In 1961, Mulhouse City Council offered land in Dornach to allow the SNCF to present their historical rolling stock, representative of the company's history.

As attendance declined, it was decided to transfer the collection to the group Culture Espaces, which was already in charge of the Cité de l'automobile (French national automobile museum) since 1999.

The French national, regional and departmental governments, as well as the City of Mulhouse, financed a renovation at a total cost of 8.6 million euros.

The architect François Seigneur designed an exhibition display named Le siècle d'or du chemin de fer (The golden century of railway), tracing historical events from 1860 to 1940, in a new hall nearly 6,000 square metres with 25 additional exhibits, bringing the total number in the museum to 103.

In the old renovated building, the emphasis is mostly placed on the instructional aspect of technology, explaining the mechanisms powering steam, diesel and electric locomotives and their development.