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National Museum of Transportation

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Coordinates: 38°34′19″N 90°27′43″W / 38.572°N 90.462°W / 38.572; -90.462
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National Museum of Transportation
A Burlington Zephyr and a Frisco 2-10-0 on display at the National Museum of Transportation.
Overview
HeadquartersKirkwood, Missouri, U.S.
Reporting markMOTX
LocaleGreater St. Louis, U.S.
Dates of operation1944 (1944)–Present
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Other
Websitewww.transportmuseumassociation.org

The National Museum of Transportation (TNMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944,[1] it restores, preserves, and displays a wide variety of vehicles spanning 15 decades of American history: cars, boats, aircraft, and in particular, locomotives and railroad equipment from around the United States. The museum is also home to a research library of transportation-related memorabilia and documents.

At the southwest corner of the property is West Barretts Tunnel. Built in 1853, it is one of a pair of tunnels that were the first to operate west of the Mississippi River.[2] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The museum has its own railway spur to an active main line formerly owned by the Missouri Pacific Railroad, now by the Union Pacific Railroad. This has allowed the museum to take possession of large and unusual pieces of railroad equipment. A miniature railroad operates around a loop of track near the parking lot and a full-sized restored trolley operates Thursday–Sunday from March through December.

Vehicles and equipment

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Trolleys

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The Neil F. Norkaitis Demonstration Trolley Line was originally established in the 1990s. After the museum acquired SLPS #1743 from the San Francisco Municipal Railway, a group of volunteers installed approximately 1,000 feet of overhead wire above a section of the former Union Pacific mainline near the Abbott Building, allowing restored historical trolleys to operate[3]. In 1998, PTC #2740 was fully restored by Museum of Transportation Trolley Volunteers(MTTV) and added to the operating fleet, while #1743 was placed in storage.[4].

In 1997, MTTV began renovating Water Works #10[5]. Although the project was initially intended to be cosmetic, the group decided to undertake a full operational rebuild due to the trolley’s relatively good condition despite decades of inactivity.[6]. After three and a half years of work, #10 became operational once again[5]. On Memorial Day 2001, it ran for the first time in 46 years[7]; by the summer of 2002, it had joined MTTV’s active fleet[6].

Originally, the demonstration trolley line was a straight route, requiring trolleys to travel back and forth. When MTTV acquired some tracks from a streetcar loop in Boston, volunteers opted to add a loop at the east end[3]. Construction began in spring 2002 and was completed in March 2003[8]. As a result, all trolleys except #2740 can run around the loop and back from the direction it came. Around the same time, a high-level platform was built in front of the Roberts Pavilion to accommodate the newly acquired CTA rapid transit car #44 for passenger loading and unloading.

In 2011, MTTV initiated a track extension project intended to connect the line to the Lindburg Automobile Center. As of 2025, this extension remains under construction, but once completed, visitors will be able to travel by trolley between the Roberts building and the automobile building[9]. On May 21, 2016, SLPS #1743 returned to service on the 50th anniversary of the end of streetcar operations in St. Louis[10]. In 2024, the line was officially named the Neil F. Norkaitis Demonstration Trolley Line in honor of the former trolley operations director.[11].

operational trolleys

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No. Image Type Builder Built Former Operator Acquired Restored Current Status Refs.
1743 PCC streetcar St. Louis Car Company 1946 St. Louis Public Service Company, MUNI 1990 1990's Under repair [12]
2740 PCC streetcar St. Louis Car Company 1947 Philadelphia Transportation Company 1995 1998 In operation [13]
10 suburban trolley St. Louis Car Company 1914 St. Louis Waterworks 1957 2001 Under repair [6]
44 CTA 1-50 series St. Louis Car Company 1960 Chicago Transit Authority 1998 2000 In operation [14]
1533 Birney Safety Car American Car Company 1919 Kansas City Public Service Company 1949 - Under restoration [15]

static displayed trolleys

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  • Bi-State Development Agency No. 165
  • Bi-State Development Agency No. 1664
  • Bi-State Development Agency No. 215
  • Bi-State Development Agency No. 60
  • Illinois Terminal Railroad No. 104
  • Illinois Terminal Railroad No. 410
  • Illinois Traction System No. 241
  • Purdue University No. 2611
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 1001
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 1005
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 215
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 2250
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 426
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 615
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 850
  • St. Louis Public Service Company No. 894
  • St. Louis Waterworks Railway No. #17


Railroad

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The museum's grounds include Barretts Tunnel, one of the first railroad tunnels west of the Mississippi River.

Among its railroad items are:[16]

Automobiles

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The engine compartment of a 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car displayed inside the museum.

The Earl C. Lindburg Automotive Center contains 25 vehicles,[18] including:

Boats and aircraft

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On display are a Missouri River towboat and two airplanes: a C-47 Skytrain at the main gate and a T-33 Shooting Star.

In 2021, the museum opened a permanent exhibition of some 100 model airplanes donated by Sanford McDonnell, each with a connection to the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.[21]

Beginning in June 2024, employees from Boeing volunteered to restore an F/A-18 Super Hornet that will eventually be displayed at the museum. This particular fighter is the F/A-18 E1, the first F/A-18 Super Hornet ever made.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "St. Louis Post-Dispatch 24 Jul 1994, page Page 33". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  2. ^ "Barretts Tunnels". Abandoned Rails. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  3. ^ a b "What's New - On-going Track Work!". Museum of Transportation - Trolley Volunteers. Archived from the original on November 6, 2002.
  4. ^ "1743 St Louis PCC". stlouisnrhs.org. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b "WaterWorks #10". stlouisnrhs.org. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Cordes, Bill (2004). St. Louis Water Works Railway. Saint Louis, Mo: Tower Grove Press. ISBN 9780976026600.
  7. ^ "Water Works #10". Museum of Transportation - Trolley Volunteers. Archived from the original on October 30, 2002.
  8. ^ "What's New - On-going Track Work!". Museum of Transportation - Trolley Volunteers. Archived from the original on April 17, 2003.
  9. ^ Hughes, Renee (21 October 2021). "Trolley Track Extension Progress". National Museum of Transportation. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  10. ^ "1743 St Louis PCC". stlouisnrhs.org. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Obituary for Neil Norkaitis at Lupton Chapel, Inc". www.luptonchapel.com. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  12. ^ "St. Louis Public Service Co. #1743". National Museum of Transportation. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  13. ^ "PTC 2740 Home". stlouisnrhs.org. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Chicago Transit Authority 44". www.bera.org. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  15. ^ "Kansas City Public Service 1533". The CityRails Transit Photo Archive. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Railway Equipment". The National Museum of Transportation. National Transport Museum Association. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  17. ^ Hughes 2, Renee (4 October 2022). "Virgin Hyperloop Pegasus Pod at TNMOT!". National Museum of Transportation. Retrieved 18 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "St. Louis Post-Dispatch 17 Jun 2018, page H01". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  19. ^ Lassa, Todd (July 21, 2006). "Road Test: 1964 Chrysler Turbine Car". Motor Trend. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  20. ^ Vaughan, Daniel (March 2010). "1960 Di Dia 150 - Overview". Conceptcarz.com. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  21. ^ "St. Louis Post-Dispatch 25 Jun 2021, page G10". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
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38°34′19″N 90°27′43″W / 38.572°N 90.462°W / 38.572; -90.462

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