Minnesota Streetcar Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Minnesota Streetcar Museum

Established	2005 (Parent in 1962)
Location	Twin Cities, Minnesota
Type	Heritage Streetcar Operator

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum (MSM) is a cool place where you can see and ride old streetcars! It's like a museum on wheels. They run two special streetcar lines in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and also in Excelsior, a town nearby.

About the Museum

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum started in 2005. It was created from a bigger group called the Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM). The MTM began way back in 1962. Their first goal was to fix up an old streetcar, Twin City Rapid Transit Company No. 1300. This streetcar was used until 1954, when buses took over.

Over time, the MTM collected many different types of transportation. They had 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 took over the streetcar lines. Another museum, the Museum of Lake Minnetonka, took care of the restored steamboat Minnehaha. This steamboat was built in 1906.

Como-Harriet Streetcar Line

In 1971, the museum started running streetcars on the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line. This special line is in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's more than a mile long! The line follows the path of an old streetcar route. It runs between Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska. You can ride these historic streetcars today.

The museum uses three restored streetcars from the original TCRT company. They also built a station that looks like one from the 1900s. You can find it where Queen Avenue and 42nd Street meet.

Excelsior Streetcar Line

The Excelsior Streetcar Line opened in 1999. It's located in Excelsior, a suburb near Lake Minnetonka. The first streetcar used here was Duluth Street Railway Company No. 78. It came from the Como-Harriet Line. Later, TCRT No. 1239 joined it in 2004.

This line runs on an old railroad path. Today, this path is a bike trail managed by Hennepin County. When you take a ride, you can also tour the Excelsior Carbarn. This is where Winona No. 10 is being fixed up. Mesaba No. 10 is also stored there, waiting for its turn to be restored.

Duluth Street Railway No. 78

Duluth Street Railway No. 78

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 car was brought back to life in 1991 after seven years of hard work. It stopped running in 1911, but now it's one of the oldest working streetcars in the country! It looks a lot like the horse-drawn streetcars it replaced. It has been running on the Excelsior Streetcar Line since 1999.

Duluth Street Railway No. 265

Duluth Street Railway No. 265

DSR 265 was built in 1915 by TCRT in the Twin Cities. It was sold to Duluth the next year. It ran there until Duluth's streetcar system closed in 1939. After that, the car was sold and turned into a summer cabin in Solon Springs, Wisconsin. This was a common thing to do with old wooden streetcars that weren't destroyed. Because it was a cabin, its inside parts were gone. So, important pieces like the wheels, electric wires, and other parts had to be found from other old streetcars or built from scratch.

Streetcars in the Collection

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum has six streetcars that can run. Three are from TCRT, two are from the Duluth Street Railway Company, and one is from Winona, Minnesota. The museum also owns a Birney streetcar from Fargo-Moorhead and a fast interurban car from the Mesaba Railway.

Electric Streetcars and Details

Name	Image	Built	Builder	Line and Status	Notes
TCRT No. 1300		1908	Twin City Rapid Transit Company	Como-Harriet, operational	Given to the Minnesota Railfan's Association in 1954
DSL No. 265		1915	Twin City Rapid Transit Company	Como-Harriet, operational	Stopped running in 1939; acquired in 1973, running since 1982 Was originally TCRT No. 1791
TCRT No. 322		1946	St. Louis Car Company	Como-Harriet, operational	Taken out of service in 1953; acquired in 1990, running since 2000 Also ran for the Newark City Subway (1953–1978) and RTA Rapid Transit (1978–1990) A modern PCC streetcar from after World War II
DSL No. 78		1893	LaClede Car Company	Excelsior, operational	Stopped running in 1911; acquired in 1971, running since 1991 Moved from the Como-Harriet Line for the Excelsior Line's opening in 1999
TCRT No. 1239		1907	Twin City Rapid Transit Company	Excelsior, operational	Stopped running in 1953; acquired in 1987, running since 2004
Mississippi Valley Public Service No. 10		1913	St. Louis Car Company	Excelsior, operational	Stopped running in 1938; acquired in 1999, running since 2016 Ran in Winona, Minnesota and was the last streetcar there
Mesaba Railway No. 10		1912	Niles Car and Manufacturing Company	Excelsior, undergoing restoration	Stopped running in 1927; acquired in 1978 Used for longer trips between Hibbing and Gilbert, Minnesota
Fargo & Moorhead Street Railway No. 28		1923	American Car Company	Remotely stored, awaiting restoration	Stopped running in 1937; acquired in 2003 Ran in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota

More to Explore

You might also be interested in these places with similar streetcar history:

• 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 streetcar and bus lines in the Twin Cities
• Metro Transit (Minnesota) – The current light rail and bus company in the Twin Cities