The National Museum of Transportation (NMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in Kirkwood, Missouri, outside St. Louis. 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 Smithsonian Institution called it "one of the largest and best collections of transportation vehicles in the world". 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 full-sized restored trolley operate Thursdayâ€"Sunday from April through October.
During the Christmas holiday season, NMOT hosts the E. Desmond Lee Holiday Train Display, the largest indoor holiday display in Missouri. The museum is open daily March through October. In November through February, the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. The museum is closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. NMOT also hosts 11 car shows annually.
Vehicles and equipment
1955 Aerotrain Experimental Train Built by GM - The Museum of Transportation St Louis - Be sure to check us out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/RamblinAroundTV I thought you might like a look at this really cool 1955 Aerotrain, built by ...
Railroad
Among its railroad items are:
- Aerotrain No. 3
- The only surviving Milwaukee Road class EP-2 Bi-Polar Electric
- Union Pacific Big Boy #4006
- Norfolk & Western Y6a class 2-8-8-2 No. 2156 (Moved to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia, on a 5-year loan in May 2015. Will return to St. Louis in 2020)
- Union Pacific Centennial #6944 (sent to Altoona in 2014 for restoration and has returned)
- Southern Pacific class GS-6 "War Baby"" #4460
- The only surviving EMC 1800 hp B-B locomotive, the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad #50
- EMD FT #103, the first F-unit built, a National Engineering Landmark
- Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western 4-4-0C #952, one of two DL&W steam locomotives and one of five Camelbacks in existence.
- Erie Lackawanna EMD SD45 #3607
- Missouri-Kansas-Texas 4-4-0 #311, the sole surviving M-K-T steam locomotive
- Chicago & Illinois Midland 2-8-2 #551, the sole surviving C&IM steam locomotive
- Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Italian State Railroad) E550.025 electric locomotive
- New York Central 4-8-2 #2933, one of two surviving examples of large NYC steam power
- Wabash 2-6-0 #573, one of only two Wabash steam locomotives in existence
- Union Pacific 900081, a rotary snowplow
- The Whale, largest tank car ever built
- a PRR P5 electric locomotive #4700
- Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad #9908 Silver Charger, the locomotive of the General Pershing Zephyr
- Frisco 1522, used in excursions from 1988-2002.
- Frisco 1621, a sister to 1630 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois
- a PRR GG1 electric locomotive #4918
Automobiles
The Earl C. Lindburg Automotive Center contains:
- 1908 Galloway Express truck
- 1901 St. Louis Motor Carriage Company car
- 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car
- 1964½ Ford Mustang
- 1915 Ford Model T
- Bobby Darin's Dream Car a DiDia 150
- St. Louis-built Automobile Gallery.
Boats and aircraft
On display are a Missouri River towboat and two airplanes, a C-47 Skytrain at the main gate and a T-33 Shooting Star.
See also
- List of United States railroads
- List of Missouri railroads
- List of railway museums
References
External links
- National Museum of Transportation â€" Official Website
- RailPictures.Net Photographs from the National Museum of Transportation
