December 2012 Issue - Sioux City Railroad Museum

Siouxland Historical Railroad Association ▪ Year-End 2012 Friends Newsletter
A period look at the progress of work at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District & Railroad Museum in Sioux City, Iowa
SHRA launches Community
Gifts Fundraising Campaign
Dear Friends, We want to share our accomplishments with you!
The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association (SHRA) is embarking on a $3.3 million Community Gifts fundraising program to support a number of initiatives to
complete the transformation of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District
into a unique industrial heritage museum
campus. When complete, this museum
campus will be unparalleled elsewhere in
the tri-state region and will be similar in
scale to a national park.
Your railroad museum enters the Community Gifts Campaign with significant momentum. Museum volunteers and staff
have raised more than $2.1 million in federal, state, and private foundation grants
and tax credits. And nearly $80,000 in
pledges and museum revenue are already
committed towards this new phase of
work.
The Community Gifts Campaign will focus on six key improvements:

Construction of a new familyfriendly restroom facility and the installation of public works and utilities.

Interior and exterior renovations of
four historic buildings: car shops, sand
drying house, water closet, and engineers‟
tool shed.

Construction and installation of an alternative transportation system consisting
of a interpretive walking trail, parking lot,
and entrance drive.

Construction and installation of a 15inch gauge miniature railroad to provide a
railway ride experience as well as serving
as a transportation system between historic
buildings.

Construction of a new 4,000 sq. ft.
visitor interpretive center.

Exterior and interior improvements to
the roundhouse building
Community Gifts, Page 3
Machine Shop project wins statewide recognition
The Machine & Blacksmith Shop renovation project is one of 10 historic
preservation projects statewide to be
honored with the 2011 Preservation at
Its Best Award by Preservation Iowa
and the Iowa Gaming Association. The
Machine & Blacksmith Shop was honored in the community effort category.
Work on the reconstruction of the Machine & Blacksmith Shop began in December 2010 and was completed June
30, 2011. Funding for the project was
provided through federal Statewide
Transportation Enhancement funds administered by the Iowa Department of
Transportation, Historic Sites Preservation Grant funds administered by the
State Historical Society of Iowa, and
Community Attraction and Tourism
Grant funds administered by Vision Iowa. Local matching funds were provided
by private contributions from local busi-
nesses and individuals nationwide. Total
renovation costs were approximately
$600,000. Audino Construction was the
general contractor.
The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association and the City of Sioux City were
the recipients of the award. Each year,
Preservation Iowa, in partnership with the
Iowa Gaming Association, honors individuals, organizations, projects, and programs whose work demonstrates a commitment to excellence in historic preservation. The award for community effort
recognizes a community for its concerted
effort to save a historic structure, district,
or cultural resource.
The 10 Preservation at Its Best Awardees
were recognized at a special gala in
Hampton, Iowa on October 1, 2011. The
award certificate is on display in the new
Preservation Gallery located in the roundhouse building.
Year-End 2012
“You can be proud of the fact that our
accomplishments are Because of YOU !”
Anderson appointed
development director
Denny Anderson has joined the Siouxland
Historical Railroad Association (SHRA)
as development director and chief fundraising-marketing officer. Anderson will
have responsibility for resource development of the railroad museum and special
events at Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District in Sioux City.
In this position, Anderson will oversee the
integration of donor relations, fundraising
and audience development. He will implement a major fundraising campaign, startup an annual fund, and manage the organization‟s marketing activities.
“It is a pleasure to welcome this highly respected personality to our management
team,” said Matt Merk, executive director
of the railroad museum. “Anderson‟s expertise will support our strategic initiatives
to redevelop the 31.5-acre historic rail
yard into a destination attraction.”
Anderson brings more than 25 years of experience in client relationship management and marketing to the development
director position. Over the course of his
career, he has managed client relations for
radio broadcast firms in Iowa, Texas and
South Dakota. Anderson is certified by the
Radio Advertising Bureau as a Certified
Radio Marketing Consultant (CRMC).
Anderson is widely known across the
Midwest as radio personality “Big Daddy”
on Kool 99.5 and recently served as cohost of “Good Morning Siouxland with
Denny & Tom” on KSCJ Radio.
Anderson is a graduate of the University
of North Dakota, where he earned a bachelor‟s degree in advertising and public relations.
Matt Merk, appointed in December 2011as executive director, gets ready to complete
his first year of work overseeing the revitalization of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops.
