Since our founding in 1944, the museum and staff have worked to curate the largest collection of its kind in the world. Today, our mission is to be the leader in protecting and interpreting North America’s transportation heritage.
Since our founding in 1944, the museum and staff have worked to curate the largest collection of its kind in the world. Today, our mission is to be the leader in protecting and interpreting North America’s transportation heritage.
We invite you to come visit the National Museum of Transportation! Full of photographic opportunities, historic artifacts, model trains and aircraft, and a Virgin Hyperloop Pegasus pod from the Smithsonian, the Museum is open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. TNMOT is primarily an outdoor facility. Please call 314.289.3508, ext. 4, for weather updates.
Our knowledgeable tour guides are available in the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center to answer your questions about our vintage vehicles. Public guided tours are available at 10 a.m. each open day, weather permitting, no reservation required. Much of our extensive 70-piece locomotive collection is covered under the Roberts Pavilion, plus more nearby, for safe exploring. A tour guide is on hand at the pavilion ready to reply to your inquiries.
The Major Lee Berra Creation Station
The Major Lee Berra Creation Station, an interactive transportation-themed play and educational area geared to one- to five-year olds, has boarding times Monday through Friday, at 9:15 | 10:30 | 11:45 a.m., with an additional $3 per person fee.
The Wm F. Ross Special Miniature Train
The Wm. F. Ross Special Miniature Train operates rides twice around a substantial portion of TNMOT’s property, with knowledgeable and friendly conductors narrating the trip. Train tickets are $7 extra for unlimited rides available Monday – Friday, from 9:20 a.m. – 2:20 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
The Trolley
The historic trolley/streetcar rides are free with Museum admission. The trolley is operated by experienced volunteer conductors on Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
We invite you to come visit the National Museum of Transportation! Full of photographic opportunities, historic artifacts, model trains and aircraft, and a Virgin Hyperloop Pegasus pod from the Smithsonian, the Museum is open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. TNMOT is primarily an outdoor facility. Please call 314.289.3508, ext. 4, for weather updates.
Our knowledgeable tour guides are available in the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center to answer your questions about our vintage vehicles. Public guided tours are available at 10 a.m. each open day, weather permitting, no reservation required. Much of our extensive 70-piece locomotive collection is covered under the Roberts Pavilion, plus more nearby, for safe exploring. A tour guide is on hand at the pavilion ready to reply to your inquiries.
The Major Lee Berra Creation Station
The Major Lee Berra Creation Station, an interactive transportation-themed play and educational area geared to one- to five-year olds, has boarding times on the 1st and 3rd Sunday, 9:15 | 10:30 | 11:45 a.m | 1:00 | 2:15 p.m., with an additional $3 per person fee.
The Wm F. Ross Special Miniature Train
The Wm. F. Ross Special Miniature Train operates rides twice around a substantial portion of TNMOT’s property, with knowledgeable and friendly conductors narrating the trip. Train tickets are $7 extra for unlimited rides available on Sunday from 9:20 a.m. – 3:20 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
The Trolley
The historic trolley/streetcar rides are free with Museum admission. The trolley is operated by experienced volunteer conductors on Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
Owney’s Handcar Village
Owney’s Handcar Village is included in the price of the miniature train tickets which are $7 extra for unlimited rides. Children propel the handcars by turning a crank by hand to travel through Owney’s village–activity and fun at the same time! The village is open weekends, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. weather permitting.
We invite you to come visit the National Museum of Transportation! Full of photographic opportunities, historic artifacts, model trains and aircraft, and a Virgin Hyperloop Pegasus pod from the Smithsonian, the Museum is open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. TNMOT is primarily an outdoor facility. Please call 314.289.3508, ext. 4, for weather updates.
Our knowledgeable tour guides are available in the C. Lindburg Automobile Center to answer your questions about our vintage vehicles. Public guided tours are available at 10 a.m. each open day, weather permitting, no reservation required. Much of our extensive 70-piece locomotive collection is covered under the Roberts Pavilion, plus more nearby, for safe exploring. A tour guide is on hand at the pavilion ready to reply to your inquiries.
The Wm F. Ross Special Miniature Train
The Wm. F. Ross Special Miniature Train operates rides twice around a substantial portion of TNMOT’s property, with knowledgeable and friendly conductors narrating the trip. Train tickets are $7 extra for unlimited rides available on Saturday from 9:20 a.m. – 3:20 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
The Trolley
The historic trolley/streetcar rides are free with Museum admission. The trolley is operated by experienced volunteer conductors on Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
Owney’s Handcar Village
Owney’s Handcar Village is included in the price of the miniature train tickets which are $7 extra for unlimited rides. Children propel the handcars by turning a crank by hand to travel through Owney’s village – activity and fun at the same time! The village is open weekends, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. weather permitting.
