Museum of the American Railroad
Two steam locomotives sit on display at the Museum of the American Railroad
Former name
Southwest Railroad Historical Society, Age Of Steam Railway Museum
Established1963
LocationFrisco, Texas, United States
Type501(C) Not For Profit
CollectionsRailway Rolling Stock and Historic Railroad Buildings
PresidentBob LaPrelle
CEO"see president"
Public transit accessFrisco Shuttle Busses
Nearest parkingFrisco Discovery Center
Websitewww.historictrains.org

The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is a railroad museum in Frisco, Texas.[1] The museum has more than 70 pieces of steam, diesel, passenger, and freight railroad equipment sitting on 15 acres making it one of the largest historic rail collections in the US. Guests may walk through some of the equipment on guided tours.

History

The museum began as a small exhibit at Fair Park in 1963, and continued as a staple of the annual State Fair of Texas. It officially became a museum in 1986,[2] remaining at its original site until November 2011.[3] The museum has fully moved to Frisco, Texas;[4] the move was based on a strategic plan, called Visions 2006, which called for a comprehensive reorganization of the museum, including new facilities, new governance and new programs.[5] The museum's offices and some exhibits are temporarily housed at the Frisco Heritage Museum while construction continues on the museum's new location two blocks south.[3]

TrainTopia, a G scale model train layout, opened in July 2018 in the Frisco Discovery Center next to the museum's site. An additional O-scale layout is being reassembled.

Collection

Frisco 4501 in Irving,TX during move to Frisco, TX
The Museum of the American Railroad's Frisco, Texas, location in June 2019

The collection includes:

Locomotives

Steam

Diesel

Electric

AT&SF #49 at the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, TX

Passenger equipment

Sleepers

Coaches

Lounges

Diners

Other

Transit Equipment

Metra Electric District (Ex-Illinois Central Railroad) "Stream-Liner" Built by St. Louis Car Company (First order #1501-1630, 1971-1972) and Bombardier Transportation (Second order #1631-1666, 1978-1979) (All Operational)

  • 1548
  • 1552
  • 1601
  • 1608
  • 1661
  • And five more

Freight equipment

  • Kansas City Southern #7460: single sheathed boxcar
  • Kansas City Southern Lines #107859: boxcar
  • Lone Star Producing Company #1817: tank car
  • Western Pacific Railroad #68652: boxcar
  • Texas & Pacific Railroad #X4446: boxcar
  • Packers Car Line (Armour & Company) PCX 4063: Ice Refrigerator Car
  • Packers Car Line (Armour & Company) PCX 4005: Ice Refrigerator Car
  • Genesee & Wyoming Railroad #GNWR 1032: Mechanical Refrigerator Car

Cabooses

Speeders/Handcars

Structures

  • Houston & Texas Central Railroad Depot, ca. 1905
  • Houston & Texas Central Railroad Handcar Shed, Dallas, TX ca. 1905
  • Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad Interlocking Tower 19
    Tower 19, Frisco 4501 in Fair Park Dallas, TX

Road vehicles

Formerly owned equipment

TrainTopia

The museum has an exhibit called "TrainTopia – A Railroad Odyssey in Miniature" in the Frisco Discovery Center next to the museum.[8] This is a 2,500-square-foot professionally-built G scale model railroad layout donated to the museum by the Sanders family;[9] a $300,000 donation from the Ryan Foundation funded moving the layout and preparing the exhibit space.[10] The scene spans Texas to Arizona, and includes details such as the dramatic rock formations of the Four Corners region near New Mexico, an animated downtown Dallas street scene, the Palo Duro Drive-In Theater with a movie playing, a West Texas refinery, and working sawmills in Colorado.[8] A custom light show changes the exhibit from day to night.[8] The layout has hundreds of locomotives and cars, most made by LGB in Germany.[9]

Exhibit formerly at Fair Park

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lettenberger, Bob (September 2023). "Museum of the American Railroad focusing on mission fulfillment". Trains. No. 9 Vol 83. Kalmbach Media. pp. 46–47.
  2. ↑ "Museum of the American Railroad > About Us > Our History". Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  3. 1 2 "Museum of the American Railroad". Museumoftheamericanrailroad.org. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Wigglesworth, Valerie (September 1, 2012). "History hits the tracks as railroad museum moves to Frisco". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Visions 2006: A Concept for the Future" (PDF). Museumoftheamericanrailroad.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Pullman Sleeping Car Glengyle". Asme.org. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  7. ↑ "Museum of the American Railroad > Collection > Collection Overview". Museumoftheamericanrailroad.org. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  8. 1 2 3 "TrainTopia Tickets!". Museumoftheamericanrailroad.org. November 2, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Sanders Family of North Dallas Donates Spectacular Model Train Layout". Museumoftheamericanrailroad.org. February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Amanda and Brint Ryan Fund Reconstruction of Model Train Layout". Museumoftheamericanrailroad.org. December 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
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