As an invested partner in our railroad
museum development project, it‟s important to us that you are informed on
the progress of work, fundraising activities and new programs that affect our future growth and the transformation of
the former Milwaukee Railroad Shops
rail yard complex into an industrial heritage museum campus.
We acknowledge that it‟s taken an extended period of time to get information
out to you and to raise the money for the
renovation work. We attribute this to
several factors. All of our volunteers
have been steadfast in expanding accessibility to visitors by opening the complex to six days a week and performing
a lot of renovation and maintenance
work around the complex. Last year
alone, our volunteers cumulatively donated over 18,000 hours of labor; and
this year they will exceed 20,000 collective hours. Similarly, they are serving
more and more visitors. Last year‟s attendance topped 31,000 visitors and this
year we are on track to exceed 45,000.
The volunteers have worked to create
seven special events during the year that
require enormous amounts of their time.
With that, the time needed to get news out
to you seems to fly by.
With this newsletter we intend on bringing
you up-to-date on all our happenings over
the past year. As you review the articles
that detail our progress of work, you can
be proud of the fact that our accomplishments are Because of YOU and YOUR
continued financial support.
As you review this newsletter, we‟d respectfully ask you to consider a year-end
gift to our Community Gifts program. Enclosed with this newsletter are various giving opportunities. We are asking you to
consider a gift at a level that you are comfortable with. Please be assured that we
appreciate whatever level of financial
commitment you are able to make or
pledge over the next two years.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Matthew Merk, Executive Director
Page 2
Year-End 2012
Projects to be funded by the Community Gifts Campaign
The Community Gifts Campaign
will support the renovation and
transformation of the former sand
drying house into a 28-seat mini
audiovisual theater. The repairs
will include masonry tuck pointing and the installation of a new
wood roof structure, windows,
and doors. Interior enhancements
include theater-style seats, data
ports, electrical and HVAC systems, and a presentation stage.
The theater will be used for films,
lectures, and special events that
may include weddings.
The car /carpenter shop will
undergo structural repairs to the
masonry, doors, windows, and
floor as part of the renovation to
transform the building into a 2620
square foot museum exhibition
hall. This new hall will feature
exhibits on the business , arts, and
marketing aspects of railroading.
The 238 square foot former Engineers‟ Tool
Shed will undergo restoration for conversion
to a visitor welcome center. The building
renovations will include new roof, window,
and doors along with repairs to the masonry
walls. When complete, the new visitor center
will provide a greeter station for visitors. The
landscape area around the Engineer‟s Tool
Shed will include an entrance trail with kiosks, benches, and a Legacy garden with
plants and shrubs.
Community Gifts Campaign
will raise funds for a miniature
train and site improvements
From Page 1
The construction work to be supported by
the Community Gifts campaign is slated to
begin in 2013 and be completed by early
2016. This next phase of historic preservation and site work is expected to provide
supportive employment to 122 construction trade workers and will enable the railroad museum to improve and increase
public access to the historic site‟s amenities and special events.
Recent years have seen record numbers of
people visiting the historic railroad site to
witness the transformation and participate
in heritage education and entertainment
activities. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops
Historic District now serves between
40,000 and 45,000 visitors a year; of
which nearly 73 percent are children and
families. “Our museum saw 31,151 visitors in 2011, approximately 144 percent
more than the 12,740 who visited in 2010,
according to our attendance records” said
Matt Merk, executive director. “This year,
we are on track to draw 45,000+ visitors.
Here we are at the beginning of November
and we have topped 40,000 visitors.”
To make a pledge or donation to the Community Gifts campaign, or to receive more
information on the project, contact Matt
Merk at 712.233.6996.
Don’t Delay …. Pledge Today!
The Community Gifts Campaign
will partially support the renovation of the roundhouse building.
Exterior work will focus on rebuilding the west wall , clearstory, and the large bay doors. The
interior renovations will consist
of lighting, electrical systems,
and a new separation wall between the exhibit area and workshop/renovation shop.
The former water closet or toilet building will undergo
repairs to include tuck pointing and installation of new
doors, windows and a roof. The building will be used for
restroom facilities to support the south half of the railroad
museum campus.
Projects, Page 4
Page 3
Year-End 2012
Projects to be funded by the Community Gifts Campaign ▪ with your financial support
Building a Ridable Miniature
Railway is part of the Community
Gifts Campaign
One of the planned vertical infrastructure improvements to be supported through the Community Gifts
Campaign is a hard surfaced parking
lot. This improvement is needed to
provide for a safe environment for
conflicts that will arise between
motor vehicles and pedestrians. As
this photo illustrates, our current
parking conditions create some issues with mud when inclement
weather occurs, thus creating conflict issues.
