We are expading our hours! Would you like to volunteer?

Beginning May 1, 2012 we plan on opening our doors to the public for 6 days a week, Wednesday through Monday. This will double the days we are are currently open and allow more travelers and local folks time to come and see what we have to offer. In order to make this a reality though we need your help.

Have you ever considered volunteering a few hours a week or month and join the fun that we are all having? Volunteer positions are currently being sought for:

- Tour Guides/Docents
- Railroad Equipment Operations
- Gift Shop
- Model Railroad Building Guides/Docents
- Event Planning
- Newsletters
- Fundraising
- Archives and Library

If you're interested or would like a little more information. Please contact us.
You can stop down on Friday or Saturday's between 10am - 4 pm or on Sunday's between noon - 4 pm. Also, you could give us a call at 712-233-6996. The phones are not always manned during the week, but we will return your call if you leave us a message.

If you like to help people learn about Sioux City's proud history, talk about trains, or just want to try something completely out of the ordinary come on down.

We encourage retired folks, families and responsible students to get involved.

We will provide the training you need in two different sessions so you can pick the one that works best for you.

We hope to here from you soon.

Santa's Whistle Stop Tour Ends a Record Year!

Thank you to all our wonderful guests, visitors, volunteers, members and donors as we are ready to close out a record setting year! Our inaugural Santa's Whistle Stop Tour was a wonderful event and provided us with some very valuable information to build on for next years event.

The first Saturday of the event proved to be very educational. As you all may remember Dec. 3rd brought us rain, sleet and snow. With some of the heaviest snowfall occurring just in time for Santa's arrival. Our train crews had their hands full operating during winter conditions for the first time, but Santa arrived (almost on time) to the cheers of many children eagerly awaiting his arrival. The next two Saturdays proved nicer with warming temperatures and plenty of sunshine. Estimated attendance figures are as follows. Dec 3rd = 100, Dec 10th = 1,100 and Dec 17th = 2,700! Santa got to talk to lots and lots of smiling children and hear their happy wishes for the holidays. The Polar Express Conductor also was on hand and when he wasn't reading stories he was helping out with the motor car rides loading and unloading passengers.

With this Christmas event drawing an estimated 3900 people (as calculated by visitor sign ins) that puts a very happy ending to a record setting year. Last year (our previous best)saw an annual attendance of 12,300. This year we completed construction on the Civil Engineering Building, began an intensive restoration of the Nebraska Central HO scale model railroad, restored the Machine Shop Building, won the Iowa State Preservation at it Best, Community Award for the Machine Shop Restoration and we have a current annual attendance of 31,800 with less than two weeks to go until the end of the year. That's a 38.7% increase in visitors over last year.

Keep your eye's and ears tuned to the local news for more exciting news about changes coming to the business side of the museum that will catapult the railroad museum into a bright new era. Sound the whistle! All lights are green! Full steam ahead!

Santa's Whistle Stop Tour at the Roundhouse

Santa will be making his 2011 Whistle Stop Tour at the Roundhouse on Saturdays, December 3rd, 10th, and 17th. Children and adults can drop-in, visit Santa and take part in arts and crafts between 1:00 and 3:30 pm during the 2011 Whistle Stop Tour.

Admission to the railroad museum will be free during Santa’s Whistle Stop Tour. If weather and temperature permits, motor car rides may be purchased for $1 per person during Santa’s Whistle Stop Tour. Visitors are encouraged to dress warmly for colder weather and to wear appropriate shoes for walking.

Santa will arrive at 1:15 p.m. and will be in his special decorated roundhouse stall from 1:30 to 3:30 to greet visitors. Santa will depart at 3:45 p.m. Visitors are welcomed to take photos of Santa and his young believers as they sit with him in the special room in Bay 1 of the Roundhouse Building. Students participating in the Kristin Polley Memorial Scholarship program will take pictures for $5 each for those who do not have a camera and wish to have a photo print before they leave the railroad museum complex. Children will have the opportunity to design and personalize their own photo frame.

The Conductor is accompanying Santa this year and he will read stories from Polar Express to the young-at-heart in the specially decorated train caboose. Following the storytelling, The Conductor will pose for pictures with the children. The Kristin Polley Memorial Scholarship program will provide visitors with refreshments.

There are many other arts and crafts activities including making ornaments. Games will include Reindeer toss, Santa’s grand prize ball game, fish ring toss game, snowman bean bag toss game and some others. Children are asked to bring a donation of a nonperishable food item or paper product such as paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo, toothpaste etc. All items donated will be distributed to Western Iowa Tech students in need with any extras going to the Food Bank.

