SHRA will implement admission fee at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District, a railroad museum development project of the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association (SHRA), will implement an admission fee to assist with operating costs and financing the reconstruction of the historic buildings.

Jon Wagoner, SHRA president, said the $4.00 admission for adults will start Saturday, May 30, and that reduced admission will be given to seniors, students, and children. The admission fee will be collected through an honor vault system where visitors deposit their admission in a locked, secure collection vault. “We are adopting one of the methods used by the National Park Service to collect admissions,” said Wagoner. “The payment of the admission will be totally on the honor of the visitor; we will not have a volunteer gatekeeper for collecting the admission.”

The American Association of Museums reported in its most recent museum financial information report that, nationally, the average adult admission fee is $6 for museums and $5 for historic sites. Wagoner stated that last year, the SHRA surveyed visitors and the vast majority of visitors supported the enacting of an admission fee to help support the Milwaukee Railroad Shops redevelopment as a railroad museum.

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops, which is home to the recently restored Great Northern Railway steam locomotive and other railroad artifacts, is undergoing a decade-long historic preservation effort. This summer’s historic preservation work will include the construction of a new exhibit building for a model railroad display to interpret civil engineering; the installation of a “green” pre-manufactured bathroom facility; and the reconstruction of the machine shop building for the display of the large Corliss Stationary Steam Engine that will be salvaged from the KD Station.

“We’re looking at over $1-million in site improvements within the next two years,” Wagoner said. “While the vast majority of the funding is through competitive federal and state grants, we still have a need to raise local matching funds in order for us to secure the grant funds.”

Wagoner states that the admission fee enables the SHRA to meet the requirements of the grants. “When we submit our funding requests, sustainability is a major issue we address, in addition to how we will pay ongoing operating costs,” said Wagoner. “Many of the funding agencies have requested we initiate an admission fee because we receive no ongoing public funds (city or state) for operational costs. They have also suggested that we bank a portion of the admission fee in an endowment fund targeted for future building renovation work.”

Wagoner doesn’t feel the admission fee will hurt attendance, which grew to nearly 10,000 people last year. “Most of our visitors have been amazed that we’re not collecting an admission,” said Wagoner. “Many visitors felt the admission fee was a way they can contribute to the preservation of this unique historical treasure.”

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is open to the public for tours on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting. The historic district is located at 3400 Sioux River Road, State Highway 12, adjacent to the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway and the Big Sioux River.
Built in 1917, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops originally served as a steam locomotive servicing terminal and rail car repair facility. At its peak of operations, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops employed over 500 railroad craft workers in the trades of boiler maker, steamfitter, machinists, and several other occupations. The facility, on average, repaired and serviced 850 steam locomotives a month for the Sioux City and Dakota division of the Milwaukee Road. The shops were abandoned in 1980 and sold to a salvage yard operation. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association purchased the complex in 1996 and began the railroad museum development project. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops are determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and are designated an official project of the federal Save America’s Treasures Program. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is home to Sioux City’s recently-restored landmark steam locomotive, Great Northern Railway No. 1355 – Ironhorse.