Forney Transportation Museum

The Forney Transportation Museum is a transportation museum located in Denver, Colorado.

Forney Transportation Museum
Established1961
Location4303 Brighton Boulevard
Denver, Colorado 80216
Coordinates39.777134°N 104.970591°W / 39.777134; -104.970591
TypeTransportation museum
DirectorChristof Kheim
Public transit accessBus Route 48: East 48th Ave./Commerce City, RTD
Websitehttp://www.forneymuseum.org/

It is named after the founder, J.D. Forney, who started Forney Industries, Inc., in Fort Collins.

Collection

The museum maintains a collection of approximately 500 exhibits. Its early years were focused on antique automobiles but the focus soon expanded to other modes of transport. The museum has a slogan, "Anything on Wheels," and includes the following items:

History
Previous location of the Forney Transportation Museum(now a REI store) which was housed in the historic Denver Tramway Powerhouse.

The Forney Museum of Transportation began as a private collection and has expanded into one of the finest transportation collections in the country. Mr. J.D. Forney, founder of Forney Industries in Ft. Collins, Colorado, became interested in antique and classic cars after his wife and children gave him a 1921 Kissel yellow Tourister, the same model he used to court his wife Rae.

Forney Industries has produced many products such as the Fornair airplane, a central vacuum system and portable vacuum cleaner, auto generators, and battery chargers, but the best-known products are the different models of electric welders and welding supplies.

Mr. Forney started taking in old cars and carriages as trades on some of the welder sales. In 1961 the Forney Museum incorporated in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1964 it became recognized as a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization.

Locomotives
The Union Pacific Big Boy #4005
Panorama of the museum interior.

The Big Boy Union Pacific #4005 is one of the few remaining examples of the world's largest steam locomotives, a 4-8-8-4 type Only 25 were ever built, and eight remain in museums. The #4005 was briefly converted to oil fuel from 1946 to 1948, and was also involved in a crash on April 27, 1953.

The Forney locomotive 0-4-4T was designed and patented by Matthias Forney, and this "Forney" tank-type of engine was built by several manufacturers. The one displayed at the Forney Museum of Transportation was built by Porter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1897. This type of engine was commonly used on elevated railways, such as the New York Elevated Railway, the Brooklyn Elevated, and the Chicago Elevated. They were called the "Little Giants," and more than 500 were in service around 1900 hauling both freight and passengers. Steam-powered engines on the elevateds lasted only a few years, as they were replaced by the new electric engines. Forney engines were then sold off to buyers all over the world for mining, lumber, plantations, and short-haul freight and passengers. The Forney locomotives hauled both freight and passengers in the Denver area. The Denver, Lakewood and Golden Railway and the Denver Circle Railroad were the best known systems using this model.

Visiting

The museum is located in Denver, Colorado. The facility has 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) open to the public and another 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) available for future expansion.

References
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.