The historic move is bringing ‘the Frisco’ back to Frisco! The vintage steam locomotive, Engine 4501 – built in 1942 for the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Company -- is one of 36 pieces of rolling stock bound for Frisco following th announcement that the Museum of the American Railroad (MAR) plans to move its permanent collection from Fair Park in Dallas to Frisco Junction, which is also home to the soon-to-be open Frisco Heritage Museum.
On Tuesday, April 1, the Frisco City Council unanimously approved a preliminary 40-year lease agreement with MAR. The proposal provides a 12.34 acre site and a maximum $1 million investment by the City of Frisco towards relocating MAR. In return, MAR will provide as much as 4,000 feet in necessary track and move its collection, which is considered one of the top five in the United States. The railway collection includes 12 locomotives, 17 passenger cars and eight freight cars, as well as artifacts and memorabilia. MAR will also plan and construct a $20 million museum, approximately 200,000 square feet and reminiscent of a turn of the century train station. MAR officials estimate the development of the new location and museum could eventually draw more than 250,000 visitors to Frisco each year!
MAR plans to move its collection to Frisco within a year of a formal agreement being signed with the City of Frisco. The city will also provide railroad museum staff some office space in the Heritage Center Museum for initial operations of MAR. Mr. LaPrelle estimates it will take six to eight years to build the new railroad museum envisioned in the comprehensive plan
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For more information on the Museum of the American Railroad (MAR) go to www.dallasrailwaymuseum.com
For information on the Frisco Heritage Museum, go to www.friscoheritage.org
