Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM) is located at the historic Jackson Street Roundhouse. This building was originally a steam engine maintenance facility for The Great Northern Railroad.
The Roundhouse was built in 1907 and was one of the last roundhouses built by the “Empire Builder,” James J. Hill. It replaced a smaller wooden engine-house of Saint Paul & Pacific. The Roundhouse was part of a large shop complex built in the 1880s.
Located near downtown Saint Paul just north and east of the State Capitol, the complex had been sold by Great Northern in 1960. The Roundhouse was then remodeled as a warehouse/industrial building. All the tracks were removed and an addition was built where the turntable used to be.
MTM took possession of the Roundhouse in 1986, acquiring a substantial mortgage. Jackson Street was restored as an operating roundhouse, but with several changes. It is MTM’s back shop, but it also houses exhibitions, archives, an audio-visual theater, a meeting room, and offices. The turntable was re-installed in 2001, and the connection with the Burlington Northern (BN) has been reinstalled, along with five yard tracks. BN has cleaned up environmental pollution, mostly petroleum in the groundwater. The large mortgage was paid off through the generous financial support of longtime director Arthur E. Pew III and others.
The Museum at Jackson Street Roundhouse opened in 1999. In March of that year, MTM hired its first paid Executive Director, and the administrative offices moved into a renovated space, shared with Great Northern and Northern Pacific Historical Societies. They and MTM are creating an archive with climate-controlled space and a combined cataloging system.




Board, Volunteers, & Staff
Board of Directors
Brian Voss
Chair
Christofer Sears
Chair Elect
Bob Puelston
Secretary
Scott Johnson
Treasurer
Phil Wellman
At-Large
Arthur III Pew
Emeritus
Andy Corchran
Chilton (Sandy) Hagan
Lane Littrell
Kurt Mahre
Noel Petit
Andrew Tighe
Deb Wood
Committee Chairs
Finance
Scott Johnson
Personal
Phil Wellman
Pubic Relations & Marketing
Deb Wood
Museum, Membership & Volunteer Development
Brian Voss
Collections & Restoration
Phil Wellman
Education & Training
Bob Puelston
Equipment Maintenance
Phil Wellman
Building & Grounds
Department Heads, Managers and Staff
Executive Director
Scott L. Hippert
Executive Assistant
Frani Lowe
JSR Operations Manager
Jon VanNiewaal
Locomotives
Phil Wellman
Maintenance of Way
Andy Inserra
Rolling Stock Maintenance
Kurt Mahre
Blacksmith-Machine Shop
Gordon Barr
Purchasing Coordinator
Larry Coulter
Roundhouse Security
Andy Corchran
Fire Safety
Nick Modders
TCU Supervisor
Terri Holman
Railroad Operation Superintendent
Bob Puelston
Associate Superintendents
Kurt Mahre & Ward Gilkerson
Track Inspectors
Lane Littrel & Bob Puelston
Mechanical
Al Hogan
Crew Scheduling
Deb Wood
Operations Training
Ward Gilkerson & M. Jorgenson
Volunteer Coordinator
Wayne Merchant
Osceola Operations
Noel Petit
Pizza Train
Sandy Hagan
Guest Services
Jess Lefler
Minnehaha Depot
Aaron Novodvorsey
Museum Curator
John Van Arsdale
JSR Museum & MTM Administrator
Barb Sheldon
Garden Railroad Club
Jeff Hunter & Joe Komarek
Facilities Maintenance
Bill Hawley
Webmaster
Greg Symicek