The Community Gifts Campaign
will enable us to raise funds to support the construction of an interpretive trail system that will make
access between buildings more
family –friendly. The new trail will
be hard-surfaced to provide better
movement for strollers and mobility
devices. As you can imagine, the
former rail yard has a lot of obstacles that hinder foot traffic between
the historic buildings and structures.
The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association intends to build and install a Ridable
Miniature Railroad at its Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District .
The purpose of the Miniature Railroad is to
provide visitors with railway ride experiences while functioning as a transportation
service to the public.
The Miniature Railroad will feature a classic
-style, 3-inch scale, miniature park train that
will run on a 1.5-mile rail line constructed of
15-inch gauge tracks.
This miniature railroad will be capable of
running a three-car train set. The train set
will consist of a vintage reproduction of the
historic F-7 diesel locomotive with a four
motor drive system and phoenix sound, two
eight-passenger economy coaches, and an
eight-passenger observation car.
The F-7 style locomotive was a signature
diesel locomotive type that defined streamlined railroad passenger service in and out of
Sioux City, as well as across the nation, during the timeframe between 1940 and 1972.
The Community Gifts Campaign
will provide for the construction of
permanent family-style restroom
facilities that will replace portable
toilets that are used on the complex.
The restrooms will be able to handle
up to 120 users an hour. When the
new restroom facilities are placed in
service, the current portable toilets
will plan a very important function
during festivals and special events,
and will provide supplemental facilities for the south end of the museum campus.
The improvements proposed in to be accomplished
by the Community Gifts Campaign, when completed, will provide your railroad museum with infrastructure needed to better serve a growing attendance of children and families, as well as the general
public.
Secondly, the rehabilitation supported by the Community Gifts Campaign will stabilize and renew the
historic site so that its inherent and important edutainment potential will not be lost.
Page 4
Year-End 2012
Halloween event overtakes
previous attendance record
The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic
District has announced an all-time record attendance for its premier fall event:
“Halloween-at-the-Roundhouse.” A total of
6,266 visitors attended the four-hour event
held on Saturday, October 27; a 20.5 percent
increase over last year‟s attendance of 5,199
visitors.
This substantial increase in visitors continues the railroad museum‟s year-long trend
with record increased attendance. This year,
Sioux City‟s railroad museum is on track to
exceed 45,000 total visitors for the year,
which will result in a local economic impact
exceeding $1-million in visitor spending.
“Visitors continue to recognize that the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is a
unique setting for educational and entertainment activities for children and their families,” said Matt Merk, the railroad museum‟s
executive director. “The sustained growth of
attendance for our Halloween-at-theRoundhouse event reflects a growing widespread awareness in the community and our
surrounding area that our museum campus
offers exceptional opportunities for heritagerelated festivals and special events. We provide the best opportunities for people seeking to spend quality time with their children
and families, while enjoying the historic authenticity of the site – plus they learn a few
snippets of railroad history every time they
visit.”
This year‟s activities include Halloween and
railroad themed children‟s activities such as
face painting, pumpkin bowling, pumpkin
caroling, soda ring toss, fishing games, and a
screaming contest. Family-style activities included the haunted caboose, hay rack rides,
motor car railway rides, steam locomotive
tours, petting zoo, and pony rides. A cast of
Hobo and railroad characters provided entertainment and told ghost stories.
Corporate and business sponsors of this
year‟s Halloween event were: Knife River,
Palmer‟s Candies, L&L Builders, Perkins
Restaurants, Walmart, and Target. Through
these sponsorships, visitors were able to enjoy free motor car “railway-ride” experiences, candy, and coloring sheets.
Other factors contributing to increased attendance is the significant interior and exterior improvements to the buildings and
grounds, signature exhibits such as the Nebraska Central Model Railroad and the depot
exhibit, and operating demonstrations of the
turntable and other railroad equipment.
You support heritage “edutainment” programs
like these with your memberships and pledges
Trains, Tripods and Snapshots Day
draws large crowd
Hundreds of visitors converged on the
grounds of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops
Historic District for a day of snapping photographs of family and friends around train
displays and Sioux City‟s historic steam locomotive. The Milwaukee Railroad Shops
Historic District hosted its second annual
Trains, Tripods and Snapshots Day on Saturday, June 30th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year‟s event featured special guest appearances of hoboes and railroad characters
throughout the day; the outdoor exhibition
of Sioux City‟s landmark steam locomotive;
and a Vintage & Collector Car “Show and
Shine” around the turntable green space.
