a locomotive, providing hands-on railway education.
• Educational Programs School group visits adapted by grade level (preschool through secondary), including day camps, francization programs, and guided tours aligned with Quebec curriculum for social studies, technology, and citizenship education.
• Exporail 360° Virtual Classroom Live virtual museum tours via Zoom or Microsoft Teams for primary school classes (50 minutes), led by museum educators exploring railway vehicles and history, at $150 per class.
• Space Rentals and Event Hosting Rental of museum spaces including the Grande Galerie, mezzanine, Canada function car, council room, and multifunctional rooms for corporate events, banquets, and conferences up to 270 people.
• Commercial Filming and Photography Film and photography location rentals featuring authentic railway vehicles, period settings, switching yard, turntable, historic stations, and 50 acres of grounds for commercial productions.
• Children's Birthday Parties Train-themed birthday party packages where children become 'cheminots' (railway workers), explore vehicles, and enjoy rides on tramways and miniature railways, designed for children aged 4 and up.
• Gift Shop (Boutique) Retail boutique offering railway-themed merchandise including clothing, books, souvenirs, games, beverages, and snacks, located on the museum grounds.
• Archives and Documentation Centre Canada's largest railway archives with 1,619.68 linear meters of textual documents, over 1 million iconographic documents, 209,261 maps and plans, 361 hours of sound recordings, and 4,142 hours of video footage, accredited by BAnQ.
• Rail Canadien Magazine Quarterly specialized journal on Canadian railway history featuring articles, essays, and illustrated stories distributed to ACHF members worldwide as part of annual membership.
• ACHF Membership Annual membership in the Canadian Railroad Historical Association providing unlimited museum access, Rail Canadien magazine (4 issues per year), newsletters, 10% boutique discount, and archival access.
• Exporail Virtuel (Virtual Exhibitions) Virtual museum experience allowing remote visitors to explore exhibitions, view vehicle interiors through nine virtual capsules, and watch documentaries about railway history.

Quantifiable outcome

• 21,000+ volunteer hours contributed annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du QuébeccoreOthersPrincipal funder of regular museum activities along with Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)coreOthersPrincipal funder of regular museum activities. Granted accreditation to the ACHF Archive Centre as a Private Archive Service (SAPA) in 2008.
• CN (Canadian National Railway)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor railway partner providing financial support for exhibitions and operations. CN was a donor for the 'Arrête, regarde, écoute' safety exhibition and provided a vehicle for the 60th anniversary restoration campaign.
• CP (Canadian Pacific Railway)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor railway partner supporting the ACHF Foundation. Key contributor to the museum's preservation efforts.
• VIA Rail CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting railway heritage preservation.
• Exo (formerly Agence métropolitaine de transport)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic transit authority providing commuter rail access to the museum via Saint-Constant station. Partner for special train services for museum visitors.
• Société de transport de Montréal (STM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMontreal transit authority, partner for metro-related exhibitions including AZUR metro car display.
• Opéra Gareautrain (Operation Lifesaver)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRailway safety awareness organization. Collaborated on the 'Arrête, regarde, écoute' permanent safety exhibition for children aged 3-7.
• Ministère du Patrimoine canadienminorOthersFederal government department supporting special projects and educational initiatives.
• Bibliothèque et Archives CanadaminorOthersFederal archives institution supporting special projects.
• Ville de Saint-ConstantcoreOthersHost municipality providing ongoing support to the museum.
• Ville de DelsonminorOthersNeighboring municipality providing support to the museum.
• Rapido TrainsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerModel railway manufacturer partner supporting the museum.
• Municipalité régionale de comte (MRC) de RoussillonminorOthersRegional county municipality supporting museum projects.
• Association des chemins de fer du CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational railway association partner supporting Canadian railway heritage.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Railway Museum (York): The UK's national railway museum and one of the world's most-visited heritage railway institutions. Directly comparable as a major non-government railway museum operating extensive heritage vehicle collections and educational/public programming at a flagship site.
• Illinois Railway Museum: One of the largest railway museums in the United States, preserving and operating heritage rail equipment (steam, diesel, electric) with significant volunteer involvement. Mirrors Exporail's combination of static exhibits plus operational heritage rides on private track.
• Canadian Railway Museum (CRM) advocates and corridor initiatives: Closely related railway heritage initiatives across Canada organized under the Railway Association of Canada. Comparable as adjacent railway heritage non-profits with overlapping volunteer populations and corporate sponsorship pools (CN/CP).

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Museum of History: Canada's national history museum located in the National Capital Region. Comparable as a federally-backed cultural institution delivering large-scale exhibitions, educational programming, and special events, but with a much broader historical mandate than Exporail's railway specialization.
• Royal Ontario Museum: Major Canadian museum with broad curatorial scope. Comparable as a large Canadian cultural institution relying on government support, memberships, and educational programming, though operating at much greater scale with very different subject matter.
• Ontario Science Centre: Major Canadian science museum with hands-on interactive exhibits including transportation-themed installations. Comparable in its education-first operating model, school-group programming, and government-supported nonprofit structure, though not railway-specific.

Emerging players

• Heritage Park Historical Village: Calgary-based living history museum featuring historical buildings and operating heritage transportation including a steam train. Comparable as a Western Canadian heritage attraction combining museum operations with functioning historic vehicle rides.

Regional players

• Musée de la civilisation (Quebec City): Provincial museum in Quebec City operated with Quebec government support. Comparable as a Quebec heritage institution with similar provincial funding structure, education mandate, and trilingual/cultural programming audience.
• Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21: National museum in Halifax focused on immigration history with strong educational programming. Comparable as a federally-designated Canadian museum with similar educational school-group vertical and BAnQ/curatorial parallels to Exporail's archive.

Others

• Steam Whistle Brewing: Toronto-based brewery housed in a historic roundhouse and strongly tied to Canadian railway heritage branding. Comparable as an adjacent operator monetizing railway heritage assets (though in hospitality rather than museum form) with similar CN/CP-aligned corporate ecosystem support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user98466054
• Facebookfacebook.com/Exporail
• Instagraminstagram.com/exporail_qc_canada
• Xx.com/Exporail

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Exporail