New - Corliss Steam Engine Rescue Videos

Two new videos have been posted on our You Tube, click on the link to the left and check them out. One video is actually more of a slide show and was used during our public forums to inform the public on our goals and plans for rescuing the 1913 Corliss steam engine from the former Swift & Co. pork packing plant before the wrecking ball went to work. The second video show the actual removal and transportation of the Corliss engine.

Given a 30 day in which to accomplish this task many obstacles had to be overcome. With an engine that had been left to rust for nearly 40 years nothing came easy in the removal process. Trying to make sure parts were lubricated, cleaned, tagged and documented for the reassembly process has made this quite the project.

Now that all the components are at the roundhouse complex the rehabilitation of this historic steam engine will begin. The new home of the Corliss will be the former Blacksmith/Machine shop building located just south of the roundhouse. Construction on this building will begin in late spring to restore the outer envelope of this building and pour the concrete foundation to support the Corliss.

Check out the videos, you'll find them very interesting.

Spring Melt Forces 2 Week Closure of the Historict District

The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association will close the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District for the next two weeks (Friday, March 5th through Friday, March 19th) due to forecasted inclement weather and heavy snow melt runoff from the Loess Hills and Highway 12 right-of-way, as well as the snow piles within the complex.

The decision for closure was made based upon the deteriorating conditions of the dirt and gravel entrance drive, parking areas, and walk ways throughout the complex. The snow melts are creating hazardous conditions for motor vehicles and foot traffic.

With the snow melt and water run off beginning last week, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is experiencing water pooling and low-level flooding throughout the complex with the snow blocking the flow of water run-off to the Big Sioux River. In addition, the complex continues to have large piles of snow and snow drifts extending from the Highway 12 right-of-way, which sits about 12 feet above the complex, to the Big Sioux River.

Extended hours for Thanksgiving weekend

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District and Railroad Museum will offer free admission and extended hours for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The railroad museum development project will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28.

In addition, the Railroad Museum Store will be open be the same extended hours. The store features the vintage Ironhorse 1355 t-shirt, a variety of historic district logo items perfect for holiday presents and stocking stuffers; along with a selection of railroad books, including the Sioux City Railroads book authored by Dr. Rudy Daniels.

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is home to Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive, Great Northern Railway No. 1355. The recently restored steam locomotive will be open to the public for cab tours and photo opportunities.

Visitors to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District are advised to dress appropriately for the weather and to be aware of vehicle traffic through the complex. The new Civil Engineering and Model Railroad Exhibition Center is under construction. When completed, this new 4,000-sq. ft. facility will feature exhibits on railroad engineering and will display the HO-scale “Nebraska Central Railway” model railroad diorama.

Volunteers with the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association will be available to provide tours and to answer questions about upcoming construction projects for the 2010 construction season.

About the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District

Nationally recognized by the White House and the National Trust for Historic Places, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is designated an “official project” of the Save America’s Treasures Program. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is located at 3400 Sioux River Road in Sioux City’s north Riverside neighborhood along the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, Iowa Highway 12 – approximately 2 miles south of Stone State Park.

Built in 1917, the Milwaukee Railroad Shops are one of the largest remaining steam locomotive-servicing and rail car facilities left in existence within the Midwest. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association purchased the 31.5-acre site in 1996 and opened the facility as a historic district in 1998. Over the past eight years, more than 35,000 people have visited the historic district. The renovation work is recognized as one of the region’s largest historic preservation projects involving an industrial railroad landscape. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops have been determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and were instrumental in helping Sioux City gain certification as a Preserve America Community by the Bush Administration.

SHRA launches t-shirt fundraiser

The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association announced its first annual t-shirt fundraising event to benefit the redevelopment of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District as an industrial heritage and science museum.

Special limited edition “Ironhorse 1355” t-shirts are now available at the historic district’s gift shop and feature a four-color screened “Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive No. 1355” graphic on the front of a forest green t-shirt. T-shirts are available in adult and youth sizes, including extended sizes for adults.

The vintage t-shirts commemorate the 100th anniversary of the steam locomotives construction and placement into rail passenger service in 1909. The steam locomotive had a distinguished career spanning 46 years pulling many named “signature” passenger trains operated by the Great Northern Railway, including the Oriental Limited, Pacific Fast Mail, and Empire Builder.

All proceeds from the sale of the t-shirts will help fund building renovations and operations of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association has a goal of selling 1,355 t-shirts within the next 101 days to help finance the next round of building construction at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District. Currently under construction is the new model railroad exhibit center. In early spring construction will focus on rehabilitating the machine shop building and summer construction activities will include the installation of a new permanent restroom facility.

To order the t-shirt through the mail, please remit $24.95 per shirt (includes USPS Priority Mail postage) to the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association, P O Box 1355, Sioux City, IA 51102-1355. Please state the size of the t-shirt needed. Please allow ten days for delivery.

Halloween at the Roundhouse event attracts 3600 visitors

Unseasonably warmer weather led to larger crowds for the “Halloween at the Roundhouse” event at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District held on Saturday, October 31, 2009.

The railroad museum development project reports that attendance topped 3600 visitors over the four-hour special event, which was about 1200 more visitors than the event drew last year.

For the event, children donned costumes and enjoyed the Halloween-themes activities such as pumpkin bowling, pumpkin painting, a screaming contest, motor car train rides, and tours of the City’s landmark steam locomotive No. 1355.

As part of the festivities, hobos, witches, and goblins roomed throughout the 31.5-acre historic site, engaging in storytelling ranging from ghost stories to railroad lore. These story tellers helped bring the past to life with stories such as Kate Shelling.

