Tennessee Central Railway Museum

Legal name: Tennessee Central Railway Museum and Model Railroad Club

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
621421206
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Nashville, TN, US
Phone
(615) 244-9001
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,307,142
Expenses
$625,869
Assets
$4,875,103
Liabilities
$11,993

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TERRY BEBOUT (PRESIDENT)
  • ALLEN HICKS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GENE TURNAGE (DIRECTOR): $26,715 total reported compensation
  • TERRY BEBOUT (PRESIDENT): $9,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to preserve, restore, interpret, and operate historic railroad equipment to educate our guests about America's railroads.

What it reported doing in 2024

Museum operations - located in the former Tennessee central railway master mechanic's office, the museum houses offices, a library, a gift shop and a collection of railroad material including one of the largest collections of Tennessee central railway artifacts to be found. Business meetings for members, guests and general public are also held. Approximately 10,500 passengers and 1500 guests visited the grounds of the organization during 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 45.2%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 96.9%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 52.1%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.79; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.7%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 45.2% of revenue deployed · 96.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $606K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $27K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.