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Texas Transportation Museum

Texas Transportation Museum
Map
Established1964
LocationSan Antonio, Texas
Coordinates29°32′53″N 98°26′05″W / 29.548163°N 98.434766°W / 29.548163; -98.434766
TypeTransportation Museum
Websitetxtransportationmuseum.org

The Texas Transportation Museum (TTM) is a transportation museum located in San Antonio, Texas.

It was created in 1964 to help preserve artifacts and information about San Antonio's transportation history. TTM operates as much of its collection as possible, including many railroad vehicles on its own heritage railroad, the Longhorn and Western Railroad, multiple model train layouts, and many antique automobiles. TTM's goal is to provide an educational and entertaining experience which interprets how developments in transportation technology shaped and continue to impact daily life.

The museum was originally located at the Pearl Brewing Company in Downtown San Antonio and had used the tracks of the Texas Transportation Company. In 1967 the museum was granted use of approximately forty acres (16 ha) of what was then known as the Northeast Preserve, now McAllister Park, just north of the San Antonio International Airport on Wetmore Road.

The museum hosts three major events annually, an Easter egg hunt in April for Easter, "Spook-Track-Ula" in October for Halloween, and "Santa's Railroad Wonderland" in December for Christmas.[1][2][3]

Different areas, including a remodeled caboose, picnic tables, children's play area and a large outdoor pavilion can be rented for group parties. The children's play area includes a playscape consisting of a wooden steam engine and a metal scale-model diesel engine.[4][5][6]

TTM is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Longhorn and Western Railroad

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The Longhorn and Western Railroad is the Texas Transportation Museum's standard gauge heritage railroad that operates on its property with no connection to the general rail system. The L&W consists of approximately 5⁄8-mile (1.0 km) of trackage in total, with its mainline that runs 1⁄3-mile (0.54 km) from the east and west ends of the property.[7] Visitors can ride the full sized diesel-powered train every hour on the half hour on Saturdays and Sundays, and Fridays during the summer or holidays. A steam day is held once a month where visitors can ride behind the museum's standard gauge steam locomotive.[8][9]

Left to right: 1942 GE 45-ton switcher #7071, 1911 Baldwin 2-8-0 #6, and 1954 Baldwin RS-4-TC 1A #4035

Rolling stock preserved on the L&W

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Operating

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Static display

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Antique vehicles

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1924 Buffalo Type 50 fire engine
Ford Model AA Truck

Fire apparatus

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Tractors

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Cars and trucks

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Carriages

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Model railroad displays

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References

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  1. ^ "Events". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  2. ^ "Santa's Railroad Wonderland". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  3. ^ Diana, Winters (2021-12-23). "As seen on SA Live - Classic Christmas Special - Thursday, December 23, 2021". KSAT 12 SA Live. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  4. ^ "Parties". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  5. ^ "Texas Transportation Museum - Parties". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  6. ^ Barrera, Alicia; Chavez, Steven (2021-03-20). "Texas Transportation Museum debuts new train donated by local student". KSAT 12. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  7. ^ "The Longhorn and Western Railroad". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  8. ^ "Train Rides- Texas Transportation Museum". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  9. ^ Sauers, Camille (2021-06-14). "I boarded a 1925 steam engine in San Antonio. Here's what happened". mySanAntonio. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  10. ^ "Railroad Collection". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  11. ^ "Vehicles". Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  12. ^ "HO Scale Indoor Model Railroad". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  13. ^ "Model Railroads". Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  14. ^ "San Antonio N-Trak Association". Retrieved 2022-01-19.