Crusin" to Sioux City Classic Car Show Postponed Until Sunday, May 26th

Due to the current and forecasted future rain and possible hail for today (Sunday May 19th) the Crusin' to Sioux City Classic Car Show has been postponed until next Sunday, May 26th. The show will be held at the same time from Noon- 4 PM.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but hopefully we'll get to see everyone next Sunday.

Crusin’ to Sioux City, Classic Car Show, Sunday May 19th from Noon to 4 pm

GN #1355 with a beautiful 1950 Plymouth convertible

Are you a classic car lover? Do you own one that you like to show off or do you just enjoy reminiscing of days gone by and  looking at them? Either way, we have just the fix for you. This Sunday, May 19^th is our 2^nd Annual “Crusin’ to Sioux City” classic car show.  The Railroad Museum sits on 30 acres of land so we have LOTS of space to display LOTS of cars. Come on down and check out the cool cars and chat with the owners. Classic cars and trains are a win-win combination in any book. Pack up the family and enjoy some great old fashioned family togetherness.

Here’s the rundown of what you can expect

1. Show Hours: Noon to 4 PM
2. Two food vendors will be on hand...Kirks BBQ and Foster Concessions
3.  All classic cars that are displayed and their passengers will be admitted FREE!
4. Gates open at 8am, show starts at 12 noon.
5. Rock-n-Roll music
6. Commemorative dash plaques will be given to the first 100 cars
7. Steam Locomotive Great Northern #1355 will be on outside display on the roundhouse turntable so that photos of your classic car with this historic locomotive in the background can be taken.
8. Railway motorcar rides – FREE
9. All museum buildings and exhibits will be open
10. See the 75' x 17'  HO Scale Nebraska Central Model Railroad with 6 operating trains
11. For those visitors not bringing a classic car for display normal daily admission rates apply:

          Adults: $5.00
          Seniors: $4.00 (Age 50 and Older)
          Students: $3:00 (Age 6-18)
          Kids: FREE w/Paid Adult (Ages 5 and Younger)     
          Family Package: $20.00  Includes: 2 Adults and 4 or more children
                                       (Immediate family members only)

For more information about the Railroad Museum Sioux City, contact information and directions please visit our web site at http://www.milwaukeerailroadshops.org

RAILROAD MUSEUM RECIEVES VISION IOWA GRANT AWARD!

May 8, 2013 (Des Moines) – The Vision Iowa Board awarded a $314,862 Community Attraction and Tourism grant to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District & Railroad Museum in Sioux City. According to Jessica O’Riley, Vision Iowa board member and member of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the grant was approved today by the Vision Iowa Board at their meeting in Des Moines.


Matt Merk, Executive Director stated, “This is very exciting news and could not have been made possible without the extensive progress that the volunteers have made in rescuing this national treasure and even more importantly the outstanding support that our community has provided through donations, sales, pledges and attendance. All of these combine together and demonstrate to those looking on at not only the state level but at the national level that we have something very special here in Sioux City.” Larry Obermeyer, SHRA Board President also added, “Our supporters can see that completing this project will not only provide a valuable economic impact on our region, but it has already and will continue to also increase the quality of life here in the Siouxland area by enhancing family ties and interactions with each other.”

Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District – CAT 2 – Sioux City
Total Project Cost: $2,661,897
Amount Requested: $314,862
Amount Awarded: $314,862
Award Contingencies: Completion of fundraising within 30 days. ($85,000 still need to be raised!)

This project includes the exterior renovation of five historic buildings (Engineers Tool Shed, Car Shops, South End Water Closet, Sand Dying House, and the Roundhouse) the construction of a permanent restroom facility and an alternative transportation system of interpretive paved walking trails, paved parking lot and a 16” gauge miniature railroad. Additionally, this project will also support interior improvements to the roundhouse building and continue interior improvements to the machine shop building.

To everyone that has supported this historic development, thank you so very much for your past, present and future support.

