Special Event Planned for July 2nd

(Sioux City, IA) On Saturday, July 2nd, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic
District will host its first annual “Trains, Tripods & Snapshots” –
bring your own camera and tripod photo day. The daylong event will feature the
outdoor public display of Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive Great
Northern No. 1355 and other train displays for photo opportunities by
visitors.

Families and amateur photographers are welcomed to bring their own cameras and
tripods to pose and photograph family members near the train displays. This
unique opportunity will allow parents and grandparents to dress children in
railroad attire and pose them next to Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive
in an outdoor setting; utilizing the sun and the backdrop of the Loess Hills
to help frame the photos.

The 101 year old steam locomotive will be on outdoor public display on
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The locomotive will be pulled out of the
roundhouse building by a diesel locomotive at 9:45 a.m. and pushed back into
the roundhouse at 3:10 p.m. The push-pull operation provides great
opportunities for capturing video images of the train movement.

In addition to the steam locomotive, the historic buildings and vintage
rolling stock provide hundreds of photo opportunities to allow amateur and
family photographers to capture images of older children and other family
members using the structures for textures and backgrounds.

Due to the flooding of the Big Sioux River, the high water table, and the
rails at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District complex, the public is
encouraged to wear shoes appropriate to weather and ground conditions. Various
areas around the historic district may be closed to the public due to low land
flooding.

Normal admission fees will be charged for the event. For more information
please visit the railroad museum’s website at
www.MilwaukeeRailroadShops.org.


ABOUT THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE AND MILWAUKEE RAILROAD SHOPS

The steam locomotive is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and
is nationally significant for its scientific and technological attributes. The
steam locomotive was built in 1909 and enjoyed a long career pulling the named
trains of the Great Northern Railway, including the Oriental Limited and
Pacific Fast Mail.

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is located adjacent to the Big
Sioux River and Loess Hills National Scenic Byway in Sioux City’s Riverside
area. Built in 1917, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is one of
the largest remaining steam locomotive-servicing facilities in the Midwest.
The 31.5-acre site consists of a roundhouse with turntable, machine/blacksmith
shop building, car/carpenter shop building, sand drying house with wood sand
tower, engineer’s tool shed and a water closet building. This historic site
also contains eighteen other historical remnants, including foundations of the
water tower, boiler house and coaling tower.

Because of its national significance, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic
District was designated an “official project” of the Save America’s
Treasures Program and has been determined eligible for listing in the National
Register of Historic Places.

ATTENTION ALL CURRENTLY SERVING US MILITARY PERSONNEL AND DEPENDENTS

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is proud to be a participant and supporter of the Blue Star Museums program. This initiative is a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 1,400 museums across America. Blue Star Museums runs from Memorial Day, May 31, 2010 through to Labor Day, September 6, 2010. This free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention Common Access Card (CAC), A DD Form 1173 ID Card, or a DD Form 1173-1 ID Card, which includes active duty military and up to 5 of their immediate family members, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Reserve.

We know how difficult and stressful the military lifestyle can be. Many of our volunteers have previously served and or retired from the US military and know that when it comes to pleasing the kids and reducing the stress any bit of outdoor activity can be a godsend to maintaining the family peace. The Blue Star Museum program offers us a chance to help with those stresses by giving your families a chance to hang out together, have fun, and take the worry out of trying to figure out how to afford a nice day out with the entire family.

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops in Sioux City, Iowa offers the perfect combination of entertainment for the family. Kids and trains, what more could you ask for. See an operating turntable in front of our 6 stall roundhouse, get up close and personal with steam and diesel locomotives, boxcars and cabooses, and see our 75’ x 15’ HO scale Nebraska Central Model Railroad in our brand new Civil Engineering Exhibit Hall. Oh, did I mention...this is no small museum we have 6 buildings spread across 30 acres of land! Let the kids run themselves tired so you can enjoy a nice peaceful drive home. For more details visit our web site at www.milwaukeerailroadshops.org.

To find out which other museums are participating, visit www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. The site includes a list of participating museums and a map to help with visit planning. Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program. For questions on particular exhibits or museums, please contact the museum directly.

Thank you for your service to each of us and this great country of ours. It’s the selfless dedication and patriotic pride of not only the service member, but their families also that make this country great. We are all extremely proud to call you our friends. Thank you.