This Year's Project: The Trail of Holiday Lights | 12 Evenings of Christmas at the Roundhouse
About Our Organization
Established in 1984, the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association is a non-profit 501(c)(3) industrial heritage organization that operates a historic site and museum under the brand name: the Sioux City Railroad Museum. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association researches, preserves, and interprets the significant historical impact of railroads on our region, state, and nation. The Sioux City Railroad Museum aims to be a place that reaches a broad audience and engages people through exhibits, services, and storytelling that educate, entertain, and inspire; fostering an awareness and appreciation for the preservation and conservation of the railroad industry’s heritage and historic resources. The Railroad Museum is aggressively building its permanent collection; focusing on the history and heritage of western trunk line railroads that operated throughout the “grain belt” states west of Chicago. The railroads preserved in the collection had vast networks of rail lines with connections and linkages to Sioux City. The companies represented, along with their predecessor lines, include the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road); Great Northern Railroad; Chicago and North Western Railway; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad; Chicago Great Western Railway; and the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. Those historic railroad companies share the same regional geography corresponding to the modern freight railroad networks of the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, Dakota and Iowa Railroad, Canadian National Railway, and Canadian Pacific Railway.
Current Project: The Trail of Holiday Lights | 12 Evenings of Christmas at the Roundhouse
Help us build a new holdiay tradition
The Sioux CIty Railroad Museum campus is the perfect location to create a new evening seasonal event with spectacular Christmas Lights.
Event Dates: December 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17 , and 18
Our volunteers and a local vendor will decorate the historic buildings, trees, and trails with thousands of lights. Each night will kick off with a tree lighting ceremony featuring a 12 ft. Frazier Fur Christmas Tree.
Visitors will stroll along the interpretive trail to enjoy the display of lights with festive music playing in the background. While strolling along the pathway, visitors will interact with carolers, DIckens characters, and other holiday offerings. Snacks and beverages will be available. A story circle will be available in the Sandhouse Theater Building where a volunteer will read a favorite holiday story.
The SIoux City Railroad Museum needs to raise $30,000 to produce this event. For this special fundraising event, we are setting a goal of $10,000. We welcome gifts of any size. Naming Rights are available. The Sioux CIty Railroad Museum is operated by volunteers. Our volunteers thank you in advance for your financial assistance.
For more information, please contact larry.obermeyer@siouxcityrailroadmuseum.org or tj.obermeyeer@siouxcityrailroadmuseum.org
The Roundhouse Story | Railway Archaeology Project
Project Details
Sometimes the place, itself, has a hiddent story to be uncovered and told!
And, usually, that space is not always as it first seems to be.
Today, you can help uncover that hidden story of the Sioux City Railroad Museum and the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District.
This project takes place in the field area next to the Sioux City Railroad Museum campus. We will utilize funds raised through this fundraising campaign to help underwrite the costs of undertaking a Railway Archaeology Study.
The Sioux City Railroad Museum has contracted with the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist to perform a Phase I Archaeology Study of the field area to determine the presence or absence of archaeological and historic resources associated with a railroad construction camp. According to historical records, the field area house two labor construction camps during the period 1916-1918 when the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway built the Sioux City Roundhouse, Repair Shops and Engine Terminal in Sioux City.
This project is motivated by the potential to collect artifacts, data, and information that can be recovered from beneath the ground surface. The artifacts will become part of a major exhibition on railroad labor construction camps. The data and historical information uncovered by further research will be used in educational programs and documentary films.
This Railway Archaeology Project is very unique to the preservation of historic properties in the United States, particularly those properties associated with the construction of the railroads prior to 1920. Your financial support will ensure the Sioux City Railroad Museum can tell the story of the railroad workers and the Sioux City Roundhouse, Repair Shops, and Engine Terminal.
For our Railway Archaeology apparell check out RailhouseCasuals.com
S.T.E.A.M Summer Camp and Educational Programs
Project Details
S.T.E.A.M. Summer Camp
This summer camp for children provides a week-long opportunity to learn about railroads and how they have played a significant role in shaping the United States. Each day of the camp will start with a presentation and group discussion covering a different subject that will follow the S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) format. Afterward, each day, the children will participate in an activity or work on a craft related to the subject.
Age Group(s): (5-8) and (9-12) yrs. old
Sioux City Railroad Museum Educational Programs
Project Details
Established in 1995 to capture the industrial changes and historical trends in railroad history, the Sioux City Railroad Museum has become a showpiece for regional and out-of-state visitors. One of the goals of our museum is to promote the educational uses of local railroad history within the larger framework of American Industrial History. Our museum interprets three themes: the history of the steam-era railroad repair shops epoch; the technology of the North American railroad industry; and the railroad heritage of the Upper Middle West portion of the United States. We will utilize your gift to design and offer educational programs and museum exhibits that tell the story of Siouxland's rich railroad history and heritage.