Pioneer museums have their rightful place in history. Railway museums are no excpetion. Here is a rough (unchecked) list of pre-1960 railway museums and tourist lines) in the United States for your critical review--please add, amend or correct (note: this list does not include world's fairs or railway expositions which were the true precursor of the modern railway museum as we know it today):

1885c. Smithsonian (first railroad collecting - C&A John Bull donated by the PRR)
1941c. Seashore Trolley Museum
1944 National Museum of Transport (now MOT)
1949c. Edaville RR
1953c. NJ Museum of Transportation (now at Allaire, NJ)
1955c. Black Hills Central
1955c. Knott's Berry Farm RR (name?)
1959 Strasburg RR
1960 EBT revival
1960 Historic Red Clay Valley (W&W)

A good timeline of railway preservation (though admittedly not handy at the time I typed this) appeared in L&RP March-April 1990 issue.

Who am I missing, and what needs to be corrected?

K.R. Bell

Oopps, I almost forgot--1953 B&O RR Museum (my apologies, Shawn!)

K.R. Bell

> Pioneer museums have their rightful place in
> history. Railway museums are no excpetion.
> Here is a rough (unchecked) list of pre-1960
> railway museums and tourist lines) in the
> United States for your critical
> review--please add, amend or correct (note:
> this list does not include world's fairs or
> railway expositions which were the true
> precursor of the modern railway museum as we
> know it today):

> 1885c. Smithsonian (first railroad
> collecting - C&A John Bull donated by
> the PRR)
> 1941c. Seashore Trolley Museum
> 1944 National Museum of Transport (now MOT)
> 1949c. Edaville RR
> 1953c. NJ Museum of Transportation (now at
> Allaire, NJ)
> 1955c. Black Hills Central
> 1955c. Knott's Berry Farm RR (name?)
> 1959 Strasburg RR
> 1960 EBT revival
> 1960 Historic Red Clay Valley (W&W)

> A good timeline of railway preservation
> (though admittedly not handy at the time I
> typed this) appeared in L&RP March-April
> 1990 issue.

> Who am I missing, and what needs to be
> corrected?

> K.R. Bell


http://rrmuseumpa.org

> Pioneer museums have their rightful place in
> history. Railway museums are no excpetion.
> Here is a rough (unchecked) list of pre-1960
> railway museums and tourist lines) in the
> United States for your critical
> review--please add, amend or correct (note:
> this list does not include world's fairs or
> railway expositions which were the true
> precursor of the modern railway museum as we
> know it today):

Does the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado meet the "Pioneer" criteria. As I understand the story, Bob Richardson and Cornelius Hauck started the collection in the early 1950's, and moved to Golden about 1960.

> 1885c. Smithsonian (first railroad
> collecting - C&A John Bull donated by
> the PRR)
> 1941c. Seashore Trolley Museum
> 1944 National Museum of Transport (now MOT)
> 1949c. Edaville RR
> 1953c. NJ Museum of Transportation (now at
> Allaire, NJ)
> 1955c. Black Hills Central
> 1955c. Knott's Berry Farm RR (name?)
> 1959 Strasburg RR
> 1960 EBT revival
> 1960 Historic Red Clay Valley (W&W)

> A good timeline of railway preservation
> (though admittedly not handy at the time I
> typed this) appeared in L&RP March-April
> 1990 issue.

> Who am I missing, and what needs to be
> corrected?

> K.R. Bell


nwstaybolt@reachone.com

1961 - San Diego County Railroad Museum, which became the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in 1963. Now uses the name San Diego Railroad Museum since about 1986.

PSRM Home Page

JimLundquist55@yahoo.com

> Pioneer museums have their rightful place in
> history. Railway museums are no excpetion.
> Here is a rough (unchecked) list of pre-1960
> railway museums and tourist lines) in the
> United States for your critical
> review--please add, amend or correct (note:
> this list does not include world's fairs or
> railway expositions which were the true
> precursor of the modern railway museum as we
> know it today):

> 1885c. Smithsonian (first railroad
> collecting - C&A John Bull donated by
> the PRR)
> 1941c. Seashore Trolley Museum
> 1944 National Museum of Transport (now MOT)
> 1949c. Edaville RR
> 1953c. NJ Museum of Transportation (now at
> Allaire, NJ)
> 1955c. Black Hills Central
> 1955c. Knott's Berry Farm RR (name?)
> 1959 Strasburg RR
> 1960 EBT revival
> 1960 Historic Red Clay Valley (W&W)

> A good timeline of railway preservation
> (though admittedly not handy at the time I
> typed this) appeared in L&RP March-April
> 1990 issue.

> Who am I missing, and what needs to be
> corrected?

