Great Plains Transportation Museum
The Great Plains Transportation Museum (GPTM) is a transport museum in the center of Wichita . It is located immediately north of the historic Union Station on East Douglas Street, which is bridged here by the north-south railway line of the northern Santa Fe Trail towards Oklahoma . The lines of the two companies BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad merge at Union Station Wichita . Passenger traffic has not existed since 1979. Wichita is located in the eastern foothills of the Great Plains from which the museum is named .
history
The Santa Fe Railroad was the first railway company to enter the city in 1872, which made the transport of livestock in particular extremely cheaper. The railroad started a great economic development for the city, which continues to this day.
Of the six locomotives exhibited here, two are noteworthy because they are the last specimens built for their respective type in the then declining industry. The older is the prominently placed on the bridge steam locomotive Santa Fe steam locomotive # 3768 ( Baldwin Locomotive Works ), whose little older, still under steam-standing sister model # 3751 of the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society heard and the National Register of Historic Places is registered . The other is the Santa Fe FP45 # 93, one of 14 units of the CC diesel locomotive from December 1967.
In addition, numerous carriages are on display, including passenger coaches , some of which are over 100 years old. Various prints, signals, lanterns and other artifacts from the early days of the railroad can also be seen.
The museum is a voluntary association . It has set itself the task of preserving and conveying the history of the local transport system. The exhibition supports the endeavors for research, restoration and training. The condition of the vehicles is not very good. In addition, the inadequate description of the exhibits is criticized.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ ATSF FP45 93 on railfan.net
- ↑ Great Plains Transportation Museum at kansastravel.org
Coordinates: 37 ° 41 ′ 11 ″ N , 97 ° 19 ′ 46 ″ W.