Getting Back to Business!

November 16, 2021

Getting Back to Business

 The past 20 months of COVID brought financial challenges and uncertainty to the Museum, but optimism, determination, and support from the outside have brought us to an exciting point this fall. Through the worst of it, we pressed on with the Capital Campaign, engineering & design of the next construction phase, and applying for COVID relief from every possible source. Our efforts were essentially on two fronts, keeping the Capital Campaign alive to continue facilities construction in Frisco, and keeping the Museum doors open and our precious staff intact. Below are the fruits of those efforts and the stories of a museum grateful to have weathered the storm. This e-news blast covers operations. We plan to detail construction progress in a forthcoming e-news blast.  

Operations Update

Museum operations have resumed pre-COVID hours and program offerings. We cautiously re-entered the tourism market last spring, opening TrainTopia and resuming outside guided tours following a hiatus due to COVID precautions. We are pleased to report that summer 2021 visitation, while not reaching pre-COVID levels, was encouraging. We continue to see our valued guests returning as we emerge from the worst of the pandemic. 

Day Out with Thomas a Success

After two cancellations due to COVID, the Museum recently hosted its 18th Day Out with Thomas event in North Texas. Partnering with the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, the little blue engine made a long-anticipated comeback to his fans. The two-weekend event was held September 24-26 & October 1-3 to sell-out crowds. Over 13,000 fans of Thomas came out to enjoy a train ride, live entertainment, and interactive shows. Proceeds benefitted the Museum of the American Railroad and the Grapevine Vintage Railroad. Our thanks to the City of Grapevine and Mattel for helping make this another successful event. Dates for next year’s DOWT will be posted soon!

High School Ethnic Studies Program Ready to Roll

Building on the Museum’s well-received participation in Texas Regions 10 & 11 Ethnic Studies Conference in July, the much-anticipated field trip program will begin November 30 for local high schools. All FISD African-American Studies students will attend the program over a five-day period. Topics will include a history of the Pullman Company with emphasis on Pullman Porters and their struggle for representation which led to the first African-American labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The program will also cover the Porters’ role in the rise of the Black middle class and passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Oakland, California’s First Pullman Porter’s Union. Oakland was a significant base of operations for Pullman and a domicile for Porters on the West Coast. In an effort to improve their working conditions, these Porters were among the first to organize. They played a key role in the development of

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, which successfully negotiated for fair wages and working conditions. Photo Courtesy of the African American Museum and Library at Oakland

Students will get a first-hand look at where many of these stories played out aboard trains that crisscrossed the Nation and affected countless communities. The Museum’s Pullman sleeping cars Glengyle, Goliad, and Glen Nevis will be featured on the field trip. Dating from 1910 to the 1920s, these cars provide an immersion experience for students unlike any classroom or virtual setting. The Museum’s 1937 M-K-T “Katy” dining car will also be exhibited during the tours, highlighting African-Americans who worked as cooks and waiters aboard these rolling restaurants.

Surviving COVID, and a BIG Thanks!

While visitation is on the mend, we had depleted most of our operating reserves like so many other museums and cultural facilities. A recent survey by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) reported that museums saw a 70% decline in attendance during the peak months of COVID. An American Alliance of Museums (AAM) survey during that same period predicted that as many as 1/3 of all museums could close permanently without sufficient financial relief. 

 Thankfully, help arrived in the form of a Federal program designed to restore financial health to performing arts organizations and museums. Dubbed the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, qualified applicants could receive funds administered through the Small Business Administration. The Museum of the American Railroad, along with 22 other railroad museums and tourist railways, applied for and received SVO grants. 

 Through the direction and support of U.S. Rep. Van Taylor (TX 3rd District) and his staff, the Museum navigated the application and approval process, successfully receiving funds that were literally a lifeline. The funds were received not a minute too soon, and we are very grateful to Rep. Taylor and his diligent staff at his Plano and D.C. offices. The SVO Grant program received broad support in Washington. Co-sponsored by Senators John Cornyn and Amy Klobuchar, with additional provisions by Chuck Schumer, the measure undoubtedly saved thousands of institutions. The museum field is also indebted to AAM which worked tirelessly to include museums in the program.   

 Also, our sincere thanks to the Summerlee Foundation, other organizations, and individuals that contributed to the Museum’s COVID relief. Thanks to the Communities Foundation of Texas, their May 5, 2020 North Texas Giving Tuesday event raised much-needed funds for non-profits around the region, including the Museum of the American Railroad. 

 Needless to say, there is much excitement at the Museum of the American Railroad as we resume operations and expand programming. We will provide an update on capital projects in an upcoming e-blast. Stay tuned for coverage of more progress as the Museum constructs new facilities in Frisco.

Our Passion is Education & Preservation

We are now booking educational field trips for the spring of 2022. We are delighted to accommodate your specific needs. So, we invite you and your students, children, or daycare to visit us soon! Email us at kmurphy@historictrains.org or phone 214-428-0101 to reserve your program.

All Aboard!