National Museum of Transportation near Kirkwood in St. Louis County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
TTOX #130059
1984
This "Front Runner" piggyback car, designed to carry truck trailers, is unusual in a number of ways. It has only four wheels instead of the usual pair of two-axle trucks; its 28-inch diameter wheels are smaller than the 33-inch diameter wheels standard on most freight cars; and it has a rigid trailer hitch, as well as no continuous floor or decks, meaning that it could not be used for containers, and that trailers could not be towed aboard by a tractor but had to be loaded by overhead crane. This four-wheel car was built to hold single 40- to 48-foot trailers, with space for front-mounted refrigeration units. The small wheels gave it good overhead clearance, and it was light in weight, with good train-handling characteristics. Over 2,500 were built starting in 1983, with this one produced by United American in 1984. The car is 53 feet, 10 inches long, weighs 25,500 pounds empty, and has a capacity of 65,000 pounds. By 2000, these cars were being phased out, replaced by "multi-platform" articulated cars where two to 10 units were connected by solid drawbars, with couplers only at the far ends. This car was donated by the TTX Corporation in 2001.
Erected 2013 by Museum of Transportation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1984.
Location.
this page online
Regionally, this marker was in Greater St. Louis. It was also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Illinois Terminal #1575 (here, next to this marker); Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific #E-2 (here, next to this marker); SL-SF #3000 (here, next to this marker); MCHX #117 (a few steps from this marker); New York Central & Hudson River #113 (a few steps from this marker); Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #6117 (a few steps from this marker); URTX #37144 (a few steps from this marker); Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #1582 (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kirkwood.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 28, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 283 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 28, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
