The Forney Transportation Museum is a

transportation museum A transport museum is a museum that holds collections of transport items, which are often limited to land transport (road and rail)—including old cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, trams/streetcars, buses, trolleybuses and coaches—but can als ...

located in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

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: *

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

's "Gold Bug"

Kissel Kissel or kisel ( et, kissell, fi, kiisseli, Livonian: ''kīsõl'', ltg, keiseļs, lv, ķīselis, lt, kisielius, pl, kisiel, rus, кисель, r=kiselʼ, uk, кисiль, , , ) is a cold-solidified dish with the consistency of a thick ge ...

. * Big Boy locomotive #4005. * A

Forney locomotive The Forney is a type of tank locomotive patented by Matthias N. Forney between 1861 and 1864 and used predominantly in the USA. Forney design Forney locomotives include the following characteristics: * An wheel arrangement, that is four drivin ...

;

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

designer

Matthias N. Forney Matthias Nace Forney (March 28, 1835 – January 14, 1908) was an American steam locomotive designer and builder. He is most well known for the design of the Forney type locomotive. Locomotives that he designed served the elevated railroa ...

was a second cousin to the museum founder, J.D. Forney.

History

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 Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 169,810 at the 2020 census, an increase of 17.94% since 2010. Fort Collin ...

, became interested in antique and classic cars after his wife and children gave him a 1921

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 A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...

, 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(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Locomotives

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

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 Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The facility has open to the public and another available for future expansion.

References

External links

* {{authority control Museums in Denver Railroad museums in Colorado Automobile museums in Colorado Museums established in 1961 1961 establishments in Colorado