Thursday, March 19, 2009

Rare Union Pacific terracotta shield donated for exhibit


The Union Pacific Railroad, based in Omaha, NE, has gifted to the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association (SHRA) a rare terracotta tile with its 1914 to 1932 era corporate logo. The terracotta shield is on display with the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District collection of railroad artifacts.

Measuring approximately four foot by four foot, the terra cotta tile weights nearly 1200 pounds and was transported to Sioux City via a car trailer. The terra cotta shield is undergoing restoration and can be seen on display in the Union Pacific Gallery at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District.

“The Union Pacific System terracotta shield is an object of high historical and architectural significance” said Jon Wagoner, SHRA president. “The addition of this artifact to our museum collection will help us to explain the architectural heritage of the railroad industry.”

According to Wagoner, the Union Pacific terracotta shield is one of four such tiles that were incorporated in the design and architecture of a passenger station in California. The exact location of the station is unknown. Wagoner states SHRA volunteers are researching the heritage of the terracotta tile to incorporate the information in an interpretive exhibit that will accompany the shield.

2 comments:

  1. I note your website states "The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association is rehabilitating the six structures that comprise the historic district for reuse as a railroad science and technology museum". May I suggest that an aerial photo of the site, both in steam us and as it looks today, be added to the blog so that people can see what it is that is proposed? This may assist in generating interest, and funding, from people oter than locals (I am viewing this from Australia).

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  2. Thank you for this great suggestion. Over the next two weeks we will be adding more photos and slideshows to the blog site. As part of the the additions, we will try to post the aerial views. Again, thanks for this great suggestion. We appreciate your interest in our projects. Larry

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