Elizabeth and I woke up at the Quality Inn in Cape Girardeau. After checking the Internet and checking out we drove Interstate 55 to Perryville for our final MacDonald's breakfast which we ate outside at a table. From here we drove to the final destination of the trip.
Life is a highway on Interstate 55 as we drove to St. Louis, then took Interstate 270 to the the exit then followed the signs to our final destination.
National Museum of TransportationThe National Museum of Transportation is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944, 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. 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 April through October.
The Museum was founded in 1944 by a group of historically-minded citizens who had acquired the mule-drawn streetcar "Bellefontaine". In 1948, the Transport Museum Association incorporated as a non-profit educational organization to better serve the financial and volunteer needs of the Museum. Land was acquired on Barrett Station in St. Louis County, along the right-of-way of the historic Missouri Pacific Railroad, and over the years, the mule-drawn streetcar was joined by hundreds of other significant exhibits. On September 1, 1979, the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation formally assumed the operation and development of the Museum, accepting it as a gift from the original founders in February 1984.
Our visitWe parked the car then started to look around.
The Rock Island Aerotrain 3 built by General Motors in 1955 is under restoration.
Wabash Railroad caboose 2847 built by the railroad in sits in 1952 front of the William R. and Laura Rand Orthwein Education and Visitor Center, a new building since my last visit here in 2008. We went inside and paid to see this most excellent museum. We walk out of this building to Miniature Train station.
This gasoline-powered CP Huntington would pull our train. Now sit back and enjoy a ride on the two loop ride aboard the Miniature Train.
The St. Joe Mining Corporation Mine Train built in 1942.
The St. Joe Mining Corporation shovel machine.
The Rock Island Aerotrain.
Rock Island Aerotrain coaches.
Missouri Pacific Rail Motorbus 604 built by Faegol-Twin in 1947.
Missouri Pacific extended vision caboose 13546 built by International Car in 1972.
Museum of Transportation Bus 7063.
That was the two laps on the Miniature Train.
We left the Miniature Train and now will continue with our visit here.
Milwaukee Road American Refrigerator Transit 52461 built by the railroad in 1929.
Burlington Northern extended vision caboose 10032, nee Northern Pacific 10401, built by Pacific Car and Foundry in 1969.
Milwaukee Road express car URTX 37144 built by General American Transportation Company in 1948.
Monsanto Chemical tank car MCHX 117 built by American Car & Foundry Company in 1940.
Northern Pacific caboose 1082 built by the railroad in 1948.
Missouri Pacific caboose 13899 built by the railroad in 1980.
American Car and Foundry ACFX covered hopper 26640 built by American Car & Foundry in 1960.
Union Tank Car Company UTLX 3882 built by the company in 1936.
Union Tank Line tank car 14387 built by the company in 1910.
Chicago & Illinois Midland 2-8-2 551 built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1928.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy shovel nose AA 9908 "Silver Charger" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1939.
Burlington Railway Express Post Office Car 1942 built by Standard Steel in 1922.
Burlington Railway Express Agency 1582 built by Standard Steel in 1916.
Burlington coach 6117 built by Pullman in 1917.
Georgia Railroad 0-6-0 724 built by Baldwin in 1896 as Georgia Railroad 49.
United States Army gas turbine 1149 built by Davenport in 1952.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle caboose 884 built by the railroad in 1954.
City of St. Louis Water District Whitcomb 15 ton model SRD 1 built by the company in 1924.
Milwaukee Road Bi-Polar E2 built by General Electric in 1920.
H.P. Hood and Sons Milk Tank Car SPEX 1057 built by General American Transportation Company in 1930.
Pennsylvania Railroad flat car 470833 built by the railroad in 1955 and Missouri Pacific trailer MPZ 253273.
Illinois Terminal Boxcab Class B 1575 built by Illinois Traction System in 1918.
New York Central Class S2 electric locomotive 113 built by American Locomotive Company and General Electric in 1906.
Joplin Missouri Pittsburgh Kansas Plymouth 2003 built by the company in 1936.
GATX Whale Belly Tank Car 96500 is the largest tank car in the world and was built by General American Transportation Company in 1965.
Baltimore & Ohio AA 50 built by Electro-Motive Divison in 1935.
