Train Urns

This collection of train urns is for the person who found joy in the sound of a passing engine or the steady focus of a basement model railroad. Each cast aluminum piece features engraved train artwork and is available in various painted finishes or hand-applied enamel with silver bands. To suit your family, we offer full-size, sharing, and keepsake sizes. We can also provide two-tone engraving of a name and dates directly into the metal.

These railroad memorial urns honor a life that encouraged others to stop and watch.

You may remember them as the person who never minded waiting at a crossing. They were the one who would pull over just so the grandchildren could count the cars as the freight rolled through town, or the one who spent quiet winters in the basement, tending to a model railroad that grew more intricate every year.

A train is one of the few machines that still makes people stop and look. It is long, it is loud, and it always has somewhere to go. There is a certain gravity to its movement that commands attention, an unmistakable presence that draws the eye as it passes by.

For some, this connection was a lifelong vocation. They might have spent decades reading a grade by feel or recognizing an engine simply by the unique sound it made. Whether it was a career or a dedicated hobby, they lived with a focus that mirrored the steady, rhythmic movement of the tracks, teaching those around them to slow down and observe.

The artwork on these train urns is engraved into cast aluminum, ensuring the design remains a permanent part of the piece. The collection offers a variety of finishes, from several painted colors to a hand-applied enamel that features hand-detailed silver bands. Each piece is finished with a threaded screw-top lid and a felt base.

The collection comes in full-size, sharing, and keepsake sizes, so a family can choose one piece or several. To make the piece even more personal, we offer the option of a two-tone engraving of a name and dates, cutting the information directly into the metal so it becomes part of the memorial itself.

On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory, a golden spike was driven to mark the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. This joined the Central Pacific from Sacramento with the Union Pacific from Omaha. The spike itself was pulled back out the same day and is displayed today at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.

The line it finished carried the country for a century. For a family, the design on the urn is the sound the person always stopped for, and the people they taught to listen.

Source: Wikipedia, Golden spike

If the person you remember was the one who identified an engine by its distinct rhythm, or the one who found quiet contentment in a miniature layout, this design serves as a silent tribute. It is a way for a friend or a grandchild to recognize the person who taught them to watch the line and wait.

The choice of which piece to keep belongs to you and the unique way you hold their memory. The stillness at a railroad crossing still calls that life to mind.

Our guide to selecting the right size urn