Santa's Whistle Stop Tour 2015 is approaching soon!

 

Here are a few pictures from lasts year's Santa's Whistle Stop Tour

 

 

 

 

Help support the Railroad Museum through our Rail Sale and get a great piece of history to display at work or home.

The Railroad Museum would like to take this opportunity to present a great way for you to help support the museum and collect a great piece of authentic railroad history at the same time. We have taken decommissioned rail and beautifully preserved it along with our Milwaukee Railroad Shops domed logo and included a card of authenticity with the history of the rail.

For just $99.00 (includes shipping and handling) you can proudly display this great piece of history and support one of the best railroad museums in the Midwest.

You can order yours today by contacting the Railroad Museum through one these very simple methods;
* Email (shra@cableone.net) - or
* Facebook Private Messaging with a return name/number - or
* Calling the museum at (712) 233-6996 - or
* Stop in and place your order in person
  Rail Dimensions: Approximately 4 1/4" tall x 1" thick.

This is a great gift idea for a birthday, special event, or Christmas for that history/rail buff in your life. It looks great on a shelf as a display and conversation item yet it's heavy enough to be very functional as well as a desk top paper weight or book end.  The preserved finish on this 100+ year old rail is nice enough that it will look great in a professional setting at work or in the comfort of your home.

 Thank you for your generosity and ongoing support of the Railroad Museum - Sioux City!!

SAVE THE DATE(S) - HALLOWEEN AT THE ROUNDHOUSE 2015 IS ALMOST HERE!

Once again Sioux Cities fastest growing family Halloween event is almost upon us. Our annual
Halloween at the Roundhouse event will be held the last two Saturdays of October this year, the 24th and the 31st. The hours of the event are 10 AM to 4 PM each day. Last year a record breaking 12,000+ people came out for the two day event and everyone left happy. This is the perfect way to spend some good old fashioned quality fun time with the family. Admission into this event is the same as it has always been, a free will donation. We want everybody in Siouxland to come out and just plain have fun.

We do have a number of buildings currently undergoing restoration so some areas of the 30 acre museum complex will be off limits, but there will still be plenty to see and do. For those of you that have never been to our event here's a sneak peek at what you can expect.
- Oct 24th - Special Unveiling- restoration project completion
- Families can come dressed-up for Halloween
- Trick or Treating
- Bounce Houses
- Ghost Stories
- Hay Rack Rides
- Children's Crafts
- Children's Games
- Contests
- Scavenger Hunt
- Haunted Railroad Diner Car
- Meet Hobo's, Witches, and Ghosts
- See Millie, the Railroad Museums very own 1943 diesel locomotive and visit with her special guests from the Island of Sodor, Sir Topham Hatt and Mr. Conductor.
- See the 75' x 16' Nebraska Central HO scale operating model railroad and others
- Climb into the cab and ring the bell on Sioux Cities very own Great Northern Steam Locomotive #1355, Old Ironhorse, that was built in 1909.
- See the actual buildings that were built in 1917 that our grandparents and great-grandparents worked in while working on steam locomotives and fixing rail cars.

Other things to do during the event that have a fee attached:
- Apple Slingshots - prizes are gift cards to local businesses
- Railroad Motor Car rides - $1 each
- Railroad Museum Volunteer Bake Sale - 100% of the sales are returned directly to museum restoration projects.
- Food Vendors
- Petting Zoo - on Oct 31st - only
- Railroad Museum Gift Shop

Save the date(s) and plan on having a lot of fun with the family and your friends. We can't wait to see you!

The Railroad Museum Biggest Construction Phase Kicks Off

 

The Railroad Museum in Sioux City, IA is beginning to embark on its busiest and most comprehensive phase of construction in 20 years of recovery, restoration, and repurposing work of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District and the volunteers and staff couldn’t be more excited. After years of painstaking fundraising, historical research, archeology studies, engineering, and more fundraising. The next major milestone is now underway. The amount of construction that will be happening will only be rivaled by the original construction of this historic complex 98 years ago back in 1917.  Here’s a brief overview of what is going to be happening over the next few months. Of note, we DO intended to keep the museum complex open as much as possible during the construction although some areas may be blocked off from time to time to accommodate the construction.

Back in March we had our new permanent restroom facilities installed just south of the machine/blacksmith shop building. Now, we are having the water, sewer and electrical installed and if everything comes together properly they may be up and running for our annual Halloween at the Roundhouse event the last two Saturdays of October.  Along with this, we are also having water lines run to two new fire hydrants and the Railroad Civil Engineering Display building that houses our operating model railroads.

We will also have restoration work proceeding on four of the original shop buildings at the same time. This work will allow us to lift the Red Tags off of these building and allow us to begin a serious effort to fill them with top notch exhibits, interpretations, and interactive displays.  What buildings are going to be worked on and what is going to be done to them you ask? Here’s a brief overview of the planned construction.

- The Car Shops building – This former wood shop and office building will receive new windows, doors, floor repair, lighting, and Heat and Air Conditioning (HVAC). This building will be repurposed as our new Railroad Marketing and Advertising Display building and will feature permanent and rotating exhibits of the efforts, advertising tools, and multiple media formats that the railroads used to sell their product to the public.  It will also have a secondary function as well as being able to be used as rental space for parties, business get-togethers, or other events.

- Engineers Tool Shed – After its interior and exterior restoration and the addition of electrical power, lighting and adding HVAC this building will act as our permeant visitor entrance and Information center.

- Sand Drying House – This building will get a full blown rework of the walls, roof, interior, electrical, HVAC, lighting, doors and windows. This building will be converted into a multi-media display hall where we can show slideshows and short movies of the history of the railroads in the upper Midwest and it will also be able to be used as rental space for business meetings and small weddings.

