Canadian Railroad Historical Association

What Canadian Railroad Historical Association does

The Canadian Railroad Historical Association (Association canadienne d'histoire ferroviaire, ACHF) is a private non-profit charitable organization founded in 1932 and incorporated in 1941. It operates Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, located on a 50-acre site in Saint-Constant, Quebec, near the route of Canada's first railway line from 1836. The museum houses Canada's largest railway collection — more than 180 railway vehicles (steam locomotives, diesel-electric locomotives, 1892–1944 streetcars, passenger cars, freight wagons) and over 14,000 supporting artifacts — plus an accredited Archives Centre holding 1,619+ linear meters of textual documents, over one million iconographic items, and 4,142 hours of moving image footage.

Revenue is generated across multiple streams: museum admissions (adult $25, senior $22, child $13, family $68), annual subscriptions and ACHF memberships (CAD $33–$170), educational programming for preschool through secondary schools (including Exporail 360° virtual classrooms delivered via Zoom and Microsoft Teams), event and venue rentals (capacity up to 270), commercial filming and photography bookings, gift shop retail, and charitable donations through the ACHF Foundation (over CAD $3.1 million raised over twelve years). The organization operates with approximately 10 permanent employees, ~20 occasional staff, and 130 volunteers contributing over 21,000 hours annually, supported by core funding from the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec and Patrimoine canadien, plus financial and in-kind partnerships with CN, CP, VIA Rail, Exo, BAnQ, and others.

The underlying technology stack is deliberately limited: there is no proprietary software platform, no API surface, and no disclosed AI or machine learning capability. The core "technology" is operational — working historic rolling stock on 6 km of private track, a 7-track yard with turntable, and interactive installations such as a locomotive simulator and telegraph demonstrations. Distribution is hybrid and direct-to-consumer, combining walk-in admissions, third-party online ticketing (Shopico.ca, Mercado.fm), school-group outreach, tourism partnerships (Tourisme Montérégie, exo commuter rail, REM), and venue-rental sales channels.

Name

Canadian Railroad Historical Association

Legal name

Association canadienne d'histoire ferrovite (ACHF)

Website

https://exporail.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Canadian Railroad Historical Association (ACHF) operates Exporail, Canada's largest railway museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec, preserving 180+ railway vehicles and a 1.6 km archival collection while serving general public visitors, school groups, film productions, and corporate event clients through admissions, education, rentals, and charitable donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railway Heritage Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

History Museums (THAJADAB), Tourist/Scenic/Heritage Passenger Rail Operators (TLAFADAG), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Railway museum operations
• Heritage preservation services
• Educational museum programs
• Museum venue rentals
• Railway archival services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-Constant

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Museum Admissions: Revenue from daily admission fees charged to visitors. Adult tickets are $25, seniors $22, children $13, and family packages $68. Annual subscriptions range from $33 to $170 depending on membership tier.
2. Event and Venue Rentals: Revenue from renting museum spaces for private events, corporate functions, children's birthday parties, and commercial filming/photography sessions. Spaces include the Grande Galerie, mezzanine, meeting rooms, and historic rail vehicles.
3. Educational Programs: Revenue from school group visits, day camp programs, and virtual classroom sessions. The museum hosts educational groups year-round with specialized curriculum-aligned programming for preschool through secondary levels.
4. Donations and Fundraising: The museum operates as a registered charitable non-profit and receives donations through annual campaigns, major gift campaigns, and the ACHF Foundation. Annual fundraising objectives have ranged from $100,000 to $125,000.
5. Retail (Boutique): Revenue from the museum gift shop selling railway-themed merchandise including books, clothing, souvenirs, and games.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Canadian Railroad Historical Association operates Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, Canada's largest railway museum. It preserves and exhibits over 180 historic railway vehicles and 14,000+ artifacts on a 50-acre site with operational heritage rides, delivers curriculum-aligned educational programs for school groups, rents museum spaces for corporate events and commercial filming, and maintains a nationally accredited railway archives centre. Revenue is generated from admissions, memberships, donations, event rentals, educational fees, and a gift shop.

