SHRA announces 2009 ASAP projects

As part of its Roundhouse 101 Centennial Challenge development campaign, the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association is initiating a new program “Adopt-a-Special-Action Project” or better known as ASAPs. The Special Action Projects are short-term projects requiring capital resources of $50,000 or less for materials and supplies, can be accomplished with volunteer labor or small contractors, and are incremental projects that can be standalone projects making significant progress towards the overall eight-year redevelopment plan for the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District. The projects may have a timeframe of one day, a week, month, or several months.

The Adopt-a-Special-Action Project program allows for individuals to become stewards of the project by making a contribution to help fund the expenses associated with the project, as a volunteer involved with the project’s implementation, or a combination of both.

The ASAP projects for historic preservation season 2009 include the installation of gutters on the roundhouse building, the electrification of the turntable, and the construction of a new restoration workshop area in the roundhouse. Additional projects will be added throughout the year.

If you would like to help underwrite the costs of a project, or wish to volunteer in the heritage stewardship program, please e-mail shra@cableone.net for more details on the project. We will provide more information on each project as the project coordinators develop their budgets and work plans over the next month.

MilwaukeeRailroadShops.org under construction

The SHRA board of directors has appointed Ken Brown, a longtime volunteer, as webmaster for the organization's website portal: milwaukeerailroadshops.org. In addition, the board has contracted with Jacomic Technologies, a Sioux City-based design firm, to build the new website domain. The release date for the new website is scheduled for March 1st. Further updates on the website will be announced on this news blog.

Grant Awarded for New Exhibit Building

The Loess Hills Alliance Economic Development Committee is awarding $4,000 to the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association to assist in the construction of a new 5,000 sq. ft. exhibit building to display a model railroad exhibit.

The new exhibit building will allow the musuem to interpret the science and technology associated with engineering a railroad through the use of the model railroad and scale models. In addition to the model railroad exhibit, a signature display will be installed to explain how the railroads traversed the Loess Hills Bluffs to extend their lines westward and northwestward into Nebraska and the Dakotas.

Plans call for the new exhibit building to be a wood-frame structure representative of the original construction of previous buildings that did not survive the Milwaukee Railroad Shops transition from a steam locomotive-servicing facility to diesel locomotive servicing. Construction is expected to begin in late Spring 2009.