> K.R. Bell

How about Rail City in Sandy Pond, NY???? I beleve it opened sometime in the late 1950s.

drotarinoh@webtv.net

The B&O Museum may have opened in 1953 but their collection dates to at least 1893 when it was at the Chicago World's Fair. And the PRR never opened a museum but had a collection, although I can't say when it began. Not sure what to suggest here but I thought it worth mentioning.

Museum of Transportation
rdgoldfede@aol.com

I should have also corrected the dates for MOT. The organization started up in 1944 but the activity at our museum site only started in 1946.

Museum of Transportation
rdgoldfede@aol.com

Kentucky Railway Museum dates from the mid-1950's.

And Union Pacific's own museum dates back to the 1930's or 1940's, IIRC. It is an in-house thing, but still chock full of artifacts.

I'm pretty sure Seashore Trolley Museum started in 1939 when the Biddeford & Saco Railway was abandoned and several people bought the first car, B&S #31.

K4s1361@hotmail.com

I'm surprised that you not yet heard comments about what I'm to write about. But then this is Friday evening.

Seashore did start early with the passing of the hat to preserve the open car on the Biddleford & Saco that the Boston railfans were riding. By the start of WWII the group had gathered up four cars. But the group did not incorporate until after the war.

The first incorporated electric railway preservation was Connecticut Electric outside of Hartford. It was incorporated prior to WWII.

The Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society obtained custody of two Nevada Central 3' gauge locomotives and two cars from the same road back in 1937. The same year it also got V&T 2-4-0 #21. These were later transfered to the California State Railroad Museum.

In 1938 Ward Kimball began a private preservation activity with the acquisition of another ex-Nevada Central locomotive and an ex-C&C/SP narrow gauge coach.

Ohio Railway Museum dates back to the early 1950s.

Orange Empire Railway Museum was organized back in 1956 to preserve LA streetcars and acquired its site in Perris in 1958. Prior to the 1956 date the local Electric Railway Historical Association of SC (I believe an ERA chapter at that time) had acquired three LA streetcars that they subequently deeded to OERM then named Orange Empire Trolley Museum (or maybe it's early name, Orange Empire Traction Company). Prior to the Korean Conflect there was an attempt to save a wooden Pacific Electric car; but, only about half of the $1200 could be raised and the car was not purchased [reportedly the scrapper had knocked $500 off the price that it paid for the cars].

By the time that the Association of Railway Museums was organized in 1961 most of the railway preservation efforts in the country were based upon preserving electric city transit. However, among the members in the first couple of years were Colorado Railroad Museum, Puget Sound, and the NRHS Atlanta Chapter.

Brian Norden
ARM Director and
former ARM Secretary

bnorden49@earthlink.net

Please don't forget the Illinois Railway Museum, originally Illinois Electric Railway Museum, established in November 1953. We're celebrating "50 Years of Preservation" during our 2003 season!

beast@mc.net

Souther California Chapter, Railway and Locomotive Historical Society started displaying collection at Los Angeles County Fair in 1954. Most of collection acquired prior to 1960. Only UP 6915, a Santa Fe Horse Car, NKP 6, refrigerator car, and Arcadia Station added since then.

Southern California Chapter, R&LHS
lstone45@aol.com

> I'm pretty sure Seashore Trolley Museum
> started in 1939 when the Biddeford &
> Saco Railway was abandoned and several
> people bought the first car, B&S #31.

That's correct; Seashore was founded in 1939, making it the first de facto trolley museum in America if not the first incorporated. Branford (Shore Line Trolley Museum) was founded in 1945.

Frank Hicks

fullparallel@wideopenwest.com

> That's correct; Seashore was founded in
> 1939, making it the first de facto trolley
> museum in America if not the first
> incorporated. Branford (Shore Line Trolley
> Museum) was founded in 1945.

> Frank Hicks

From booklets published by the museums:

Connecticut Electric Railway Association Inc. was incorporated October 28, 1940. The people incorporating it were members of a NRHS chapter. It's right-of-way was purchased in 1941. and the first car arrived Aug 28, 1941.

The founders of Seashore Trolley Museum incorporated the New England Electric Railway Historical Society in 1941. The group had already preserved four cars by this time.

Brandford Electric Railway Association operator of Shore Line Trolley Museum was incoporated in August 1945. In March 1947 it obtained its right-of-way from the Connecticut Company.

New England -- the birthplace of electric railway preservation.

Brian Norden

bnorden49@earthlink.net

Gold Coast Railroad Museum was at least started and operating on an occasional basis at Richmond, FL on the old navy blimp base which was then South Campus U of M by about 1960. they moved to Ft Lauderdale in the late '60's / early '70's and now are back - the old blimp base is now Metrozoo. Miami has expanded like a malignant tumor and engulfed most of the intervening territory in the intervening years.

How many other museums have moved twice to end up back where they came from?

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net