10th Annual AgRail Festival draws nearly 3000 happy visitors

After a slow damp start due to the rain lasting all of Saturday morning 688 people braved the cooler temperatures and wet grounds in the afternoon and came out for a wonder visit. On Sunday with the warmer and dryer weather 2,239 people came out for a great day of music, railroads and tractors.

During the event on Saturday local radio personalities Larry & Don from Nostalgia Theater on KSCJ Talk Radio 1360 AM were once again broadcasting live from the event from 9:00 until 11:00 AM and a new comer to the event, Cowboy Bob from 101.3 FM Y Country Radio was also on hand and broadcast his show live from the museum complex from 10:00 am until 1:00 PM. Many local country and bluegrass bands performed live all weekend at the Car Shops Stage filling the air with wonderful music for all to enjoy.

Golf carts and a hay rack ride were used to provide transportation around the 31 acre complex for visitors and a staff of over 30 volunteers eagerly greeted and treated all of our guests. Hundreds of families enjoyed the leisurely 10 minute ride on the motor car experiencing the “feel” of the track that only railroad Maintenance of Way (track workers) get to experience as they travel the rails to their work-sites. Some riders were even treated to a race with a hand car as our Hobo actors were having a tough time trying to get a ride to Omaha.

The muddy conditions caused by the rain forced the cancellation of the tractor parade on Saturday, but with dry sunny conditions on Sunday even more tractors showed up and a great tractor parade was enjoyed by all. Along with a full scale antique tractor pull a favorite event for the kids was the scaled down pedal tractor pull event which had many young competitors battling for ribbons and ice cream bar prizes.

Thank you to everyone that came out we truly enjoyed having you out for a visit!

The 10th Annual AGRAIL Festival is this weekend Aug 18th & 19th

Call your friends and family and make your plans for the 10th Annual AGRAIL Festival happening this weekend August 18 & 19 from 10:00 am till 4:00 pm both days. This annual festival celebrates the close relationships between the farmers and the railroads and their interactions to get goods to and from the market. During this special two day event local farmers bring out their antique tractors and threshing machines and put on live demonstrations throughout the day. Each day a tractor parade is held as all the tractors make their rounds throughout the complex prior to their antique tractor pull demonstration. Many other pieces of farm equipment and displays of smaller machines that were state of the art at making life easier will also be on display.

Food vendors will be on hand to satisfy your appetites and live music will be performed throughout the day from our outdoor stage. Pull up a seat under the trees, enjoy a cool breeze and listen to some good old toe tapping, foot stomping country and bluegrass music. A petting zoo and small pony rides will also be available for the youngsters to learn about farm life and the animals of the prairie farms.

Our rail yard characters will be out to entertain you as well. Our Hobo’s always get a laugh and the youngest members of your family will enjoy meeting the Polar Express Conductor, and Mr. Conductor and Sir Topham Hatt from the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends stories.

Turntable demonstrations will be performed throughout the day so you can witness the operation of our 1917 turntable and see a locomotive drive on and get positioned to a different track.

Bring out the whole family. Compare where we were then to what we have now. This is a great way to visit the past and learn about the future. Come to the railroad museum where history gets back on track to the future. We can’t wait to see you!

2012 AgRail Heritage Festival Schedule

Railroad History Presentation (11am and 1pm Saturday Only)
In the Preservation Gallery ~ Roundhouse Bay 1

Motorcar Rides – All Day
Tractor Parade – 1:00pm
Antique Tractor Pull – 2pm
Pedal Tractor Pull – 2pm
Turntable Demonstrations - 11am, 1pm, 3pm
Music – All Day
Food - All Day
Model Trains – All Day

Antique Farming Demonstrations West Field
(threshing, plowing, shelling)

Two New Events Added to This Years Scehdule!

Two great new events have been added to our schedule that will be sure to please one and all and young and old alike. These new exciting events are:

August 12, Sunday - Noon- 4 pm
1st Annual "Crusin' to Sioux City Show & Shine Car Event"
- We invite all classic car collectors to take advantage of this event to bring your vehicle to the Sioux City Railroad Museum for a great photo opportunity…your classic car alongside our classic steam engine, or any of the other pieces of railroad history on the grounds. This is a special day for camera hounds, and a fun day to capture images of your classic car and family around the many train displays.

Bring the whole family, ride the motorcar, enjoy some music, and take advantage of great photo opportunities. And if you bring your classic car to our event, you can take advantage of FREE admission to the museum for the entire family. So come on out and take new pictures for generations of America’s past.

Tell all your car collector buddies about this event. If you have any questions, please call Denny Anderson at 712-251-8266 or Matt Merk at 712-233-6996.

This event is open to all types of antique, vintage and collector cars, trucks & motorcycles.

If you don't have one of these types of vehicles come on down a check them out there are sure to be some fantastic cars, trucks and motorcycles and lots of photo opportunities for you and your family to enjoy.

September 15, Saturday - Noon- 6 pm
1st Annual "Rock n Rail Festival"
- This Rock concert event will be held in the Railfield Recreational Area behind the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District. This awesome outdoor event is being hosted by Kool 99.5 FM radio and will feature 6 of Sioux Cities best musical acts.

Noon-1:00 - Kelly Glasco
1:00-2:00 - Emily Johnson and Mitch Martin
2:00-3:00 - Mat D
3:00-4:00 - Blue Moon Band
4:00-5:00 - Old School
5:00-6:00 - Premium Draft

This will be a one hot Rock n Rail day to remember. Stay tuned to our Blog and Facebook pages for more updates and as the event nears and keep an ear open to Kool 99.5 for future announcements.

Mark your calenders! Tell your friends! We can't wait to see you!