We invite you to come visit the National Museum of Transportation! Full of photographic opportunities, historic artifacts, model trains and aircraft, and a Virgin Hyperloop Pegasus pod from the Smithsonian, the Museum is open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. TNMOT is primarily an outdoor facility. Please call 314.289.3508, ext. 4, for weather updates.
Our knowledgeable tour guides are available in the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center to answer your questions about our vintage vehicles. Public guided tours are available at 10 a.m. each open day, weather permitting, no reservation required. Much of our extensive 70-piece locomotive collection is covered under the Roberts Pavilion, plus more nearby, for safe exploring. A tour guide is on hand at the pavilion ready to reply to your inquiries.
The Major Lee Berra Creation Station
The Major Lee Berra Creation Station, an interactive transportation-themed play and educational area geared to one- to five-year olds, has boarding times Monday through Friday, at 9:15 | 10:30 | 11:45 a.m., with an additional $3 per person fee.
The Wm F. Ross Special Miniature Train
The Wm. F. Ross Special Miniature Train operates rides twice around a substantial portion of TNMOT’s property, with knowledgeable and friendly conductors narrating the trip. Train tickets are $7 extra for unlimited rides available Monday – Friday, from 9:20 a.m. – 2:20 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
The Trolley
The historic trolley/streetcar rides are free with Museum admission. The trolley is operated by experienced volunteer conductors on Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., weather and mechanicals permitting.
The trolley track extension will take the line down to a stop at the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center.
Currently the trolley’s line starts near the Roberts Pavilion, ending near the Barrett’s Tunnel entrance. The trolley stops, and trolley drivers take a few minutes to make adjustments with the wires and such before heading back in the direction where they started.
Trolley rides give those who once rode the streetcar rails a memory jog while younger visitors have a chance to experience the dominant form of mass transit of the first half of the 20th century. Volunteers operate he trolley and give riders fun facts and stories about streetcars.
John Crowley, a Museum volunteer since 2008 in his seventh year as a trolley operator, likes to emphasize to guests how important streetcars were. “A lot of people look at the streetcars as just another means of transportation without giving much thought as to just how important they were. Before the automobile, and even after the automobile started to appear, the streetcar was the only transportation a lot of people had,” Crowley said.
The St. Louis Waterworks Railway #10 is one of the restored streetcars that runs. The popular St. Louis Public Service Co. #1743 is parked by the Lindburg building now as it awaits a repair part, Crowley said.
Trolley crews look forward to the completion of the extension. “One thing people like about the plan is that they won’t have to walk up the hill anymore,” Crowley said. “Just go to the auto building, up to the mezzanine, out the back door, and we’ll come down to pick you up.”
Constructing and maintaining the The National Museum of Transportation’s Demonstration Trolley Line and the trolleys/streetcars that ride thereon are no easy tasks. This work is on top of driving the trolley carrying customers who are greeted by our cheery volunteers dressed for the part.
The parts are not readily available for our trolley artifacts so some are cannibalized from surplus trolleys and streetcars or even fabricated. History may meet modern technology soon if a 3D printer needs to be employed to create a part that cannot otherwise be acquired. An intense amount of time and resources are spent planning and coordinating repair and restoration.
For instance when extending the trolley line at TNMOT, laying the track for the line extension was done by hand by the dedicated members of our track crew. This involved preparing the roadbed, laying gravel, ties, tie plates, rail, and spikes (which were driven in place using a pneumatic jackhammer), and finally, laying the ballast.
All that is left to do now is to erect the poles, string the wire, tie it into the existing system, add the 600-volt power supply and test it, still work but less time-consuming than laying track. Then, of course there is the ongoing maintenance and upkeep. It takes a lot! You will find the dedicated volunteer trolley maintenance crews very busy at work on Thursday and Saturday mornings.
Trivia: Railroad ties are cut to the same size and evenly spaced center to center. According to the American Association of Railroads, it takes 3,200 ties to lay one mile of track!
The Chicago Transit Authority #44 Elevated/Subway Streetcar is currently operational. #44 is a single-unit version of 6000-series cars; operator’s cab at each end; had both third-rail and trolley pole power pickup. Built by the St. Louis Car Company for Chicago’s elevated and subway lines, using trucks and controls designed for PCC-type streetcars.
Some components came from Chicago’s own PCC streetcars which were replaced by electric trolleybuses and diesel buses in the 1950s. Mostly on the Evanston line (today’s Purple Line) until 1993, and came to TNMOT in 1998. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Elevated Car #44 was built in 1959 with recycled parts from retired Chicago President’s Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars. This car originally ran with a trolley pole on the Evanston line and to the Loop using third rail. Many of the original placards or “Car Cards” as they are called, can be seen inside the car. Hear more here.
FUND-A-NEED
The National Museum of Transportation receives no governmental funding and relies solely on the generosity of our community to continue preserving the past for future generations.
We would love for you to consider donating toward items or programs that we are in need of funding for!
