Southern Arizona Transportation Museum revealed

At the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum, experience real steam locomotives with indoor and outdoor exhibits that allow you to explore the impact of the railroad on Tucson, Arizona. As a highlight, see the steam locomotive that starred in the movie Oklahoma in 1955.

Other exhibits at the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum include a depot that includes four separate buildings and a locomotive, a sculpture of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, some amazing interactive exhibits, and a lobby on the first floor that is still a working passenger train lobby.

Now, continue reading to learn even more about the intriguing Southern Arizona Transportation Museum for yourself.

Southern Arizona Transportation Museum hours of operation

The hours of operation at the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum vary throughout the week. First, Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, the museum is open from 11am to 3pm. Then, the museum is open on Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Finally, the locomotive gates are open on Saturday from 10am to 3pm. Admission is always free for you and your guests!

Some history about the depot

Back in 1998, the City of Tucson purchased the former downtown Southern Pacific Railroad Depot on Toole Avenue. Then, restoration of the main depot building and the three adjacent buildings was completed in 2004. That restoration brought them back to their original 1941 architectural style.

Before this restoration had started, the City, along with a Citizen’s Intermodal Task Force, created a Master Plan to guide their efforts. The plan called for devoting the former Records Building on the depot site to a transportation museum.

The Records building, which was first of the three outlying buildings on the depot site to be built, was constructed in three stages back in1907, 1910, and 1922. The latest stage in 1922 is when the building was completed and is the building that currently exists in Tucson.

In 2001, a management committee was formed to complete the establishment of the museum. The museum is now a division of Old Pueblo Trolley, Inc, which was founded in 1983.

By the time 2003 came around, the museum was awarded a variety of grants and private donations that funded the museum exhibits. Then on March 20th, 2005, the 125th Anniversary of the Arrival of the railroad in Tucson, the museum was dedicated with the help of Mayor Bob Walkup.

Highlight of the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum

The biggest highlight of the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum is their original Southern Pacific steam locomotive #1673. This locomotive was delivered in November of 1900 from the American Locomotive Company’s Schenectady, New York plant.

This steam locomotive began its life as a coal burner. Soon after, it was switched over to oil. The Mogul operated most of its life in the area around Tucson, hauling freight trains. Finally, the Mogul became famous for being featured in the 1955 movie Oklahoma.

Seven of the many museums in Tucson

Too numerous to go into detail, here is a list of museums to visit in Tucson Arizona:

1. Tucson Museum of Art
   • Connects art to life through meaningful and engaging experiences
2. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
   • Zoo, botanical garden, art gallery & classes, natural history museum, and aquarium
3. Arizona State Museum
   • Ancient and enduring Native cultures of the region through content-rich exhibits
4. Children’s Museum Tucson
   • Southern Arizona’s interactive museum for children
5. Tucson Desert Art Museum
   • Display art and artifacts of the Desert Southwest and surrounding regions
6. Arizona History Museum
   • Connecting people through the power of Arizona’s history
7. Southern Arizona Transportation Museum
   • Exploring the impact of the railroad on Tucson