The largest museum in the U.S. devoted to urban public transportation history. The New York City Transit Museum explores the development of the greater New York Metropolitan region through presentations dealing with the cultural, social and technological history of public transportation. The museum is housed in a historic 1936 IND subway station in Brooklyn Heights. It also operates an annex in Grand Central Terminal.
R-33 World’s Fair (St. Louis, 1963–64) 9306. NYCSubway.org photo by Zach Summer (July 22, 2008). Click to enlarge.
London Transport Museum explores the heritage of London and its transport system, and the stories of the people who have travelled and worked in the city over the last 200 years. The museum’s collections include original artworks and posters that have been used to promote the city’s transport over the last century, as well as outstanding examples of transport vehicles and objects that are evocative of times gone by.
An overview of various trains viewed from the model gallery. From left to right the trains are: Q Stock train (dark red), Standard Stock train (yellow) and 1938 tube stock train (red). Wikipedia photo by Chris McKenna (October 22, 2005). Click to enlarge.
Founded in 1939, the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine is the oldest and largest museum in the world dedicated to the preservation and operation of urban and interurban transit vehicles. The museum features over four miles of track and its collection of over 250 trolleys represents almost all major cities in the U.S. that had streetcar systems, as well as from other cities across the globe.
Oshawa Railway (Baldwin/Westinghouse) 300. NYCSubway.org photo by David Pirmann (May 25, 1996). Click to enlarge.
The Shore Line Trolley Museum in Branford, Connecticut has been an important part of the community since its incorporation in 1945 as the Branford Electric Railway Association (BERA). Founded to preserve the unique heritage of the trolley car, it boasts a collection of nearly 100 vintage vehicles as well as artifacts and documents from the trolley era. The museum operates the Branford Electric Railway, the oldest continuously operating suburban trolley line in the U.S.
Riding the Branford Electric Railway at the Shore Line Trolley Museum. Bill Rosenberg photos (1971-1987). Click to enlarge and play slideshow.
The Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Haven is the oldest incorporated museum dedicated to electric railroading in the U.S. Owned by the Connecticut Electric Railway Association (CERA), the museum operates a 1.5-mile heritage railroad over the original right-of-way of the Hartford and Springfield Street Railway Company. Anywhere from two to eight trolleys are operated each day, and unlimited rides on cars are included in the admission for the day.
Connecticut cars make a pre-season 2009 appearance in Kelly Yard. CERA photo (February 22, 2009). Click to enlarge.
The Railroad Museum of Long Island has sites in Riverhead and Greenport. Since 1990 it has been dedicated to the restoration, preservation and interpretation of the history and artifacts pertaining to the railroads which participated in the growth of Long Island. The Riverhead site is where the restoration of museum rolling stock takes place. The Greenport site has a permanent exhibit of railroad artifacts as well as regularly changing exhibits.
Old meets older at the Riverhead branch of the Railroad Museum of Long Island. Sandy Campbell photos (May 31, 2010). Click to enlarge and play slideshow.