- South End Water Closet – this building will be restored and re-purposed to be used for storage.

After the trenches are dug and filled back in for the water and sewer lines and the heavy construction equipment is no longer driving over the grounds and all the ruts have been smoothed out. Then we can begin working on laying out the roadbed and the mile and a half loop for our new Grand Scale Train which is sure to be a huge hit with all our visitors when completed.

This exciting new addition will operate on 15” wide tracks. This 3” scale train will provide

transportation as a people mover around the museum complex. We are currently working on closing a funding gap that arose during our development phase. The train will run around inside the fenced in area of the railyard complex and there will be 3 station stops to help people get around the complex easier and have more fun. The stops will be at the main gate (Gilchrist Station), near the Machine/Blacksmith shop and the Roundhouse, and near the Sand Drying House and Railroad Civil Engineering Display building (model railroads). The total consist will have an F7 replica diesel locomotive and two passenger coaches (one of which will be ADA capable to handle a couple wheel chairs) and one passenger observation coach.  The passenger train is painted to look like the old Milwaukee Road passenger train called The Arrow that once served Sioux City.

If you would like to help us share the cost of these exciting upgrades and additions as we continue to grow this wonderful family entertainment complex your donations would be most graciously accepted. We are a 501c(3) non-profit private organization so all donations toward this project are tax deductible. If you may be considering a more sizeable donation to help us improve the quality of life in the Sioux City area by providing quality family oriented entertainment, naming rights for certain areas and buildings are also available. Please contact Matt Merk, Executive Director or Tom Obermeyer, Deputy Director at the Railroad Museum for more information regarding these opportunities.

Thank you all for your continued support, we could never make this happen with out you.

NEW RIDE THE RAILS PROGRAM PUT'S YOU IN THE ENGINEERS SEAT

The Railroad Museum in Sioux City is offering a new Ride the Rails Program that can not only provide you with a ride in the cab of our 1943 General Electric 45 ton switcher locomotive, but it could land you in the engineers seat with you actually operating the locomotive yourself. This is a rare opportunity for rail fans and visitors alike to actually drive a diesel locomotive.

During each hour long session the participants will be given basic instruction by our trained engineers while looking over the locomotive and learning how it works. Then it’s time to climb into the engineer’s seat and take the locomotive for a spin. In addition, each engineer participant will also receive an engineer’s cap and a certificate of accomplishment to serve as reminder of this unique experience that can be shared with friends and family for years to come.

Up to four people may share each of the hour long time slots. In order to operate the locomotive you must be 18 years old or older, however, any people younger may ride along with an adult.

The cost of this unique experience is $50 per engineer and $10 per passenger. This cost will help cover fuel and train crew costs. The program will run from 10 AM through 3 PM on Saturday, August 1^st and Saturday, August 15^th. Additional times and dates may be added later and an update will be posted if those additions occur.

Reservations are required in advance and are on a first come first serve basis. The locomotive will continue to operate unless severe weather approaches.

Please contact the Railroad Museum, Sioux City at (712) 233-6996 to make your reservation or for answers to any additional questions that you may have.

Touch A Truck or Train Day - Sat. May 9th from 10 am - 3 pm

If you came out to our first Touch A Truck or Train Day event last fall you know how much fun it is. The event we have planned for May 9th is going to be bigger and better yet. The word got out to the local companies around town about how much fun it was and we have had many more request to be a part of this wonderful event this year so we will have many more vehicles to crawl through, honk the horns, blow the sirens, and explore than last year.

What can you expect to see? Construction vehicles, trucks, cranes, Fire, Ambulance and Police Department vehiles, military vehicles, 75-100 antique cars, and even remote control airplanes! Providing there are no emergencies the Mercy Air Care helicopter is scheduled to fly in and make an appearance. A food vendor will also be on-site so you can take a break have lunch and be refueled for a full afternoon of adventure. If this will be your first visit to the Railroad Museum don't forget to check out Sioux Cities very own steam locomotive Great Northern #1355 that you will be able to explore, the spectaular 75' x 16' Nebraska Centeral HO Scale operating model railroad, take a family ride on the motor car, and explore the rest of the buildings, railroad equipment, and displays on this 30 acre historical complex.

How much is all this fun going to cost you? $5 for individuals or ONLY $10 for your family. Wow! You can't beat that for some great family bonding time, fun and adventure.

Here are a couple pictures from last falls event.  Save the date: Sat. May 9th from 10 am - 3 pm

You are not going to want to miss this great family treat!

Please Help, Photo's Needed

     The writing of the nomination to list the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places is nearing completion. The nomination package will be submitted no later than mid-April.
      Our nomination package contains a comprehensive history of the site, as well as a look at Sioux City's railroad history and the broader industry of steam railroad repair shops. The nomination will feature photos documenting changes in both the complex's history... and Sioux City's railroad history. The photo's above in the header of this blog page provide pictures of two of the 3 shifts of workers that worked at the roundhouse in the 1930's. The center picture is a view from the top of the coal tower looking north toward the roundhouse from sometime in the 1920's.  

      We continue to build our archives of photos illustrating the railroad industry's relationship with our area. If you have any photos of any of the railroads in the Sioux City area and you wish to contribute to our archives, please contact us by e-mail at shra@cableone.net.
     Please take a look at some of your old photo's even personal family pictures with railroad backgrounds such as trains, shop interiors/exteriors, crossings, passenger stations and freight house interiors/exteriors. Sometimes the details in the background of a photo can hold a treasure trove of historical information.
    Thank you all for your continued help and support as we develop this wonderful museum. We could never do this with out you.