Professional photographer Chad Cable provided several workshops on digital photography and the use of the train displays in the
background setting.
The event drew over 750 visitors, with some
traveling several hundred miles. Many visitors took the opportunity to pose their family
members with historic buildings and train
displays to create special settings. The idea
of the event was to promote photography as
a special shared family experience or as a
hobby event. A couple of families took the
opportunity to hire professional photographers to capture photos of their children.
Visitors were 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
brought their own smartphones, cameras and
tripods to pose and
photograph
family
members near the
train displays. This
unique
opportunity
gave 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.
SHRA observes National Train Day and
Historic Preservation Week with open
house
Visitors to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops
Historic District had the opportunity to celebrate railroad heritage during National Train
Day at the Roundhouse on Saturday, May
12. This year‟s event helped close out Sioux
City‟s annual historic preservation week activities. Over 1000 visitors attended National
Train Day activities.
The event provided visitors with the opportunity to interact with railroad equipment via
track-side displays of a diesel locomotive, a
boxcar, and caboose. The event featured the
Nebraska Central Railway model railroad
exhibit and Great Northern Railway Steam
Locomotive No. 1355. Locomotive cab
tours were provided to the public.
The National Train Day event included the
unveiling of the area for the new Preservation Gallery and an exhibit on downtown depots highlighted the past functionality on
railroad stations and train travel. In conjunction with the display, Dr. Rudy Daniels gave
a presentation on the past, present and future
of trains and railroad stations as the central
gathering place for many communities.
Page 5
Year-End 2012
Around & About the Railroad Museum Complex
The Nebraska Central Railway … A Model Railroad Exhibition
A very dedicated group of 8 volunteers has invested over 10,000 hours of labor since summer 2010, to bring the Nebraska Central Railway, a model railroad exhibit, back to a state of
good condition. When the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association (SHRA) obtained the
model railroad exhibit in 2004, it was in a state of poor condition and disrepair at the Durham
Museum in home. The SHRA, with the aid of federal, state, and local grant funds, built a
new facility to house the model railroad. Since setting up the exhibit in the new facility,
SHRA volunteers have rebuilt much of the scenery, reconditioned the track including replacing worn out switch points and corroded rails, and rewiring the entire layout. While there is
still a lot of layout restoration work ahead, the Nebraska Central Railway is once again running trains for the public to enjoy. Over 50,000 children and their families have now enjoyed
the rolling trains and scenic views offered by the railroad.
The Nebraska Central Railway is a permanent HO scale miniature model railway system
housed in the Civil Engineering Exhibit Center at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic
District. The model railway exhibit is operated by volunteers of the Siouxland Historical
Railroad Association. The volunteer base is composed of seasoned model railroad builders
from Sioux City and the surrounding area.
The exhibit‟s purpose is to draw upon the public’s fascination with scale model trains to help
the museum visitor better understand the engineering of a railway through various terrains
and topographies.
HO scale is a very useful to illustrate engineering concepts as its smaller size allows modelers to fit more details and more scale miles into a comparable area. The exhibit is approximately 68 feet in length and nearly 18 feet in depth at its center points. The Nebraska Central
Railway model railway is built to 1:87 scale, which means in HO scale terms, the two rails
forming the track are spaced 16.5 mm (0.64961 in) apart to represent the prototypical standard gauge track of 4 ft. 8 1⁄2 in found in the United States. HO scale is presently the most
popular size of model railroading in the world.
History of the Nebraska Central Railway
The Nebraska Central Railway Exhibit was originally built in 1991 by Dunham Studios of
Pottersville, New York for Willie Theisen, an Omaha entrepreneur and founder of Godfather‟s Pizza. The model railroad diorama was originally displayed in the Theisen family
home for a couple of years and was later moved to a prominent display location within the
Godfather‟s Pizza corporate headquarters in Omaha.
In 1993, the Willie Theisen gifted the Nebraska Central Railway scale model exhibit to the
Durham Museum in Omaha for the public to enjoy. The model railway exhibit was on display at the Durham Museum from 1993 to 2004. During this time span the model railway
exhibit was operated and maintained by a local Omaha model railroad club. Unfortunately,
the model railroad club struggled with staffing the model railroad exhibit, resulting in the
exhibit falling into a state of disrepair.