According to Jon Wagoner, president of the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association, “this event continues to attract an audience that is more diverse than the railroad museum’s overall attendance. Typically, we see more low-income and minority families attend this event than they do our other public programs, particularly inter-generational families, continue to be an important part of the railroad museum’s audience, with 57.5 percent of visitors accompanied by children under 18. According to visitor registrations, over 95 percent of the families attending the Halloween at the Roundhouse event were accompanied by children under 18.

October Events at the Roundhouse Guarantee Loads of Family Fun

Two major events this October are guaranteed to bring your family together for an enjoyable day out with lots of fun. We've been making plans for a long time for these two events so make sure you set aside some time to come visit because you're not going to want miss these.

The first event is a ONE TIME ONLY event so if you miss this you missed it all. Saturday Oct. 17th from 12 noon to 4 pm we will be celebrating the 100th Birthday of Great Northern Steam Locomotive #1355. As the soul survivor of the Great Northern Railways H-5 class steam locomotives and one of the oldest surviving steam locomotives on display in the U.S. this is truely a historic event that you'll want to be a part of. Events will include a silent auction from noon to 3:45, presentations from the Sioux City Mayor and Mayor Pro-tem unvailing the new National Register of Historic Places plaque solidifying Old Ironhorse as a true national treasure and cutting of the birthday cake for all to enjoy (while supply lasts) at 1:45. At 2pm (weather permitting) we'll pull GN1355 out of the roundhouse and put it on the turntable so everyone can really enjoy and appreciate it's new paint job outside under the sun light. This will provide some outstanding photo opportunities that you'll want to pass down to future generations. And hopefully we'll have some vintage early 1900's to 1930 automobiles to have on display also. If you have a vehicle in this time frame and would like to display it please call us 712-233-6996 on Saturdays between 10 am- 4pm. We will push 1355 back into the roundhouse at 3:30 pm and that may be your last opportunitiy to see it outside for quite some time. Motor car rides will also be available throughout the day, so pack up the family and come on down to share in this truly rare historic moment in time.

The second event will be our 2nd Annual Halloween at the Roundhouse. This event will also run from noon to 4 pm on Saturday Oct 31st. Last years inagural event was a hugh success with over 2000 people coming out to celebrate this special FREE family event. Bring the kids in their halloween costum's or not, it's a great way to get in the spirit for Halloween night's trick or treating. Here's a list of things you can expect to find; motor car rides, trick or treats, games, ghost stories, meet witches, hobos, and ghosts, free pumkins and pumkin painting (while supplies last), coloring contest, scavenger hunt and BBQ food will be sold on-site also. It's a great event that will bring the Sioux City and greater Siouxland communities together for family fun and fellowship.

So be sure to mark your calanders and save those dates; Saturday, Oct 17th - GN1355 100th Birthday Party and Saturday, Oct 31st - Halloween at the Roundhouse. We can't wait to meet you!

Milwaukee Railroad Shops to participate in Museum Day Event

Milwaukee Railroad Shops to participate in Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day

5th Annual Museum Day to be held September 26

(Sioux City, IA) - On Saturday, September 26, 2009 the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District, located in the north Riverside neighborhood of Sioux City, will participate in the fifth annual Museum Day presented by Smithsonian Magazine.

Museum Day is a day when museums and cultural institutions across the country open their doors free of charge to the general public, Smithsonian Magazine readers, and Smithsonian.com visitors. Smithsonian Museum Day is a national celebration of culture, learning, and the dissemination of knowledge. Smithsonian’s Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine. Last year, upwards of 200,000 people attended Museum Day, with all 50 states plus Puerto Rico represented by over 900 participating museums. This year, Smithsonian Magazine expects over 1,000 museums to participate in the special day event. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District was selected as one of the participating museums.

“We are honored to be part of Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day and to have the opportunity to celebrate this event on Saturday, September 26,” said Jon Wagoner, SHRA president. “Our railroad museum project has an ever growing collection of railroad artifacts that are being donated by area residents for future exhibits. Being part of the 2009 Museum Day event helps our organization to increase awareness about the industrial heritage, cultural and educational phases of preserving the Milwaukee Railroad Shops and how the nearly century-old buildings will be utilized to house exhibits and railroad equipment displays.”

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District features an excellent collection of historic steam locomotive-era buildings dating from 1917. This historic collection features a restored roundhouse with turntable, machine shop building, carpenter shop, sand drying house, and wood sand tower.

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is home to Sioux City’s Landmark Steam Locomotive, Ironhorse 1355, and a collection of railroad cars and artifacts that represent over 140 years of railroad history in the tri-state area. All most all of the artifacts have been donated by individuals, including former railroad workers and their family members. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops is being developed as an industrial science and history museum focusing on the North American railroad industry.

Visitors to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District must present the Smithsonian Magazine’s Admission Card or Coupon for free admission to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District. The free admission coupon is downloadable at www.smithsonian.com/museumday. In addition, the free admission coupon is being published twice a week in the Sioux City Journal. Each downloadable card or coupon provides museum access for two people.

Regular Admission to the railroad museum is $4.00 for adults; $3.00 for senior citizens (age 50 and older); $2.00 for children and students (age 6 to 18); and free for children under age 5 accompanied by an adult. A portion of the admission fee that is collected is earmarked for historic preservation work on the buildings, locomotives, rolling stock and artifact that form the railroad museum’s collections and exhibits.

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. For more information visit the railroad museums website at MilwaukeeRailroadShops.org or call 712-233-6996.