For those of you that would like to become involved or would like to see what it really going on out in this north Riverside neighborhood come on out and see what you’ve been missing out on. This Saturday would be a prefect chance to stop out and see what’s happening. The National Train Day and Sioux City Historic Preservation Week all wrap up at the Railroad Museum this Saturday. We are located at 3400 Sioux River Road, 1/2 mile north of Military Road on Hwy 12, Admission is FREE! Hours: 10 am – 4 pm.

For more information about the Historic District and Railroad Museum please visit our website at  www.milwaukeerailroadshops.org and like us on Facebook.

National Train Day, Saturday May 11th, 2013

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District and Railroad Museum will be combining two events into one spectacular day. We are the feature attraction closing up a week-long celebration as Sioux Cities Historic Preservation Week wraps up and we are once again joining the nationwide celebration of National Train Day.

National Train Day marks the 144th anniversary of the creation of the nation's first transcontinental railroad. On May 10, 1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah, the 'golden spike' was driven into the final tie that joined 1,776 miles of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways, forever transforming the face and character of America.  Special celebrations have been planned by Amtrak at many of its stations across the country as well as hundreds of additional railroad focused museums, tourism trains and historic sights.   We are also lucky enough to be celebrating Sioux City Historic Preservation Week at the same time.

Things to see and do!

·         Hours: 10 am – 4 pm

·         Admission: FREE 

·         Motor Car Rides: $2 each for kids all the way up to 105 years old                                          

·         1:30 PM in the south end of the Machine/Blacksmith Shop - Dr. Rudy Daniels will be giving a talk about the Railway Postal Service.

·         Popcorn and refreshments for purchase

·         Try our self-guided walking tour book for an in-depth look around the complex. Cost is only $3 and $1 of each book sold goes directly to the building restoration fund

We have A LOT of construction projects scheduled for this summer and fall. This will be a great time to see some “before” looks of some our buildings before the construction. Then, you will really be able to appreciate the “after” looks you’ll see next year. Here’s a teaser for this year’s construction plans:

·         Build brand new restroom facilities.

·         Restore the Engineers Tool Shed and convert it into our permanent entrance/visitor center.

·         Restore the Car Shops Building and begin the conversion into a Railway Marketing Display hall and rental space for parties, meetings and family get togethers.

·         Restore the south end Water Closet building and conversion to a storage room.

·         Restore the Sand Drying House and begin conversion into a multimedia theater and rental facility for business/community meetings, lectures, weddings, etc..

Spring Time Where are You?

What a wet and cold crazy start to the year we've been having. Rain, cold, snow, sleet, more rain, more snow and very little heat.

A special note particularly to our out of town travelers and visitors

Due to the recent and seemingly never ending snows and rains we have been experiencing please call us at 712-233-6996 ahead of your visit to check on our grounds and parking lot conditions and possible closings due to the muddy and puddling conditions. We would hate to have you spend your valuable time traveling and money for gas to find out that you may need rubber boots or knee high waders to get around the complex or that we may be closed.

We won't have our paved parking lot and complete paved trail system completed for another year so please be patient and hopefully warmer and drier conditions are just around the corner.

Thank you for your understanding and thank you for your interest in the Milwaukee Rail Shops Historic District.

The Railroad Museum is set to anchor the Sioux City Historic Preservation Week festivities

Please copy & paste the link below to checkout all the planned events going on around Sioux City during the week of May 4th - May 11th.


 


     http://www.siouxcityhp.org/preservation-week.html



Thought for the day: If you don't know where you came from or how you got there, how can you plan where you're going? Valuable time and resources will be lost and wasted while you repeat and relearn the valuable lessons of the past journeys our forefathers have made.

See and learn about what made Sioux City great and how we can all move forward once again by working together, being inventive, being innovators, and being proud of our great community. Spend a little bit of time learning about and enjoying your history during this special week and start planning for a great future.