In April 2004, the Durham Museum released a Request for Proposals seeking new owners for
the exhibit. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association was made aware of the potential
disposal of the Nebraska Central Railway scale model exhibit by officials with ProRail Nebraska. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association responded to the Request for Proposals by submitting a detailed planned on how the model railroad would be used as a signature artifact to interpret railroad and civil engineering practices. Six museums nationwide bid
for the exhibit, with the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association being award the scale
model exhibit.
The exhibit was removed from the Durham Museum in May 2004 and set up in its present
location during summer 2009 after the completion of the construction of the new Civil Engineering Exhibit Center. Since then, as cited before, volunteers have spent countless numbers
of hours restoring the Nebraska Central Railway – repairing the track, rewiring the layout,
and renovating the scenery. Current plans call for the exhibit to be modernized with a Digital
Command Control system.
Page 6
Year-End 2012
Around & About the Railroad Museum Complex
More than 40,000 people have visited our railroad museum campus
during 2012. The number of visitors
on site on any given day varies.
However, it is not uncommon for the
railroad historic district to host up to
6000 visitors within a 4-hour period
during the annual Halloween-at-theRoundhouse event in October or
3,900 visitors during the Santa Whistle Stop Tour. The majority of our
one-day special events will draw 300
visitors. Since the majority of people
who visit are families with children
under 18, much of our science and
heritage education and entertainment
programs are centered on the family.
This page of photos provides a
glimpse of some of the activities and
programs we provide. Additionally,
the photos help document the drawing power of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District.
The top photo and top left photo
show the parking areas of the complex. During our Halloween event
we ran out of parking in the grass lot
area and had to use areas inside
along the fence area. The center left
photo shows the entrance area and
families being greeted by staff. One
of the favorite visitor event is the
turntable demonstrations, as shown
in the two bottom photos. The center
right photo show visitors waiting in
line to get cab tours of Sioux City‟s
Landmark Steam Locomotive. And
the top right photo show children and
their families entering the box car
story telling theater. The story telling
theater is home to the Hobo Actors
who love to tell their stories of Riding the Rails.
Page 7
Year-End 2012
Volunteers continue to work
on Corliss Steam Engine
restoration project
Heritage edutainment programs for the whole
family is worth supporting
The restoration of the Corliss Steam Engine,
originally housed in the former KD Station
in Sioux City, is in full swing at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District. The
main bearings have been rebabited, machined, and are ready for final fitting when
the engine base has been mounted on a new
foundation. The valves have been removed,
cleaned, and reinstalled. The steam engine‟s
governor and its components have been repaired and are on display during special
events. Sioux Plating under took the job of
restoring the nickel platting on the governor‟s fly balls.
Classic car cruise-in attracts
nearly 1000 visitors and 63
vintage vehicles
Crews have started work on building the
foundation that will permanently display the
Corliss Steam Engine. Bob Sweeney created
a wood mockup of the concrete base that
will be poured in the Machine Shop. Crews
have started the process of digging the foundation area. Our next newsletter will provide
more details on this phase of work.
News Snapshot
The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic
District hosted its 1st Annual Rods „n‟
Rails Sioux City Cruise-In on Sunday,
August 12. The event featured a variety
of classic and vintage cars, including a
1957 Chevy Impala.
Approximately 63 vehicles were on display for the public to view and talk with
owners about their restoration process.
As part of the event, a mini classic car
parade was held that allowed the vehicle
to be photographed alongside Sioux
City‟s landmark steam locomotive No.
1355. Big Daddy from Kool 99.5 provided music for the public to enjoy
while viewing the classic vehicles.
Ag-Rail festivities draw
thousands
Sioux City Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Padgett (right)
and SHRA president Larry Obermeyer (left) display the Preservation–at-Its-Best
“Community
Effort” Award recognizing the Siouxland Historical
Railroad Association and the City of Sioux City.
The award was bestowed by Preservation Iowa in
partnership with the Iowa Gaming Association and
the State Historical Society of Iowa.
Thousands of visitors turned out for the
tenth annual Ag-Rail Heritage Festival,
the symbolic end to the summer tourism
season at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops
Historic District. The festival was held
August 18 and 19.
After a slow start on Saturday morning
due to a heavy rainstorm not generally
seen during this summer‟s extended
drought, the warm and muggy weather
didn‟t keep visitors away on Sunday. Over
3000 visitors walked through the gates
during the two-day event to surpass last
year‟s attendance. This year‟s Ag-Rail
Heritage Festival drew the second largest
crowd during the event‟s ten-year history.
