The National Museum of Transportation houses over 190 major exhibits and claims to be the largest collection of transportation vehicles worldwide. The museum was founded in 1944 by private citizens who had acquired a streetcar known as the "Bellefontaine." In 1948, it became a nonprofit educational center, and today the museum features streetcars, trains, automobiles, and many other exhibits.

Founded in 1862, the original Union Pacific Railroad was part of the First Transcontinental Railroad project, and today there is a museum dedicated to the railroad in Council Bluffs, Iowa, along the Missouri River. The museum is housed in a library that opened in 1905, though the museum portion more recently opened in 2003 — marking the 134th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad's completion.

The Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen is home to the largest collection of airship exhibits anywhere in the world. The museum opened in 1869, and a "Zeppelin Cabinet" was installed in 1912 that holds the collection and features historic rigid Zeppelins and more modern semi-rigid ones. Visitors can explore the museum's detailed models and historic photographs recounting the history of airships.

The B&O Railroad Museum is located on the site of America's first railroad station, originally established in 1830 to serve the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Opened in 1953, the museum was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Visitors can learn about the many trains that have passed through Baltimore over the years, including the Tom Thumb — America's first steam engine.

The Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunk, Maine, is the first and largest electric railway museum in the world. Though the museum specializes in its collection of vintage trolleys — with a collection of restored cars that dates back to the early 1900s — the museum also has exhibits featuring buses, light rail vehicles, and rapid transit cars.

Some of the most significant planes in the history of aviation are housed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. From the Wright Flyer, which made the world’s first manned flight in 1903, to Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1 and Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, many pioneering aircrafts that redefined air travel are located here. The Memphis Belle, while not on display at the museum, was used during World War II and inspired the 1990 move “Memphis Belle.”

Michigan native Henry Ford has an entire museum dedicated to his industrial legacy in the city of Dearborn. Exhibits include the 1865 Roper — the oldest surviving American car — as well as the first gas-powered vehicle Ford designed back in 1896. The museum also exhibits the bus Rosa Parks rode in 1955 that helped fuel the nationwide civil rights movement.

The New York Transit Museum is located in a decommissioned subway station in downtown Brooklyn that was originally built in 1936. Founded in 1976, the museum features vintage subway cars dating back to 1907, as well as a city bus, a history of turnstiles, and various other exhibits detailing over 100 years of New York's transit history.

From the original horse-drawn "Knifeboard" buses to the modern red conveyances, London's history of double-decker buses is proudly displayed at the city's transport museum. Other exhibits include various types of London Underground subway cars, as well as a detailed history of London's bike program that dates back to "safety bicycles" used in the 1800s.

Established in 1974, San Francisco’s Cable Car Museum highlights the history of cable cars, which have become synonymous with the hilly California city. The museum’s exhibits showcase several antique cable cars dating back to the 1870s. One of the highlights is the Clay Street Hill Railroad Car No. 8, which is the lone surviving car from the first cable car manufacturer.