Minnesota Streetcar Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 2005 (Parent in 1962) |
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| Location | Twin Cities, Minnesota |
| Type | Heritage Streetcar Operator |
The Minnesota Streetcar Museum (MSM) is a cool place that brings old streetcars back to life! It's a transport museum that runs two special heritage streetcar lines. You can find them in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in the western suburb of Excelsior.
Contents
About the Museum
The Minnesota Streetcar Museum was created in 2004-2005. It used to be part of a bigger group called the Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM). The MTM started way back in 1962. Their first big project was to fix up an old streetcar, Twin City Rapid Transit Company No. 1300. This streetcar was used by the TCRT until 1954, when buses took over.
Over the years, the MTM grew a lot. It started collecting and restoring all sorts of old transportation. This included diesel and steam trains, buses, and even steamboats! They also kept old papers and photos.
When the MTM changed in 2004 and 2005, the Minnesota Streetcar Museum was formed. It took over the streetcar lines. Another group, the Museum of Lake Minnetonka, was also created. They took care of the restored steamboat Minnehaha, which was built in 1906.
Cool Old Streetcars
The Minnesota Streetcar Museum now has five streetcars that can run! Three of them are from the original TCRT fleet. The other two are from the Duluth Street Railway Company. There's also a streetcar from Winona, Minnesota being fixed up. Plus, a Fargo-Moorhead Birney streetcar and a Mesaba Railway inter-urban car are waiting for their turn to be restored.
Como-Harriet Streetcar Line
In 1971, the museum started running streetcars on the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line. This is a special heritage line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The line is over a mile long. It follows the path of an original TCRT streetcar route. The line runs between Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. It's open for everyone to ride! The museum uses three restored streetcars from the old TCRT. They even built a station that looks just like one from the 1900s. You can find it at Queen Ave and 42nd Street.
Excelsior Streetcar Line
| Excelsior Streetcar Line | |
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| Service | |
| Type | Heritage streetcar |
| History | |
| Opened | 1999 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Minimum radius | (?) |
| Electrification | (?) |
The Excelsior Streetcar Line started running in 1999. It's in the suburb of Excelsior, close to Lake Minnetonka. This line uses Duluth Street Railway Company No. 78. Later, TCRT No. 1239 joined it in 2004. The line runs on an old railway path. This path is now a bike trail managed by Hennepin County. On every trip, you get a tour of the Excelsior Carbarn. This is where Winona No. 10 is being fixed up. Mesaba No. 10 is also stored there, waiting for its turn.
DSR No. 78: A Very Old Streetcar
Duluth Street Railway Company No. 78 is the oldest streetcar at the museum. It was built in 1893 by the LaClede Car Company in Saint Louis, Missouri. This streetcar was brought back to life in 1991 after seven years of hard work! It stopped being used in 1911. Today, it's one of the oldest working streetcars in the whole country. It looks a lot like the horse-drawn streetcars it replaced. Since 1999, it has been running on the Excelsior Streetcar Line.
TCRT No. 1239: A Unique Design
TCRT No. 1239 was built in Minneapolis in 1907. It has been restored to look just like it did when it was new. It had a special door for the motorman (the driver) at the front. At the back, it had wire gates for passengers to get on and off.
This design meant that two people had to operate the streetcar. The motorman drove the car and opened the gates. A conductor stayed at the back. The conductor collected fares (money for the ride) and helped when the streetcar needed to back up.
Later, in the 1930s, many TCRT streetcars were changed. They added folding front doors. This allowed them to be operated by just one person (the motorman). Or, on busy routes, they could still use two people. Many of these "gate cars" stayed in service until 1954. TCRT No. 1239 started running again in September 2004.
See Also
Here are some other cool places with old Twin City Rapid Transit equipment:
- Seashore Trolley Museum
- East Troy Electric Railroad Museum
- San Francisco Municipal Railway's Market Street Railway
Learn more about transit in Minnesota:
- Twin City Rapid Transit – the original streetcars and bus lines in the Twin Cities
- Metro Transit (Minnesota) – the company that runs today's light rail and buses in the Twin Cities