While visiting the railroad museum, grownups and children will have the opportunity to enjoy Small Trains, an HO-scale model railroad exhibition featuring the Nebraska Central Railway. This exhibit was previously on display at the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, and features several operating scale model trains. While the exhibit is currently under restoration, visitors can check out the progress of work.

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District gift shop will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on these Saturdays. The railroad museum complex is located at 3400 Sioux River Road, along State Highway 12 – Loess Hills National Scenic Byway – in Sioux City.

To get a sneak peak at some of the decorations the volunteers have been making for this special visit check out a video "Deck the Stalls" by clicking on the link to our You Tube site which can be found just to the right side of this article.

SAVE THE DATES! SANTA IS COMING TO THE ROUNDHOUSE.

Jolly old St. Nichoals, better know as Santa Claus to many, has announced he will be making three stops at the Milwaukee Railroad Historic Shops and Museum this December. The dates scheduled for his visit's are all Saturdays on December 3rd, 10th and 17th. He will arrive at noon and depart at 4 pm each day.

We are so excited that he has added us to his busy schedule. The volunteers will be busy in the coming weeks preparing the Bay 1 display room located next to the gift shop into Santa's home away from home.

So, save the dates and make your plans to come see and talk to Santa before Christmas Eve arrives.

Stay tuned to this blog site for more details about this great event coming in the very near future.

May you all have the happiest of holiday seasons.

Over 5,100 People Have Halloween Fun at the 3rd Annual Halloween at the Roundhouse Event

That's right! 5,139 people attended the 3rd annual Halloween at the Roundhouse event this past Saturday, October 29th, 2011. And there were plenty of new attractions this year to please everyone that attended. Trick or Treat bags were handed out to the youngsters as they entered the the gate. Ten candy stations were located throughout the complex for the kids to get their treats. The 1913 Northern Pacific wood caboose was transformed into a haunted caboose complete with animatronic ghouls, black light cob webs, strobe lights, fog, spiders, rats and an old pirates coffin. At times through out the event the line for this attraction snaked all the way out the back door of the roundhouse and was viewed by many people numerous times. Other new attractions to this years Halloween event were the Petting Zoo and Pony rides which both saw non-stop lines all day long also.

A first time special fund raising event "Tea at the Track Side" offered guests some private time with Special Guests Sir Topham Hatt and his wife Mrs. Jane "Lady" Hatt over tea (fruit punch) cupcakes and pretzels. According to eye witnesses at the event, all was going fine until a group of unruly witches crashed the party and poisoned every ones tea. As Sir Topham Hatt and Mr. Conductor were trying to reason with the witches Dorthy and Toto burst in with super soaker squirt guns and began melting the witches until they flew away. Glenda, the Good Witch of the North, had put special powers into Dorothy's ruby slippers that allowed her to reverse the poisonous spell on the tea and allowed the event to continue.

Three hay rack rides moved people throughout the complex. One shuttled people in the parking lot to and from their cars and the main gate while the other two moved people throughout the complex.

A great time was held by all. Not only the guests but the volunteers as well. I would like to take this time to publicly thank the more than 60 volunteers that gave up their time, came together and worked this event to make it the huge success that it was. Without them, none of this would ever be possible.

Another, milestone was also completed at this event. This event pushed us over the 20,000 visitor mark for this year. That's a 58.8% increase over the total visitor count for last year and we still have two more months to go! A hardy well done and a very warm thank you, once again, goes out to everyone in our fantastic 100% volunteer organization. You are all amazing and a complete pleasure to work with. Thank You!

Now that this event is over, what can we possibly do next? Well, I will give you a hint. It will probably cover the first three weekends in December and Ho, HO, HO will be a popular theme.

Stayed tuned to this site for further updates!

HALLOWEEN AT THE ROUNDOUSE, Saturday, October 29th, Noon to 4 PM

Ironhorse Day's: More than 1,100 people say Happy Birthday to Old Ironhorse

On Saturday and Sunday October 15 & 16 the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District & Museum in Sioux City, Iowa and over 1,100 quests celebrated the 102nd birthday of Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive, Great Northern Railways # 1355 or better known to locals as Old Ironhorse.

The two day event featured seminars about the history of GN1355 and steam power. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad had a representative showing videos and discussing railway safety and how trains and automobiles can co-exist safely through its Operation Lifesaver program.

A special drawing was held for a free GN1355 t-shirt and that was won by Mr. Jim Residorff of David City, NE. Congratulations!

Guests were also treated to roundhouse turntable rides and motor car rides/tours. A good time was had by all in attendance. Thank you all for your support.