November 19, 2023 continued:

 

            After I got off the train ride, I decided to get a closer look at the GM Aerotrain and the equipment nearby. I photographed the Aerotrain.

 

 

 

            I photographed the Missouri Pacific railbus.

 

 

 

            I then photographed the Flexible fishbowl which is numbered 7063.

 

 

            I then photographed a Missouri Pacific caboose behind the railbus.

 

 

            I photographed some vintage steamrollers.

 

 

            I then photographed Georgia Railroad steam locomotive #724 whose right side is painted in many colours.

 

 

 

            I then photographed CTA #44 which was on another run.

 

 

            I then photographed other pieces of rail equipment.

 

 

 

 

 

            I then photographed former Union Pacific cutaway education locomotive #2804.

 

 

 

            I then photographed Missouri Pacific observation car “Harry S Truman”.

 

 

            I then photographed former Gulf Mobile and Ohio observation car “Abraham Lincoln”.

 

 

            I then photographed former CB&Q dining car “Silver Spoon”.

 

 

            I then photographed a former Northern Pacific sleeping car.

 

 

            I then photographed Frisco #1522 again as well as another steam locomotive.

 

 

 

            I then went for another ride on CTA #44. I got off and photographed it and Union Pacific Big Boy #4006.

 

 

            I photographed a former Union Pacific rotary snow plow.

 

 

            I took some more photos of CTA 44 and Union Pacific 4006.

 

 

 

 

            I then photographed New York Central #2933 and SD45 #3607 again.

 

 

 

 

            I photographed a former CTA flatcar and N&W 2156 again.

 

 

 

            I then photographed more pieced of rail equipment on display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I then went into the automotive building. I photographed a 1923 Stanley Steamer car and a solar car.

 

 

 

            I then photographed a turbine powered car.

 

 

 

 

            The turbine powered car was notable enough to attract celebrity Jay Leno to the museum. This was due to Jay Leno being a car fan and having a collection of vintage cars.

 

            I then photographed SP&S caboose #844 both inside and out.

 

 

 

 

            I then photographed the CTA flatcar again.

 

 

            I took more photos in and around the display barn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I then went to the other barn and photographed the equipment in it.

 

 

 

 

 

            I then saw the end of an RDC poking out. I couldn’t tell which railroad it had come from. I photographed it.

 

 

            I saw a Union Pacific freight train with five locomotives passed by the museum on the line next to the museum. I filmed the power of that freight train. I then photographed PRR electric locomotive #4700.

 

 

            I then took a few more photos around the museum.

 

 

 

 

            I photographed some of the models in the automotive building.

 

 

 

 

            I took a few more photos outside.

 

 

 

 

            I then took one last photograph of CTA #44.

 

 

            I then went to the gift shop. I took a few more photos there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I photographed a picture of SEPTA PCC #2740 which is in their collection but I didn’t see at all during the museum. It must have been undergoing maintenance in one of the barns.

 

 

            I took a few more photos in the gift shop building.

 

 

 

 

            I then took some photos of Wabash caboose #2847 which is on display in the front of the museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I then photographed a vintage car in front of the museum.

 

 

            I was now done at the museum. I took a picture of my rental car.

 

 

Here’s my rental car on this trip, a Hyundai Elentra.

 

            I then got in my rental car and left the museum. I then headed out and found a gas station. This gas station was pre-pay and I found it harder than usual to get gas for the car but I eventually did. I then drove back to the car rental place and dropped it off where I had been instructed to.

 

            It was shortly after 4:00 pm. I made my way back to Clayton Metro station. I got on a blue line train and rode to Union Station. I was going to try to ride the Polar Express train.

 

            I had missed the 4:30 departure. I asked if I could get on the next departure. However it was sold out. I did get on the third departure after though. I photographed the passenger cars on display that were not part of the Polar Express.

 

 

 

            I then headed to the LRT to go get dinner. I knew there was a Taco Bell nearby that if I was fast, I could make it there and back in time for my train.

 

            I got on the LRT and rode two stops. I then walked a few blocks to Taco Bell. Along the way, I had to walk under the main line. I saw the 4:30 Polar Express reversing back towards St. Louis. I filmed it.

 

            I then got to Taco Bell and bought dinner. After dinner I made my way back to the LRT stop. I got on the next train heading in the direction of Union Station.

 

            Along the way, we passed the second departure of the Polar Express which I attempted to film.

 

            I soon got back to Union station and headed back to where the Polar Express would depart from. My ticket assigned me to a specific car. My car was given the name “Silver Bells”.

 

            The Polar Express is based off a children’s book staring a child protagonist who was questioning the existence of Santa Claus takes a train trip to the North Pole on a train called the Polar Express. The story was made into a movie in 2004 with a video game tie in.

 

            I took some photos in the waiting area.

 

 

 

            There was an O-sale model of the Polar Express running around a tree. At one point, the train was derailed. Other visitors and I tried to fix it. I eventually did get it rerailed properly. I explained that I knew what I was doing as I had a model railway.

 

            After awhile the train backed in. I photographed it.

 

 

            My coach “Silver Bells” was a heritage coach that carried the number 1593. They had cookies on each seat for us. On the loudspeaker they played two songs from the Polar Express movie.

 

            We were served hot chocolate which the young passengers on the train in the movie were served with a song accompanying it.

 

            We passed St. Louis Gateway station. I filmed Amtrak’s southbound Texas Eagle. As previously stationed Amtrak stops at Gateway and not Union Station. They previously did but they stopped decades ago in favor of a temporary station that we stopped at on my Arizona Trip before the present station where I came through first on my 2009 Dallas trip.

 

            We branched off from where Amtrak uses and went north along a different line. We stopped by a light display which was supposed to be the “North Pole”. I took some photos from the train.

 

 

 

 

            At one point “Santa” came into the coach and passed out candy. Other passengers and I took photos.

 

 

            The train then reversed back into St. Louis Union Station. I got off and photographed the train.

 

 

 

 

 

These TRRA Geeps were what powered the Polar Express.

 

            I then photographed some Amtrak equipment parked outside Gateway station. One thing I saw was the coach I had come into St. Louis on.

 

 

 

 

            I then made my way to the LRT and rode one stop to Civic Center and got off. I then waited for a bus to take me to my hotel. I saw that route #74 was coming first. While waiting I photographed an electric Gillig bus.

 

 

 

            The route #74 came and I got on. This was the same route I had boarded when I arrived two days ago. This time I got off at the right stop. I then had to walk a few blocks to my hotel.

 

            I got to my hotel and went online and worked on this report some more. I set my alarm and called it a night.

 

Click to read about my trip back to Chicago:          Trip to Chicago