The annual Ag-Rail Heritage Festival offers train and tractor displays, a tractor
pull, and tractor parade over the two-day
event. Approximately 60 vintage tractors
and over 30 pieces of farm machinery
were on display from area farming enthusiasts for the public to view; with about 25
tractors participating in a tractor parade
through the complex. Visitors also saw
demonstrations of oat threshing and corn
shelling. The various makes of tractors on
display included Fergusons, John Deere,
and Harvester.
The annual Ag-Rail Heritage Festival
gives antique tractor enthusiasts the opportunity to show off their collections as a
way to promote their hobby and agriculture's mechanized legacy to a largely urban area.
The festival also gives the railroad museum the opportunity to promote the continuing restoration of the Milwaukee Railroad Shops. This year visitors were able to
see physical improvements made to the
entrance walkway, grounds, and machine
shop building. A new exhibit focusing on
downtown depots was displayed in the
blacksmith shop and the roundhouse featured a new exhibit on switch stands.
Page 8
Year-End 2012
Your support matters ….. Your investment benefits the community
Visitor spending increases 38.3
percent in first nine months of
2012; attendance up 45%
SHRA recognized with North
Sioux City economic development award
Just a few years ago, who would have envisioned a derelict and blighted old railroad yard
turned junk yard could be a major community
attraction? Like the little engine that could, the
Siouxland Historical Railroad Association continues to show that once blighted, brownfield
properties can be renovated by passion and persistence, and become an economic hub of activity again.
Welcomes City Council and
commission members
The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association recently hosted a joint meeting of members of the City Council, Parks and Recreation Board, and Historic Preservation Commission. A delegation of representative from
all three groups visited the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District on Friday, January 25. Three members of the City Council
and approximately 20 members representing
the city boards were in attendance.
A community impact study conducted by the
Siouxland Historical Railroad Association reports that the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District hosted 32,300 visitors during the first
nine months of 2012, an increase of 45.8 percent
over the same period in 2011. These visitors
spent a total of $980,431 – a boost of 38.3 percent over January thru September 2011.
Based on the current attendance growth, the
Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is
on track to host over 45,000 visitors for the
entire year. And, it is anticipated these visitors
will spend a total of $1,320,300 in the local
economy as a result of their visits to the railroad
museum.
The community impact study also revealed that
while the tri-state Siouxland area continues to be
the major market share, the other top feeder
markets are residents from the metro Omaha and
Sioux Falls areas. Both are now accounting for
well over 25 percent of the market share.
“As we continue to plan our marketing approach
for 2013, these first nine month results show the
need for us to expand our media tools as we
communicate the authentic educational and
entertainment experiences our docents and facility provide to visitors,” said Larry Obermeyer,
board president of the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association. “We have an amazing and
unique museum product that gives us a competitive advantage over other destinations. The larger markets do not have a museum site like we
have. We continue to aggressively market our
authentic site and the family-style learning experiences we offer.”
The historic preservation work and elevated
quality of activities hosted by the railroad museum is having a dramatic impact on repeat visitation and the demographic makeup of the visitor
groups. Repeat visitors comprise nearly 47 percent of all visitors. Among all visitors, children
and families are now accounting for 73 percent
of all visitors.
and the broader Siouxland community. According to the museum‟s annual economic
impact study, the 31,151 visitors to the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District
contributed over $949,682 in direct spending
and sales taxes – up over 35 percent from
the previous year.
The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic
District received the prestigious Business of
the Month award for February 2012 by the
North Sioux City Economic Development
Corporation and the City of North Sioux
City. The railroad museum project was recognized for the economic contributions the
project is starting to generate for the community and the town‟s business district. The
award was presented to Matt Merk, SHRA
executive director, by Bruce Odson, chair of
the North Sioux City Economic Development Corporation.
The railroad museum is located directly
across the Big Sioux River from the business district. Visitors to the museum have
easy access via Military Road to the retail
stores, restaurants, and convenience stores
that form the community‟s business district.
The North Sioux City community has an estimated Census population of 6,620 residents and over 237 businesses. During the
heyday of the Milwaukee Road railroad, the
roundhouse provided many employment opportunities for North Sioux City residents.
The city‟s historic preservation office sponsored the event to acquaint members of the
Council, Historic Preservation Commission
and Parks and Recreation Board with the
building and site improvements that have
been undertaken to preserve and transform
the former rail yard into an industrial science and heritage museum campus. Matt
Merk, executive director, and Larry Obermeyer, board president, were able to outline
the future historic preservation work that
needs to be accomplished within the next
three years to transform the site.
The site visit included presentations on the
role the railroad museum is having in economic development efforts for the Riverside
neighborhood and enhancing the community‟s and surrounding region‟s quality of life.
