Category: Up Close

St. Louis, MO museum a paradise on rail

Oct 26th, 2012

Where can you see an 1863 steam locomotive, an FT diesel, the world’s largest tank car, a streetcar and the Katy Flyer? Maybe on a poorly planned model railroad layout, but certainly at the Museum of Transportation in suburban St. Louis, a paradise for the rail history buff and railroad modeler, no matter what era or location he or she models. The St. Louis Museum of Transportation houses one of the largest and best collections of transportation vehicles in the world, proclaims John White, curator emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution. In addition to 150 pieces of railroad rolling stock, the museum includes 100 road vehicles, aircraft and even a towboat. The 1863 steam locomotive is the Daniel Nason, the oldest locomotive in the collection and one of the oldest steam locomotives in the U.S. The 4-4-0 was built by the Boston & Providence Railroad and is the last surviving “insider,”…

R.D. Moses layout returns to life

Oct 26th, 2012

JEFFERSON, TX — A small group of rail enthusiasts with help from local preservationists, merchants and citizens proved in May that sometimes the very difficult can be achieved. The grand opening of the R.D. Moses Texas & Pacific Railway display at the Jefferson Historical Museum not only culminated one man’s dream for his work to live on but enabled a town to embrace its railroad heritage for the first time in decades. Following a short ceremony and ribbon cutting to kick off Jefferson Train Days, Fort Worth modeler R.D. Moses’ layout was debuted in a new T&P-style building, and many who doubted that a project of such magnitude could be accomplished – the museum’s largest since a roof was installed in the 1990s – were smiling. In less than a year and with no seed money, the craftsman-like layout was transformed from Moses’ backyard and showcased in style under the…