National Museum of Transportation

The National Museum of Transportation (TNMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in Kirkwood, Missouri. Founded in 1944, it restores, preserves, and displays vehicles from the late 1800s to the present: mainly locomotives and railroad equipment, but also cars, aircraft, and a boat. The museum contains 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. A restored trolley operates Thursday–Sunday from March through December. Vehicles and equipment Trolleys A working trolley line was established in the 1990s after the museum acquired SLPS #1743 from the San Francisco Municipal Railway. A group of volunteers installed about 1,000 feet of overhead wire above a section of the former Union Pacific mainline near the Abbott Building, allowing restored historical trolleys to operate. In 1998, PTC #2740 was restored by Museum of Transportation Trolley Volunteers and added to the operating fleet, while #1743 was placed in storage. In 1997, MTTV began renovating Water Works #10, at first cosmetically, and then mechanically. After three and a half years of work, #10 became operational once again. On Memorial Day 2001, it ran for the first time in 46 years; by the summer of 2002, it had joined the museum's active fleet. Originally, the demonstration trolley line was a straight route, requiring trolleys to travel back and forth. Volunteers added a loop at the east end after the museum acquired some tracks from a streetcar loop in Boston. Construction began in spring 2002 and was completed in March 2003. All trolleys except #2740 can run around the loop and back from the direction it came. Around the same time, a high-level platform was built in front of the Roberts Pavilion to accommodate the newly acquired CTA rapid transit car #44 for passenger loading and unloading. In 2011, MTTV began adding track to connect the line to the Lindburg Automobile Center, enabling visitors to ride the trolley between the Roberts building and the automotive exhibits. The project remains uncompleted as of 2025. On May 21, 2016, SLPS #1743 returned to service on the 50th anniversary of the end of streetcar operations in St. Louis. In 2024, the line was named the Neil F. Norkaitis Demonstration Trolley Line after the former trolley operations director. Operational trolleys Non-operational trolleys Bi-State Development Agency No. 165 Bi-State Development Agency No. 1664 Bi-State Development Agency No. 215 Bi-State Development Agency No. 60 Illinois Terminal Railroad No. 104 Illinois Terminal Railroad No. 410 Illinois Traction System No. 241 Purdue University No. 2611 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 1001 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 1005 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 215 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 2250 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 426 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 615 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 850 St. Louis Public Service Company No. 894 St. Louis Waterworks Railway No. #17 Railroad Among its railroad items are: Aerotrain No. 3 The only surviving Milwaukee Road class EP-2 Bi-Polar Electric. Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4006. The largest steam locomotive of the museum's collection. Norfolk & Western Y6a class 2-8-8-2 No. 2156. The only surviving Norfolk & Western Y6a and the second largest steam locomotive in the collection. Union Pacific Centennial No. 6944. One of the final Centennial locomotives built. Southern Pacific class GS-6 "War Baby" No. 4460, the sole surviving GS-6. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2-10-4 No. 5011. Chesapeake & Ohio K-4 No. 2727 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad No. 50. The only surviving EMC 1800 hp B-B locomotive EMD FT No. 103, the first F-unit built, a National Engineering Landmark. Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western 4-4-0C No. 952, one of two DL&W steam locomotives and one of five Camelbacks in existence. Erie Lackawanna EMD SD45 No. 3607. Missouri-Kansas-Texas 4-4-0 No. 311, the sole surviving M-K-T steam locomotive. Chicago & Illinois Midland 2-8-2 No. 551, the sole surviving C&IM steam locomotive. Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Italian State Railroad) E550.025 electric locomotive. The only locomotive brought from outside the United States of America. New York Central 4-8-2 No. 2933, one of two surviving examples of large NYC steam power. Wabash 2-6-0 No. 573, one of only two Wabash steam locomotives in existence. Union Pacific No. 900081, a rotary snowplow. The Whale, largest tank car ever built. A PRR P5 electric locomotive No. 4700. The sole surviving P5. Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 9908 "The Silver Charger", the locomotive of the General Pershing Zephyr. Sabine River & Northern Railroad EMD NC #408. Originally built in 1937 as EJ&E #202.[1] St Louis - San Francisco No. 1522, used in excursion service from 1988 to 2002. St. Louis - San Francisco 1621, a sibling to 1630 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. A PRR GG1 electric locomotive No. 4918. Chicago and Northwestern 4-4-2 No. 1015, the only surviving Chicago and North Western class D Atlantic. New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad 4-6-4 No. 170, the only surviving Nickel Plate L1a Hudson. Hyperloop One ∞ XP-2 Automobiles The Earl C. Lindburg Automotive Center contains 25 vehicles, including: 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. 1941 Cadillac Fleetwood Fleetwood Series 60 Special Sedan (featured in front of a rescued and restored unit from the nearby Coral Court Motel Aircraft and boat Aircraft on display at the museum include a C-47 Skytrain at the main gate, a T-33 Shooting Star, and, since 2024, the first production F/A-18 Super Hornet, E1. In late 2025, the museum announced it would add a Harrier jump jet. In 2021, the museum opened a permanent exhibition of some 100 model airplanes donated by Sanford McDonnell, each with a connection to the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. A Missouri River towboat is also on display. See also List of United States railroads List of Missouri railroads List of railway museums References External links National Museum of Transportation – Official Website HawkinsRails photographs