The delegation was also given a tour of the
facility to highlight the reconstruction, renovations and new construction that have been
completed over the past five years and what
is planned to take place over the next three
years. SHRA leadership and volunteers were
given an opportunity to meet individually
and discuss the projects with members of the
City Council and the two city boards.
As part of its scope of work, the Siouxland
Historical Railroad Association is committed to ensuring the railroad museum project
has a positive economic impact on the adjacent business and commercial districts in
Riverside, North Sioux City, Dakota Dunes,
Page 9
Year-End 2012
Grant investments to fuel future building and site improvements
SHRA receives major grant
from Gilchrist Foundation
Transportation Enhancement
Grants total over $1.5 million
The Gilchrist Foundation has awarded a
$100,000 project grant to the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association for its Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District redevelopment project.
The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic
District enhancement project recently received three Statewide Transportation Enhancement grants totaling $1,592,927 to
support the renovation of five historic buildings and the retrofitting of the site with interpretive trails, an alternative transportation
system, and public works. The three grants
were awarded by the Iowa Department of
Transportation over a three-year time frame.
The announcement of the leadership gift was
made by Marilyn Hagberg, vice president
and trust officer, Security National Bank,
which oversees the Gilchrist Foundation
Trust. The Gilchrist Foundation furthers the
philanthropy of Jocelyn Gilchrist and her
family in the areas of art, music, wildlife,
conservation, public broadcasting, and areas
relating to children and families.
The Gilchrist Foundation leadership gift will
be used to support the interior and exterior
renovations of four historic buildings and
the new construction of a bathroom facility.
These planned improvements are part of a
multi-phase initiative to create new exhibit
centers that will transform the former rail
yard into an industrial science and heritage
museum campus, and to retrofit the historic
site with family-friendly amenities.
The four buildings scheduled for restoration
include the car shops, sand drying house,
water closet, and engineers‟ tool shed. The
nearly century-old buildings are in major
states of poor repair suffering from masonry
decay, wood rot, and blight. When renovations are completed, the four historic buildings will find reuse as exhibit centers and
visitor services centers. New public exhibits
and educational programs will be housed in
these buildings. To help support the historic
rail yard‟s transformation to a museum campus, a new restroom facility will be constructed. Currently the site lacks permanent
public restrooms.
The Gilchrist Foundation grant is helping to
support over $3.3 million in building and infrastructure improvements that are staged
for completion over the next three years.
The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association has launched a major fundraising campaign to secure financial resources to close a
funding gap of $1.2 million that remains.
The railroad museum has secured over $2.1
million through federal, state, and local private grants. The leadership gift from the
Gilchrist Foundation fills a critical funding
gap that will allow the historic preservation
work and new bathroom construction to start
later this fall.
In 2010, the Iowa Department of Transportation awarded a $477,142 grant to assist
with the interior and exterior renovations to
preserve four historic buildings: the car/
carpenter shops, sand drying house, water
closet, and engineers tool shed. The grant
award also supports the purchase and installation of a 15-inch gauge railroad system
that will provide a railway ride experience
while serving as an alternative transportation
system between the historic buildings and
parking areas.
In 2011, the agency awarded a $750,000
grant to assist with the construction and installation of a parking lot, entrance drive,
and an interpretive trail system between historic areas and buildings comprising the
Milwaukee Railroad Shops.
In early 2012, the Iowa Department of
Transportation awarded a $365,785 grant to
complete interior and exterior renovations to
the roundhouse building and machine shops.
The grant also supports the new construction
of a 4,000 sq. ft. visitor center.
In addition to the Statewide Transportation
Enhancement awards, the federal Department of Transportation awarded the
Siouxland Historical Railroad Association a
$139,529 grant through the National Scenic
Byway program. This grant award, submitted by the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway Commission, supports the new construction of restroom facilities.
The grant awards will cover 70 percent of
the construction and renovations costs for
each phase of work. The total project cost is
$3,373,051. The local match required to access these grant awards is $1,254,097. This
next round of historic preservation work and
construction is expected to provide supportive employment for 122 construction trade
workers and engineering professionals.
BNSF Railway Foundation
provides grant for exhibit on
STEAM Locomotion
The BNSF Railway Foundation has awarded
a $5,000 grant to the Siouxland Historical
Railroad Association for the design, construction and installation of an exhibit on
STEAM Locomotion. The signature artifact
of the new exhibit will be Great Northern
Railway Steam Locomotive No. 1355 and
Tender 1451.
