Evansville Museum Transportation Center - EMTRAC

The Evansville Museum Transportation Center is a dynamic part of the Museum’s campus.  The exhibitions of EMTRAC interpret transportation in Southern Indiana from the latter part of the Nineteenth Century through the mid-Twentieth Century.  
Divided into four areas, visitors first enter River/Rail/Aviation Hall.  Highlights of this exhibit include an interactive riverboat pilothouse, an exhibition recalling Evansville’s first contact with aviation, and a turn-of-the-century waiting room that overlooks the Museum’s historic railroad.  
Upon departing River/Rail/Aviation Hall, visitors step out onto a train platform that is home to the Museum’s train. On exhibition at the Museum since 1967, the train provides people with an opportunity to examine the exterior and interior of three historic railroad cars--a 1908 0-6-0 steam switch engine, a fully equipped 1926 club car, and a circa 1900 caboose.  
Upon reentering EMTRAC, visitors step into Transportation Hall where select vehicles from the Museum’s collection recall travel in the period prior to the 1920s.  Of special interest are: a hearse from the 1880s used by Alexander Funeral Homes; a steam powered fire pumper utilized by the City’s Fire Department; a high wheel bicycle; and a Sears Motor Car built by Evansville’s Hercules Buggy Company.  The backdrop for the vehicles is a mural depicting rail stations and other scenes from Evansville’s past.