Product overview

Exporail operates as a unified museum experience combining eight permanent exhibitions, rotating temporary exhibitions, and virtual offerings. The core product portfolio includes life-size railway vehicle exhibitions (179 vehicles, 8 simultaneous exhibitions, 453 accessible archive collections, 130 passionate volunteers), educational programs for all school levels, interactive activities such as tramway rides, miniature train rides, locomotive simulator, and steam locomotive experiences. Space rental services enable corporate events, filming, and private celebrations. The Archives and Documentation Centre preserves Canada's largest railway collection. The ACHF membership program with Rail Canadien magazine provides ongoing engagement for railway enthusiasts. All offerings are interconnected through the museum's mission of preserving and interpreting Canadian railway heritage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rail Canadien: A specialized quarterly journal on Canadian railway history featuring historical articles, essays, and illustrated stories about pan-Canadian, regional, and urban railways, distributed to ACHF members.
• Exporail 360
• CRHA Foundation / Fondation de l'ACHF

Products and services

• Exporail – The Canadian Railway Museum (Museum Admissions)
• Exhibitions (Permanent and Temporary)
• Virtual Exhibitions (Exporail Virtuel)
• Educational Programs (School Visits and Day Camps)
• Exporail 360° Virtual Classroom
• Museum Activities (Heritage Rides and Experiences)
• Balade à Vapeur – Voiture Claude Lesage (Steam Train Ride)
• Space Rentals (Event Venues)
• Commercial Filming and Photography Services
• Children's Birthday Parties
• Archives and Documentation Centre Research Services
• ACHF Membership Program with Rail Canadien Magazine
• Museum Gift Shop (Boutique)

Quantifiable outcome

• National Museum status pursued since 2007 with Parliament motion supporting recognition
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• VIA Rail CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVIA Rail Canada is listed as a project supporter and partner in Exporail's activities and preservation efforts.
• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBAnQ provides core operational support and granted official accreditation to the ACHF Archives Centre as a Private Aggregated Archive Service in 2008. Joint preservation efforts for Canadian railway heritage.
• Ville de Saint-ConstantminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe municipality provides support to Exporail as the host city of Canada's largest railway museum.
• Ville de DelsonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe neighboring municipality provides support to Exporail's operations.
• Exo (Réseau de transport métropolitain)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransit authority enables visitor access via Saint-Constant commuter rail station. Special arrangement allows Exporail visitors to use trains in unique wayfinding arrangement.
• Société de transport de Montréal (STM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTM is listed as a project supporter. Museum preserves Montreal tramway heritage from MTC era.
• Opération GareautrainminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRailway safety organization partnered with Exporail to produce the 'Arrête, regarde, écoute: train en vue?' safety exhibition for children ages 3-7.
• Rapido TrainsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorModel railway manufacturer listed as a project supporter, representing a manufacturer partnership in the railway modeling community.
• Association des chemins de fer du CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational railway association is listed as a project supporter, representing the broader Canadian railway industry.
• Bibliothèque et Archives CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal archives institution provides project support and collaboration for Canadian railway heritage preservation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum: German transportation museum in Munich covering rail, road, and water transport. Comparable as a large-scale specialty transportation museum with active vehicle exhibits and educational programming.
• Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace: Major European transportation-themed museum at Le Bourget focused on aviation heritage. Comparable as a specialty museum with operating historical vehicles, large visitor base, and educational programming.
• Canada Science and Technology Museum: National museum in Ottawa focused on science and technology including transportation heritage. Comparable in Canadian federal museum context and in curating transportation/industrial artifacts for public education.
• Canadian Museum of History: Canada's national museum of human history in Gatineau. Comparable as a federally-supported cultural institution competing for the same National Museum recognition status and federal funding that Exporail is pursuing.

Direct peers

• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania-state-affiliated railway museum preserving a major collection of historic locomotives and rolling stock. Direct peer in scope, collection size, and educational programming model.
• National Railway Museum: The world's largest railway museum located in York, UK. Direct peer in mission: operating a heritage railway collection with active restoration programs, educational programming, and visitor rides on vintage rolling stock.
• Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum: Specialty heritage museum in Hamilton, Ontario preserving and operating vintage aircraft with a similar non-profit membership-supported model, operating-vehicle mandate, and educational programming structure.
• Steamtown National Historic Site: U.S. National Park Service site in Scranton, Pennsylvania focused on steam-era railroading with operating locomotives and a heritage rail yard. Direct peer combining a heritage rail collection, working turntable/yard, and educational mission.
• Heritage Park Historical Village: Major Canadian living-history attraction in Calgary featuring operational heritage vehicles including a steam train and antique streetcars. Highly comparable as a Canadian heritage attraction monetizing historic transportation assets.
• California State Railroad Museum: A major North American railway museum in Sacramento operating under California State Parks. Direct peer in exhibiting a full-size railway vehicle collection with rideable trains and curriculum-aligned school programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Exporail
• Instagraminstagram.com/exporail_qc_canada

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Canadian Railroad Historical Association