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 current day BNSF was restored along with five yard tracks. BNSF cleaned up the environmental pollution which was 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 the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Historical Societies. They and MTM are creating an archive with climate-controlled space and a combined cataloging system.




Board, Department Heads, & Other Staff
Board of Directors
Chair
Wayne Merchant
Vice Chair
Kurt Mahre
Secretary
Bob Puelston
Treasurer
Deb Wood
At-Large
Marion Pew
Gordon Barr
Morten Jorgensen
Lane Littrell
Barb Loida
Todd McGonagle
Martin Masters
Larry Paulson
John Radimecky
Garry Yazell
Committee Chairs
Finance
Deb Wood
Personnel
Open
Public Relations & Marketing
Deb Wood
Museum, Membership & Volunteer Development
Wayne Merchant
Collections & Restoration
Todd McGonagle
Education & Training
Bob Puelston
Equipment Maintenance
Kurt Mahre
Building & Grounds
Garry Yazell
Department Heads and Staff
Executive Director
Scott Hippert
Director of Operations
Dave Hartjie
Executive Assistant
Frani Lowe
JSR Operations Manager
Dave Hartje
Locomotives
Open
Maintenance of Way
Open
Rolling Stock Maintenance
Kurt Mahre
Blacksmith-Machine Shop
Gordon Barr
Purchasing Coordinator
Larry Coulter
Roundhouse Security
Andy Corchran
Fire Safety
Nick Modders
TCU Supervisor
Terry 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 & Morten Jorgenson
Volunteer Coordinator
Mari Pew
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
Technology Manager
John Radimecky
Social Media
Coner Casey
Video
Brian Rockholt
Webmaster
Greg Symicek