This new exhibit will allow the public to
gain an understanding of the science, technology, engineering, architecture and mechanics (STEAM) used in the operation of a
steam locomotive as it uses steam to create
motion.
The purpose of the exhibit is to use GN1355
with accompanying graphics and artifacts to
explore the conversion of chemical energy
into the energy of motion, or the conversion
of heat energy to the production of mechanical energy. Graphic panels will provide photos and infographics to help explain the process.
CN Railway Foundation funds
museum exhibit on Illinois
Central Railroad
The Canadian National Railway Foundation
recently awarded the Siouxland Historical
Railroad Association a $5,000 to help fund
an educational exhibit focusing on the Illinois Central Railroad at the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District.
The new exhibit will be mounted as a permanent display that will address the development of the Illinois Central Railroad System from Chicago through Iowa to Sioux
City. Through the use of artifacts and graphic panels the exhibit will detail the
“Strategic Link” the railroad played and
continues to play for the Siouxland area –
how the railroad gives commodities originating in Sioux City access to markets in
Chicago and the Gulf of Mexico.
A signature artifact to be displayed will be
the conductor‟s uniform belonging to Curtis
Johnson. He was the conductor on the last
passenger train out of Sioux City in 1972.
Accompanying the uniform will be a video
shot by George Lindblade that documents
the final passenger train‟s departure from
Sioux City. Mr. Johnson is captured in the
video.
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Year-End 2012
Lionel model railroad exhibit honors Ronald Runge, a founding
director of the SHRA and longtime volunteer
Photos by Ron Thompson and Chuck Peterson
In November 2009, longtime SHRA supporter Ronald Runge passed away. Ron was
a founding board of director and longtime
corporate attorney for the association. His
support for the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association spanned more than twentyfive years.
Wanting to remember his dedication to the
development of the railroad museum, and
his special interest in Lionel trains, his wife
Solveig Runge consulted with SHRA project
manager Ed Sibley on the establishment of
an exhibit that would be an interactive learning tool for children making use of Ron‟s
Lionel model railroad diorama. Along with
donating the Lionel model railroad diorama
to the SHRA, Solveig and her children provided start-up funding for the exhibit.
Ed Sibley proposed the reuse of former Chicago and North Western Railroad caboose
number 11168 as a new exhibit center that
would be dedicated to Ron Runge and display his Lionel model railroad. Ed‟s proposal included making the Lionel train avail
able to children as a “Run-a-Train” interactive children‟s exhibit.
The former Chicago and North Western Caboose was chosen because of its physical
condition. The caboose interior was totally
gutted after vandals set fire to the caboose
prior to the SHRA‟s purchase of it in late
1992. The caboose was purchased from the
railroad as part of a set of two cabooses the
C&NW was retiring and reading for scrapping. While structurally sound after the fire,
the interior was refurbished in 2004 for temporary conversion to serve as a gift shop and
office while Bay 1 of the roundhouse was
reconstructed. After the Roundhouse Bay 1
construction was completed, the caboose sat
idle until Ed Sibley‟s reuse plan was adopted.
Upon approval of the board of directors, the
caboose was moved into the roundhouse mechanical area for restoration work. A project
team of Don Dandurand, Brad Sutton, Bob
Sweeney, and project director Ed Sibley,
were the principal work crew to undertake
the task of retrofitting the caboose as an ex-
hibit center. The caboose underwent complete exterior resurfacing and repainting
work due to the amount of damaged sustained by the 1992 fire. New windows and
an air conditioner were installed. Interior
improvements consisted of repainting the
walls to a sky blue for scenic aesthetics and
the construction of the framework and layout bench for the Lionel railroad.
In addition to funding received by the Runge
family, the volunteers and several anonymous donors provided cash donations to
cover costs associated with caboose retrofit.
Additionally, several volunteers contributed
paint and materials that were needed to
bring the caboose to ready the caboose for
the public. The volunteers even called upon
their friends to assist with the work.
The Ronald Runge Caboose Exhibit was
opened to the public in Spring 2011. Since
its opening more than 30,000 children and
their families have enjoyed the opportunity
to visit the caboose and get the opportunity
to sit on a stool and operate a Lionel Train.
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Year-End 2012
Siouxland Historical Railroad Association
Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District
P O Box 1355 ▪ Sioux City, IA 51102-1355
Nonprofit Organization
U S Postage
PAID
Sioux City, IA
Permit # 75
▪ RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Board of Directors,
Museum Staff,
Volunteers , and the
Railway Actors and
Hoboes
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