YES ... We're writing you about bathrooms

DearFriends,

Have you ever tried to use a portable toilet while changing a baby or toddler? Have you ever tried to move over 30 school kids through two portable toilets in 10 minutes?  Or, have you ever tried to usea portable bathroom during cold temperatures in the winter?

Allof these things can be done. But, none of them are graceful, dignified or verymuch fun when you are trying to enjoy a historical site with friends, yourchildren or your grandchildren.

 BATHROOMS! Really?

Yes, I am writing you about bathrooms.

Ifyou are reading this letter, it is likely that you have visited the MilwaukeeRailroad Shops Historic District and may have had to use the portable toiletswhile you enjoyed the site. While the portable toilets can meet our basic needsin the interim, they are not a permanent solution for a growing audience offamilies and school kids. They are, however, worth writing about in the hopesthat this historic railroad site might be improved with a permanent bathroomfamilies designed for families and school kids.

Themodern era has come to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District! A newbathroom facility will be built this summer thanks to a major federal grant.Installation of the new bathrooms will eliminate the need for portable,chemical bathrooms on a daily basis. However, we need to raise matching funds to help cover the constructioncosts of the new restroom facility. Grant funds are providing only 70 percentof the total construction costs.

Weneed to raise approximately $10,000 by August 1 to help finance the building ofthe bathroom facility and to furnish it with bathroom fixtures and babychanging areas. We will let the contract to build the bathrooms by that date.

Willyou help us?  You can help us reach our goal of $10,000 with your online contribution of $5, $10, $25, or more. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association depends upon contributions like yours to continue to make the improvements to the buildings, structures, and grounds of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops.

We will be eternally grateful to you - and – you will be happythat you did – especially the next time Mother Nature calls while you visit theMilwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District.

To make your contribution online, please click on the button above.

Withthanks for your generosity,

MattMerk

ExecutiveDirector

Trains, Tripods & Snapshots Day Recap

Wow what a day. HOT with a capital HHH. Yet, even in all the heat it was still a great day. We had 1,019 visitors stop out and pay us a visit and the folks took lots and lots of pictures. Not only railroad related pictures but many people brought out their antique cars to be displayed also which made for some interesting conversation and some great photos.

On this bright shinny sun filled day Great Northern Railways Class H-5,4-6-2 pacific, steam locomotive #1355 , Old Ironhorse, looked awesome parked on the turntable. The Glacier Park paint scheme was just shinning to every ones delight and it made a fantastic backdrop for lots of family photo's. The sight was so good in fact that even the Sioux City Fire Department sent out a fire truck to have it's picture taken with Old Ironhorse.

Many of the volunteers dressed-up in railroad worker attire to greet the guests and give tours. Special appearances by many of our railyard characters provided even more photo opportunities. Sir Topham Hatt, from the Island of Sodor, was a big hit with many of the younger railroaders. He stayed with Millie the Milwaukee Shops Marine Corp Engine and together they greeted the youngsters and Millie let each one them blow her air horn! Crazy Joe and Arlo, a couple of our resident Hobo's, were on hand trying to convince the public that President Herbert Hoover had to go and that we must all stick together and vote for Roosevelt. Many spirited discussions were brought up on this matter.  They also serenaded one young lucky lady who was celebrating her 12th birthday with a rousing violin lead Happy Birthday song. The Polar Express conductor was on hand to help keep the Hobo's under control and to assist with the on-time operations of the motor car rides.

A new addition to the event was music provided by one of our new volunteers. A nice mixture of modern hits and old time railroad songs filled the air along with the smell of fresh popcorn and cotton candy.

The model railroad volunteers were showing off yet one more new line of operation on the Nebraska Central HO Scale model railroad. This new line runs a continuous loop through the mountain area of the layout. Their spectacular restoration efforts have now brought the number of possible operating trains up to six! These guys are amazing and just keep making this wonderful exhibit better all the time.

Check out the below URL link or click on our You Tube link to see a 9 minute video of  some of the highlights of the day.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8eX1mw_3qE&list=UUHDp4FX2WMvESYWaQhOf1Zw&index=1&feature=plcp

Don't forget to check out what other events are planned this year. Click on the SHRA logo located on the lower right side of this blog to jump to our web site. Thank you for supporting the railroad museum and we hope to see you again soon!

Railroad museum hosts shutterbug event on Saturday, June 30th

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District will host “Trains, Tripods & Snapshots” Day for families and amateur photographers to bring their own cameras and tripods to pose and photograph family members near train displays.

The event will run 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Regular admission fees will be charged for the event. Motor Car Rides ($2.00 per person) will be available as well. Visitors are encouraged to wear shoes appropriate to weather and ground conditions.

This year’s event will feature special guest appearances of railroad characters throughout the day; the outdoor exhibition of Sioux City’s landmark steam locomotive; a Vintage & Collector Car “Show and Shine” around the turntable green space, which is open to all types of antique, vintage and collector cars, trucks & motorcycles. This green space area will allow for the car owners to snap photos of their vehicles with the roundhouse and steam locomotive providing a backdrop.

Visitors will be able to use their own camera to snap photos that create lasting memories for Christmas cards, birthday announcements, senior photos, scrapbooks, and photo albums. Families and amateur photographers are welcomed to bring their own smartphones, 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 historic buildings, train displays, and Loess Hills to help frame the photos. The steam locomotive, the historic buildings and vintage rolling stock provide hundreds of photo opportunities to capture images of older children and other family members using the structures for textures and backgrounds.

Visitors to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops can participate in with an optional seminar on museum photography led by Chad Cable of annacable Photography. The clinics will be held three times on Saturday: 10 – 11 am; Noon – 1 pm; and 2 -3 pm. The Clinics will be held in the new Preservation Gallery and then finish outside on the complex. 

Trains, Tripods and Snapshots Day - Saturday, June 30th