In 1998, the City of Tucson purchased the former Southern Pacific Railroad Depot on Toole Avenue downtown. Restoration of the main depot building and the three adjacent buildings to their 1941 architectural style was completed in 2004.
 "Doc" Holliday and Wyatt Earp at the Depot |
Prior to restoration, the City, in conjunction with a Citizen’s Intermodal Task Force, created a Master Plan to guide their efforts. That plan called for devoting the former Records Building on the depot site to a transportation museum. The first of the three outlying buildings on the depot site, the Records building, was built in three stages (1907, 1910, 1922), the latest stage completing the building as we see it today.
A management committee was formed in 2001 to complete the task of establishing the museum.
The museum is now a division of Old Pueblo Trolley, Inc which was founded in 1983.
By 2003, well as completing a formal study, the museum was awarded a variety of grants and private donations that funded the museum exhibits. On March 20th, 2005, the 125th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Railroad in Tucson, the museum was dedicated with the help of Mayor Bob Walkup.
The museum needs community support to continue to preserve and interpret Southern Arizona railroad heritage through the museum’s educational outreach, oral history and archival collections.Dedicated to Education, Research and Preservation.
 Locomotive #1673 |
The purpose of the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum is to interpret the history of railroading in Southern Arizona with a focus on the Tucson Historic Depot and the displayed Locomotive #1673.
Dedicated volunteers who conduct the educational and archival functions. At this time we have one organizational paid staff member, our director.
Memberships and contributors (donations, grants, bequests, legacies, transfers, and gifts). The Museum is tax exempt under the museum division of our parent organization, Old Pueblo Trolley, Inc, under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The museum continues to explore opportunities to expand our educational outreach to youth by developing new and innovative programming and is actively seeking additional grant partnerships to further this effort.
The museum has active oral history and collections departments. It is our goal to preserve what still remains of oral histories and artifacts pertaining to Southern Arizona rail historybefore they are lost forever.
A pioneer in transportation history in Tucson, the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum offers tours of the entire Depot site. The tours discuss past and present uses of the Southern Pacific Depot buildings, and they also enable a close and personal look at Locomotive Engine #1673, the depot lobby and the museum. The museum also offers a variety of annual and special events, lecture series, anniversary celebrations and other enrichment programs.
Teachers and students will benefit from curriculum, when completed, that is grade specific and complies with state guidelines for easy application through the year. Currently the museum offers school tours, train safety, site and museum tours.
The museum offers youth and adult train safety presentations through our partnership with the Arizona Chapter of Operation Lifesaver. This train safety program formed in 1972 in Idaho by a concerned railroad employee is now an international program proven to reduce fatalities.
Contributions are the only sustainable basis of the museum. They are relied upon to fund our day-to-day operations and the acquisition of educational materials. The Museum does not charge any admission fees and we maintain low cost educational programs. Qualified contributions are tax deductible under the current Internal Revenue Service Guidelines.