Frisco 2-10-0 Decapod 1621 built by Baldwin in 1918 for Imperial Russian State Railways. It became United States Railroad Administration 1195 and was sold to Southern Railway System 8029 then transferred to Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway Company 8029. In 1920 it was sold to Fort Smith, Subiaco & Rock Island Railway Company 101 at Paris, Arkansas and five years later, transferred to St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company 1621 then sold in 1951 to the Eagle-Picher Company 1621 at Cardin, Oklahoma.
Sabine River & Northern Model NC 408 built by Electro-Motive Corporation in 1937.
Museum scene.
Erie Lackawanna SD45 3607 built by Electro-Motive Divison in 1967.
Texas and Pacific combine 1603 'The Train of Thought Education Rail Car' built by the Pullman Company in 1951.
New York Central Mohawk 4-8-2 2933 built by American Locomotive Company in 1929 as Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway 6233.
Santa Fe Texas 2-10-4 5011 built by Baldwin in 1944.
Nickel Plate 4-6-4 170 built by Alco-Brooks in 1927.
Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 4006 built by American Locomotive Company in 1941.
Union Pacific Rotary Snow Plow 900081 built by the railroad in 1966.
Museum scene.
Union Pacific DD40AX 6944 built by Electro-Motive Divison in 1971.
St. Louis-Southwestern wedge snow plow 95589 built in 1913 from a "Vanderbilt" tender of a Rock Island 2-8-2 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1913.
Chesapeake and Ohio 2-8-4 2727 built by American Locomotive Company in 1944.
Boston and Providence 4-4-0 17 "Daniel Nason", the oldest locomotive in the collection built by Boston & Providence in 1863. It joined the Old Colony Railroad Company as 170 in 1888, when the latter took a 99 year lease on the B&P. The New York, New Haven & Hartford took over the lease in 1893 and, in 1905, 170 was leased to Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana. In 1951, it was sold to John Leahy of Danbury, Connecticut, and then in 1982, donated to the museum.
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Camelback 4-4-0 952 built by American Locomotive Company in 1905.
General Motors FTA 103 built by Electro-Motive Divison in 1939.
Museum scene.
Reading Railroad 2-2-2T "Black Diamond" built by Burnham, Parry, Williams & Company (a Baldwin predecessor) in 1889 for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.
Standard Brand Industries vinegar tank car SBIX 1634 built by Fleischmann Transportation Company in 1938.
Illinois Central Dynamometer Test Car 30 built by the railroad in 1943.
Wabash Railroad 2-6-0 573 built by Rhode Island Locomotive Works in 1899.
Union Pacific U28-C UPP 2804 Cutaway Locomotive built by General Electric in 1966.
Chicago Charles H. Lake Street Elevated Railroad 0-4-0T 9 built by Forney in 1893.
Missouri Pacific Parlor observation-lounge car 750 built by American Car and Foundry in 1940 and was in the consist of the Missouri River Eagle, which served St. Louis, Kansas City, and Omaha.
Museum scene.
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Parlor Observation car 5998 "Abraham Lincoln" built by American Car and Foundry in 1935 as Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 5998. It brought up the rear of the B&O's "Royal Blue" passenger train that provided service from Washington, D.C., to Jersey City, New Jersey. In the early 1940s it was operated by the GM&O where it was assigned to the "Abraham Lincoln" passenger service between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy office car "The Aleutian" built by the Pullman Company in 1923.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy dining car "Silver Spoon" built by Budd in 1938.
Pullman 12-section 1 drawing room sleeping car "Carvan" built by Pullman in 1926.
Northern Pacific 8-6-3-1 sleeper 482 "DuBuque" sub-lettered CB&Q built by Pullman in 1948.
Missouri Pacific coach 6210, built by American Car and Foundry in 1924.
Frisco Mountain 4-8-2 1522, built by Baldwin in 1926. I rode behind this engine twice at the 2001 National Railway Historical Society convention.
Museum scene.
Illinois Terminal Railbus 206 built by White Motor Company in 1939 and was originally a school bus converted by Illinois Terminal for use as a railbus.
Alton & Southern 0-8-0 12 built by American Locomotive Company in 1926.
St. Louis-Southwestern Mail Express Car 71 built by American Car and Foundry in 1904.
Arkansas Missouri Railroad combine 102, built by Boston and Maine in 1899 as their 737.
Museum scene.
Burlington E8 9939A built by Electro-Motive Division in 1950.
