Historic steam locomotive debute kicks off city-wide historic preservation week celebration

Sioux City, IA – After twenty-five years of pain-staking historic preservation work and a lot of passion and tenacity, Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive No. 1355 will be the highlight of a public display at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District this Saturday, May 2, 2009. The outdoor public display, celebrating historic preservation work, is in conjunction with the city-wide Historic Preservation Week celebration and will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

“We are proud to finally have the opportunity to say the restoration of Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive is nearly complete,” said Jon Wagoner, president of the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association. “With the restoration effort, 98 percent complete except for some minor details, we are excited to have this opportunity to formally return this locomotive back to its role as a historic landmark for our community.”

The locomotive sports the Great Northern Railway heritage paint scheme known as Glacier Green. The unique paint scheme incorporates graphic elements such as a green-painted boiler, black-painted cab trimmed with a red roof, and a graphite-color smoke box. The locomotive features a white lettering style with the railroad’s heritage logo. This historic paint scheme was applied to locomotives that were used in passenger service pulling trains to Glacier National Park.

In addition to the graphic designs, the steam locomotive also sports a restored headlight, bell, whistle, and classification lights. The interior of the cab is also restored with many of the old gauges and valves that were used to measure steam pressure and water levels in the boiler.

Steam Locomotive No. 1355, also known as “Ironhorse,” is returning to public display after a twenty-five year extensive overhaul of the locomotive’s mechanical parts and interior boiler. The overhaul began in 1984, when the locomotive was removed from public display next to the Municipal Auditorium. The locomotive was donated to the City of Sioux City in 1955 for display as a landmark acknowledging the community’s railroad heritage. The outdoor display lasted twenty-nine years, causing major deterioration to the iron and steel the locomotive is built out of. The weather also damaged the interior firebox, boiler tubes and steam cylinders due to water seeping into the internal chambers. The overhaul involved hundreds of thousands of volunteer labor, and included extensive overhauls of the firebox, steam appliances, and steam chest, as well as the replacement of stay rods, boiler tubes, outer boiler jacketing, and steam and electrical piping. The locomotive’s tender was completely rebuilt as well.

Originally a high-speed passenger locomotive, the steam locomotive was built for the Great Northern Railway in 1909 and rebuilt in 1924. The locomotive pulled such widely known trains as the Pacific Fast Mail, Oriental Limited, and Empire Builder. The locomotive was also used in the later years of steam to pull freight trains and ore trains in the Iron Range. The locomotive’s train service ended in 1955 when it was donated to the City of Sioux City.

The steam locomotive is listed nationally-significant on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated an official project of the federal Save America’s Treasures program for its industrial heritage and technology. The steam locomotive will be permanently displayed in the roundhouse building at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District. The public will be able to have access to the locomotive during the railroad museum’s normal operating hours. Special stairs have been built to allow the public access.

In addition to the steam locomotive’s public display, the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association will be offering guided and self-guided tours of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District, motor cars rides, and displays of railroad artifacts. Volunteers will be on hand to discuss the upcoming historic preservation projects scheduled to begin mid-summer, including the rebuilding of the machine shop building. Dr. Daniels’ new book on Sioux City railroad history will be available for purchase in the historic district’s gift shop.

The locomotive display will also commemorate the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association’s 25th anniversary. The organization was founded in 1984 by the late railroad conductor, Larry Obermeyer, and group of volunteer community members who saw a need to preserve and promote the preservation of railroad history. On Saturday, the public will have the opportunity to meet and greet volunteers who have labored tirelessly over the years to reclaim the Milwaukee Railroad Shops from being a dilapidated junk yard to the park-like historic district it is today. Wagoner points out that there are several volunteers who have been with the organization for the full 25 years. He estimates over the 25 years that a hundred volunteers have collectively contributed over 250,000 hours of labor. “It’s not uncommon for many of our volunteers to devote more than 10 hours a week to our projects,” adds Wagoner.

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is located along the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, State Highway 12, in the north Riverside neighborhood of Sioux City. The historic district is located between the Big Sioux River and the Loess Hills Bluffs, approximately 2 miles south of Stone State Park.