ued to expand, adding two main line articu- lated locomotives, a Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 and a Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2. Ac- quiring more land for continued expansion was a high priority. One of the original rea- sons for choosing a suburban site was that land values were low compared to St. Louis, and as parcels became available the muse- um bought them. However, most of these were at a lower elevation than the museum itself and could only be used to store small items. Landfill would be needed to create flat ground where track could be installed. Fortunately, the MP was lowering its roadbed to improve clearances under the many road viaducts in St. Louis and this material was made available to the museum and delivered in side dump cars on a regular basis. December 1961 saw the end of MP’s commuter service to St. Louis and Barretts station, located adjacent to the museum, and the railroad donated the building and adjacent land to the museum. Also during the 1960s a short-lived at-
tempt was made to relocate the museum, first to an area north of the Gateway Arch, which was then under construction, and af- ter that across the Mississippi River in East St. Louis. Some donated locomotives and cars were stored temporarily in the East St. Louis area. In 1969 the attempt to move the museum ended, and the waiting exhibits were moved in “hospital trains” with volun- teers riding the equipment to keep the vin- tage artifacts properly lubricated. Filling low ground at the museum had continued with dump cars as well as by accepting fill from construction sites in the area which was undergoing rapid suburbanization, but the museum’s exhibits were still outside, ex- cept for a small shed placed over the tiny Reading Black Diamond inspection locomo- tive and another structure for the two ani- mal-hauled cars. A pole barn measuring 204 by 54 feet was
finally built in 1970, using former streetcar power line poles as its supports. This build- ing, originally intended to house streetcars, was actually used for automotive exhibits. The museum’s scope had expanded to en- compass all types of transportation, and cars and trucks had been collected and stored at temporary off-site locations, as well as on the grounds in the open. A small- er, second building was built north of the pole barn as the museum office and library. The end of the 1970s saw a major change
as the museum became a St. Louis County park. The volunteer group, which had strug- gled for over 30 years, had built an extensive collection but had been unable to provide shelter for it. On September 1, 1979, St. Louis County leased the museum with an option to accept it as a gift during the period of the lease, bringing a lot of attention and investment to it. The museum was closed for eight months while four exhibit tracks were added, together with an entrance road and a parking lot. The county built a visitors cen- ter at the west end of the new parking lot, and a formal dedication by the new manage- ment was held on June 15, 1980. In Febru- ary 1984 the museum was donated to the county, and the original founders were re- cast as a “friends group” known as the “Transport Museum Association.” Its role now was to support the museum with fundraising and other activities for mem- bers and the public. Another capital cam- paign was immediately started, which re-
sulted in an architect’s model of the pro- posed buildings but no actual buildings. The 1980s did see the addition of shelter
for part of the rail collection. A member of the museum’s board donated a 380×47-foot steel framed shed that covered three tracks. It was a low building, so the volunteers built concrete piers to raise it to the needed height. The new Abbott Building finally gave the Purdue Collection and other exhibits shelter from the elements. The 1980s also saw a successful example of fundraising by the museum, allowing for two important acquisitions, both built for the Boston & Providence Railroad. One was the 1863 4-4-0 Daniel Nason, the only surviving American locomotive with its cylinders be- tween the frames. The other was a four- wheeled coach dating from the opening of the line in 1834, built like a Concord coach and considered the oldest original North American passenger car. These had been sold to a fair in Danbury, Conn., in 1951 and were to be auc- tioned off after the fairgrounds had been sold for development. A group named “Friends of the Danbury Fair” was formed and paid $42,500 for the locomotive and $14,000 for the coach on April 2, 1982. The Daniel Nason is the most recent steam locomotive addition to the collection, as well as the oldest. The 1990s saw major improvements with construction of three structures, two for the collection and a shop for maintenance and restoration. The county built a 480×120- foot shed which covered eight tracks. This was named the Roberts Building at its dedi- cation on July 23, 1994, which marked the 50th anniversary of the museum. Another new county building on the lowest level of the site houses the interurbans and street- cars, with five tracks, two standard gauge and three St. Louis streetcar gauge (4′-10″) and a building next to the main line tracks, which had housed a roof truss manufactur- ing plant, was converted into the museum’s shop. Volunteers and county forces installed a concrete floor with two tracks, inspection pits, and large end doors, and increased the overhead clearance over one track for main line equipment. The new century saw the start of electric
car operations in 2001, a goal since the mu- seum was founded. A PCC car used at first over 1000 feet of track was joined by anoth- er more traditional car from the St. Louis Waterworks Ry. restored by the volunteers, and then a single-unit elevated car from Chicago. Work is under way to extend this line to a second station at the automobile building and later to the lowest level of the site near the miniature train loop. The mu- seum has over 70 locomotives, half of them “one-of-a-kind” or “sole survivors” of their type, and there are 190 major items in the rail and transit collections. The museum will continue to change as it reorients itself around the new building. The three-level site is challenging as now two entrances must be staffed, in addition to the upper level with the majority of the rail exhibits and restoration shop. Hopefully, tracks will be installed near the new build- ing for some exhibits to give visitors there more to look at soon. A continuing challenge is the need for more shelter over exhibits. Still going strong after nearly 70 years,
the Museum of Transportation continues to build for the future, attracting an ever- growing number of visitors to its compre- hensive collection.
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