Arkansas and Missouri RS-1 22 built by American Locomotive Company in 1943.
Southern Pacific GS-6 4-8-4 4460 built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1943.
American Steel Foundries Granite City 65 ton switcher 8 built by Whitcomb Locomotive Works in 1948.
Missouri Pacific RS-3 4502 built by American Locomotive Company in 1955.
Norfolk and Western Y6 2-8-8-2 2156 built by the railway in 1942.
St. Louis Waterworks Railway interurban 10 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1910.
Chicago Transit Authority 44 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1959 with recycled parts from retired Chicago PCC streetcars. It ran mostly on the Evanston line (today's Purple Line) until 1993, and came to the museum in 1998.
Canadian National Pacific 4-6-2 5529 built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1905.
Missouri Pacific caboose 1155 built by the railroad in 1950.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas wooden caboose 1 built by the railroad in 1882.
Illinois Traction combine 241 built by American Car and Foundry in 1908.
Brooklyn Rapid Transit convertible car 1365 built by Jewett Car Company in 1905.
Track maintenance equipment.
Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 4918 built by General Electric, Baldwin Locomotive Works and the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1942. Amtrak acquired the locomotive in 1971 and renumbered it 4916.
St. Louis Public Service Company PCC Car 1743 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1949. It was sold San Francisco Transit Authority and renumbered 1164 and loaned to East Troy, Wisconsin Railroad Museum before coming to Kirkwood.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas coach 10 converted from caboose 127, built by the railroad in 1891 to be a replica of the original car.
Chicago Transit Authority flat car S-1500 built by Standard Steel Car Company in 1926.
Chicago & North Western 4-4-0 274 built by Baldwin in 1873.
Boston and Albany 4-4-0 39 "The Marmora" built by the railroad in 1876.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad American 4-4-0 311 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1890.
Pennsylvania Railroad P5 2-C2 Electric Locomotive 4700 built by the railroad in 1931.
Baltimore & Ohio Oil Electic Locomotive 1 built by American Locomotive Company, General Electric Company & Ingersoll Rand in 1925.
Canadian Pacific RDC 54 built by Budd in 1954.
The West Barrretts Tunnel sign board.
The West Barrretts Tunnel, the first railroad tunnel west of the Mississippi River.
Museum scene.
Illinois Terminal box motor 1595 built by the railroad in 1925.
Missouri Pacific 4-6-0 2707 built by Baldwin in 1889 as St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company 635.
Winona & St. Peter 4-4-0 274 built by Baldwin in 1873 known as "Norman".
United States Army MRS-1 B-2069 built by American Locomotive Company and General Electric in 1953.
St. Louis Public Service Company PCC Car 1005 built by United Railways in 1940.
Manufacturers Railway RS-2 211 built by American Locomotive Company in 1948.
Museum scene.
Terminal Railroad Association 0-8-0 318 built by the railroad in 1926.
United States Army SW-8 2002 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1952.
City of St. Louis Water 15 ton switcher 1 built by Whitcomb in 1924.
Illinois Central 2-8-0 764 built by American Locomotive Company in 1904.
Duluth, Missabe & Northern 2-10-2 502 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916.
Burlington E8A 9939A built by Electro-Motive Divison in 1950.
United States Mule 662 Panama Canal built by General Electric in 1914.
Sellers turntable.
Laclede-Christy Clay Products Company narrow gauge 0-4-0T 2 built by Davenport in 1907.
North St. Louis Bellefontaine Mule Car 33 built by Andrew Wight Car Co in 1870. Mules pulled this car between downtown St. Louis and Bellefontaine in north St. Louis County until 1895. Passengers entered through the rear door and paid a nickel fare. The car had no heater. In the winter the company spent three cents a day for straw to cover the floor to add warmth for riders. The driver was paid nine-and-and-a-half cents per hour. The mule could only work for six hours per day. The driver worked much longer. The Bellefontaine was long stored by United Railways and St. Louis Public Service Co. Acquired in 1944, the #33 became the first artifact in the Museum's collection.
I met Elizabeth in the gift shop and we bought some merchandise. From here we drove to Outback Steakhouse where I had a top sirloin and Elizabeth had Pork Medallions. We returned the rental car then took St. Louis Light Rail back to Grand and walked to Amtrak. I wrote the Memphis story while we waited for the Missouri River Runner Train at 4:00 PM but that will be the next story.
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