Oldsmobile Fun Show

This past Sunday brought us 66 Oldsmobiles, sunny skies, and 83 degrees. Thanks again to Ron Anderson for the photographs.

Out with the old, in with the...old

It's gallery-changing time. To prepare for our upcoming Pistons and Pumpers exhibit in the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center, we've removed nearly every vehicle in the building except the Darin and Turbine cars, the Cadillac in the Coral Court exhibit, and a few of the trucks. And beginning last week, new vehicles (well, not "new" - all so far are nearly fifty years old or older) began to trickle into the building.

The rotation of exhibits and artifacts is vital, but it can also be a lengthy process when each vehicle is transported individually to or from our off-site storage facility, which is a fifteen-minute drive from the Museum on a good day. And few of our vehicles are maintained in operating condition, so we rely heavily upon trucks, trailers, wheel dollies, winches, and old-fashioned muscle.

Thanks again to Ron Anderson for the photographs.

All-Chevy Show

One of the largest- and perhaps the largest - single-make car shows ever at the Museum of Transportation was the All-Chevy Show hosted by the Fabulous Fifties Chevy Club on September 13th. With 148 cars, the show was a great success, and we were thrilled to host such a vast and varied gathering of Chevrolets. Thanks again to Ron Anderson for the photographs.

Don't forget our next show...the Oldsmobile Fun Show this Sunday, September 27th.

Sitting below an excavator...

As I write this, a very large Caterpillar track hoe is working away, some thirty feet above my head. It's not directly above my head; it's actually just behind the Museum's administration office, pulling fill from the hillside behind us to use as additional surcharge for the visitors' center site. While the sound of it hitting rock can be a little unsettling, any minor apprehension is more than offset by the fact this excavation will move the project of extending the streetcar line from the tunnel to the back of the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center forward.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Oldsmobile Fun Show this Sunday, September 27th. As with all car shows at the Museum, admission to the show itself is free! Regular Museum admission applies to the remainder of the Museum grounds.

Volunteers

Did you know volunteers contribute over 32,000 hours annually at the Museum - or the equivalent of 15 full-time employees? Our volunteers work in fields as diverse as visitor services, restoration, archives, offering tours, and streetcar operations. They also serve in a number of advisory capacities and as ambassadors for the Museum.

Our volunteers in action, photographed by volunteer photographer Ron Anderson...

Volunteers in the restoration program are rebuilding a handcar that has deteriorated over the years and suffered fairly extensive rotting of the wood decking and supports.

It wouldn't be a blog posting without an updated photograph of the visitors' center site work. The excavated location of the building pad has been largely filled with clean material, and pressure plates have been installed to measure the rate of compaction over the upcoming months.

Visitors' Center - Thursday Afternoon

Pistons and Pumpers

We're getting ready for the Pistons and Pumpers Antique Truck and Fire Truck Show on Saturday, October 10th, in our lower level parking lot. It will be a fantastic show, hosted by the Gateway Fire Historical Society and the local region of the Antique Truck Historical Society, and will feature antique fire pumpers pumping for our lake. We will be hosting a special exhibit in our Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center featuring fire trucks and antique trucks.

Earlier today, we brought the 1977 Seagrave hook and ladder truck on loan to the Museum from the City of St. Louis Fire Department. After several years in storage, we put a new battery in it, and it fired up immediately. Listen to it purr and watch the lights run in this video.

Car Shows

Make sure you include our remaining 2009 car shows on your calendar - they're great events, wonderful opportunities to visit with owners about their fantastic vehicles, and on top of that, admission to the car shows is free! (Regular Museum admission applies to the remainder of the Museum)

• All-Chevy Show: September 13th
• Oldsmobile Fun Show: September 27th
• Brass & Nickel Show: October 4th
• Pistons and Pumpers Truck and Fire Truck Show: October 10th

For more information, visit our website at Museum of Transportation