Another view of the engineering in the US-67 Clark Bridge across the Mississippi River

Tried to photograph that caboose, but the damn car got in the way...

Entrance to kiddo's fairy garden at the transportation museum

1929 Model A Ford Huckster, known as the "Termite Taxi"

This early railroad car's parentage should be obvious

Selection of railroad dining car crockery

A vomitacious livery. Read the comment...

The Clarke Bridge over the Mississippi above our marina, in torrential rain

Day 16: Alton, Il and St. Louis, MO

October 18 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

We're at the Alton Marina because St. Louis has no facilities for boaters to tie up to. Alton is in Illinois, St Loo is across the river in Missouri. We head for Forest Park (which they tell us is larger than Central Park in NYC) and the Visitor Centre, where I pick up some maps. Then, still in Forest Park, we drop Rosie at the Zoo. Preston and I then head across town to the National Museum of Transportation.

What satrted out as an overcast day with thunderstorms forecast turned into exactly that. Heaviest rain we've experienced since leaving Michigan. Torrential for several hours. Rosie got wet at the zoo (despite her dainty wee brolly) and so did Preston and I (despite my robust, manly version). We left the museum at its closing time, picked Rosie up at her closing time, and drove back to the marina... a 1½-hr drive on freeways in double-wiper-speed conditions.

I'll have to recuperate and regain some energy before I can complete this Footprint. I'll place most of the museum images in separate folders to save my faithful non-technical followers the anguish of having to peruse them should they not be desirous.Read more

Traveler This Boston and Providence passenger car is the earliest known American railroad passenger car. It was designed by John Lightner and built for the Boston & Providence Railroad in Roxbury, Massachusetts, between 1834 and 1836. The car was constructed of wood and had an iron frame and leather straps for suspension. Its construction is noteworthy because it coincided with the beginning of the railroad industry in the United States. Originally, horses pulled the car on tracks. It was later pulled behind steam-powered locomotives. Sometime in its career, the coach was smashed in an accident. Rather than being discarded, the pieces were saved and stored in a shed. In 1893, under Lightner's supervision, the car was restored and exhibited at the World's Fair in Chicago. Remarkably, it is the only stage-coach passenger car to survive to the present day. Bought in an auction by The National Museum of Transportation in 1982, the Boston & Providence coach is a highlight of the collection because of its unique status in railroad history.

10/18/25Reply

Traveler The old streetcar behind was hauled by a mule through the streets of St Louis. The mule could only manage 6 hrs of work a day, the driver had to manage more than that!

10/18/25Reply

Traveler This gaudy machine is painted so that kiddos can use the adjacent interpretive board to identify the various elements of a steam locomotive to understand how it works. The other side of the poor locomotive is more acceptable to me. The interpretive sign reads: "Georgia Railroad #724 Steam locomotive. This coal-burner has the distinction of being the last conventional steam locomotive to regularly operate in the St. Louis area. The 724 was built for the Georgia Railroad in 1896. Reboilered in 1923, the locomotive was sold to the East St. Louis Junction Railroad, a line serving the National City stockyards in Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It was acquired by St. Louis Material & Supply Co. (later Basic Materials Co.) which continued to operate the #724 until it was retired in 1963. No. 724--a classic example of a locomotive from the golden age of steam power--now functions as a teaching tool. Its left side is painted in traditional black while the right side is color-coded. Each color highlights a feature or group of features that make up the total engine. See the nearby map to learn more about steam locomotive technology. Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Built: 1896, Wheel Configuration: 0-6-0".

10/18/25Reply

Traveler That is clever

10/22/25Reply

1 like