R. E. Olds Transportation Museum

The R.E. Old's Transportation Museum

The R.E. Old's Transportation Museum, located in Lansing, Michigan, is named after Ransom E. Old's, the founder of Oldsmobile and REO. It is one of the best automotive museums in the country.

It houses a diverse collection of Oldsmobile's spanning the years 1897 to 2004. The Smithsonian Institution has loaned the 1897 Old's, one of four built that year. A replica of Ransom E. Old's' 1893 steam carriage, built prior to the founding of the Old's Motor Works, which was the official name of Oldsmobile until the 1940s, is also on display.

This museum also has automobile from nearly a century ago, such as a nearly complete collection of Michigan licensee plates, early traffic signs, and a working 1950s-era traffic light.

Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

12 p.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday

Admission

$10 for general admission

Seniors (65 and up): $7

$7 for children aged 12 to 18.

Children (under 12): No charge.

Discount for Veterans/Military Personnel: $7

There are group pricing available.

Three  for members

The Slanted Dash Oldsmobile Old's was able to market the car as a cheaper and more dependable mode of transportation than a horse. The Curved Dash's popularity was enough to give the often-vilified car industry respectability, and it opened the path for the general success of the Oldsmobile brand.

The Curved Dash is often regarded as the first mass-produced vehicle. This vehicle had its first full year of production in 1901, and about 11,000 were made between then and its final manufacturing run in 1907. By 1909, numerous automotive manufacturers were manufacturing that many vehicles in a single year. However, in 1901, most factories' annual output was likely to be in the dozens rather than hundreds or thousands.

Four Curved Dash Old's mobiles are on display at the museum. One is a 1901, one is a 1903 that made the London to Brighton trip, one is a 1904 that was driven from San Francisco to New York, and the other is a 1903 that R.E. Old's personally donated to Michigan State University.

A 1904 Curved Dash Oldsmobile is also on exhibit at the Capital Region International Airport for visitors to see.

The REOTM's Origins, History, and Future

The R.E. Olds Museum was founded in 1977 as a result of a Greater Lansing Chamber of Commerce research task committee. The Museum opened to the public on May 18, 1981, in its current location, following site selection and refurbishment.

A Board of Trustees governs the Museum, which is a non-profit educational institution.

It is named for Ransom Eli Olds, an inventor, entrepreneur, and banker who was also one of Lansing's most prominent automotive executives. He invented the assembly line in the automotive business and formed two local automakers: Olds Motor Works (1897) and REO Motor Car Company (1904).

In 1987, the term "Transportation" was added to the Museum's name to better reflect the Museum's objective and to more properly represent the Lansing area's various achievements in transportation.

The Museum has a substantial collection of vehicles, engines, and other objects related to Lansing's, the region's, the state's, and the nation's transportation history. The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum and the headquarters of Bates and Edmonds Engine Company are part of the Lansing Stewardship Community of Motor-Cities-National Heritage Area, a cultural heritage area and National Parks Service affiliate.

In February of 2018, the Museum paid $2 to the City of Lansing to acquire its own building, where it has always been situated.