WALCOTT, Iowa – The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum has broken ground on a 25,000-square-foot expansion of the exhibit hall.
The new addition will house historic trucks and other trucking memorabilia. When complete, the exhibit space will total 121,000 square feet. Construction is expected to be completed by this fall, according to a news release sent by the Iowa 80 Group on Wednesday, April 15.
The expansion of the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum will house never-before seen trucks in the collection, including but not limited to four Sterling brand trucks dating from the 1920s to the 1940s, as well as the highly anticipated 1948 Mack EWSQ armored truck that hauled coins for Wells Fargo. This truck was restored by an in-house restoration team.
“The collection of trucks and trucking memorabilia has outgrown the current facility,” said Lee Meier, marketing manager of Iowa 80 Group and its World’s Largest Truckstop.
“We’re looking forward to displaying new trucks in our collection, including four new Sterling Trucks that were added to the collection last year,” she recently told the QCBJ. “We also will have our 1948 Mack ESQ, which was an armored coin carrier for Wells Fargo, available to the public for the first time post-restoration.”
The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum will be open for normal business hours during the construction, open Wednesday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. until Memorial Day. Memorial Day to Labor Day the museum is open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission to the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is free. Group tours and field trips are also welcomed and can be scheduled through the museum’s website.
The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum was a dream of Iowa 80 Truckstop founder, Bill Moon. Bill had a passion for collecting antique trucks and other trucking memorabilia. We are pleased to be able to share this collection with the general public. Every truck has a story to tell and can provide a unique glimpse back in time. Many rare and one-of-a-kind trucks are on display. View short films about trucking history in our REO theater; a great way to learn even more about the trucks of yesteryear, according to information on the museum’s website.
