About the Museum > Museum History
Museum History
Since 2008, the Transportation Museum has been a unique, one-day event for toddlers, adults, and everyone in between. Each year, visitors are treated to interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from the Transcontinental Railroad and projects to solve Bay Area traffic to programming miniature robots and solving an Amtrak-themed escape room.
Museum History
As a young child, museum director Andrew Mancini loved transportation of all kinds, especially trains. In fact, at the age of five, he had memorized all of the stations on the CalTrain line and knew all of the train engine numbers.
As a way to share his love for, and knowledge of, transportation with friends, family, and neighbors, Andrew created The Transportation Museum at the age of five. The museum, like those in subsequent years, occurred on a single day during the summer at Andrew's house. Early exhibits included displays of the schedules of every Bay Area transit route, organized on the family sofa; learning about the R.M.S. Titanic by allowing guests to send their own Morse code messages; and slot car racing at the "Grapefruit 500," a track set up on the cover of the hot tub in Andrew's backyard.
In 2013, Andrew wrote hand-written, personalized letters to transit agencies in the 40 largest cities in the U.S. and each transit agency in California and Nevada. Over 75 percent of these organizations wrote back, sending in not just the schedules and maps that were requested, but also fun items — chapstick, Yo-Yo toys, and rain ponchos — branded with their logo, forming the foundation of what is today the museum collection.
About the Museum > Museum History
About the Museum > Frequently Asked Questions
Museum History
Frequently Asked Questions
We'll admit that The Transportation Museum isn't your typical museum! It's a one-day event held annually featuring interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from historical displays (like the Pony Express or the Transcontinental Railroad) to those looking toward the future (solving Bay Area traffic and traveling to Mars). If it's your first time visiting the museum or you're interested in a refresher on what to expect, read answers to common guest questions.
What are the exhibits like?
Each of the museum exhibits are different, but each year's museum brings between 10 to 12 brand-new exhibits to the public. Each exhibit combines both educational components and interactive activities, so every display can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. For example, in the Float Your Boat exhibit at the museum in 2016, guests learned the science behind how boats float and discovered what buoyancy and water displacement is. Then, guests worked to build a boat out of LEGOs that could carry cargo containers while remaining afloat. In an exhibit at the museum in 2019, visitors programmed miniature robots through a San Francisco-themed obstacle course to learn, hands-on, how self-driving cars function. These two exhibits are just a couple of examples of the educational and interactive combination present at each of the museum's displays.
Since 2008, the Transportation Museum has been a unique, one-day event for toddlers, adults, and everyone in between. Each year, visitors are treated to interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from the Transcontinental Railroad and projects to solve Bay Area traffic to programming miniature robots and solving an Amtrak-themed escape room.
Museum History
As a young child, museum director Andrew Mancini loved transportation of all kinds, especially trains. In fact, at the age of five, he had memorized all of the stations on the CalTrain line and knew all of the train engine numbers.
As a way to share his love for, and knowledge of, transportation with friends, family, and neighbors, Andrew created The Transportation Museum at the age of five. The museum, like those in subsequent years, occurred on a single day during the summer at Andrew's house. Early exhibits included displays of the schedules of every Bay Area transit route, organized on the family sofa; learning about the R.M.S. Titanic by allowing guests to send their own Morse code messages; and slot car racing at the "Grapefruit 500," a track set up on the cover of the hot tub in Andrew's backyard.
In 2013, Andrew wrote hand-written, personalized letters to transit agencies in the 40 largest cities in the U.S. and each transit agency in California and Nevada. Over 75 percent of these organizations wrote back, sending in not just the schedules and maps that were requested, but also fun items — chapstick, Yo-Yo toys, and rain ponchos — branded with their logo, forming the foundation of what is today the museum collection.
Exhibits > Online Exhibits > Trails and Rails Program: Texas Eagle
Trails and Rails Program: Texas Eagle
In place of volunteer docents, the National Park Service and Texas A&M University developed a series of podcast episodes to inform Amtrak passengers about historical and natural points of interest between Chicago and San Antonio. Explore and download these resources before your next trip.
Note: The following resources are provided as a collaboration between Amtrak, the National Park Service, and Texas A&M University, and housed online by The Transportation Museum. Timetables, routes, and details about points of interest may have changed since their publication date. For the most up-to-date information, see amtrak.com.
Texas Eagle Audio Podcast
The following narration is ordered for travel from Chicago, IL to San Antonio, TX. If you are riding east, start at tracks #1 and #2 and then scroll down to begin at track #108.
We suggest downloading these MP3 files ahead of time, as there is no WiFi onboard the train and parts of the route have limited mobile phone service. To view a description of each of the 108 episodes, including their respective author(s), click here.
Instructions for Desktop:
Playing Episodes: click the episode name and it will automatically begin playing. To view the description of the particular episode you are listening to, click the "lyrics and information" button ( ) at the bottom right of the player.
Downloading Episodes: hover over the episode name or length and click the blue "Download" button at right. Then click the "Download in MP3" button when the option appears. The episode will appear in your computer's Downloads folder. To exit a particular episode, click "Go to site" to return to the episode list.
Instructions for Mobile:
Playing Episodes: click the episode name and it will automatically begin playing. To view the description of the particular episode you are listening to, click the "lyrics and information" button ( ) at the bottom left of the player. You may need to click "Show more episodes" to open the full player.
Downloading Episodes: click a particular episode, upon which a blue "Free" button will appear. Click this button, and then click the "Download in MP3" button when the option appears. (On some devices, you may need to confirm the download.) The location of this file depends on the specific device. To exit a particular episode, click the "X" at the top left.
The podcast team wishes to thank Dr. Eva J. Hoffman, author of the book “A Guide to Amtrak’s Sunset Limited” (Flashing Yellow Guidebooks, 2009), which provided invaluable background material. Several entities generously allowed the Trails & Rails team to use their music and sound effects free of charge for the project, including John and Mark Dujka of the Dujka Brothers Band; Bruce Sunpie Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots; Soundjay.com; New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park; Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail; and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Amtrak is a registered service mark of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
If you notice an error in this description or the audio files on the website, please contact the museum.