Thursday, October 4, 2018

Green Bay, Wisconsin: National Railroad Museum

Not everyone comes to Green Bay to watch the Packers, although on the right weekend it seems that way. Some make the trip to town to look at old railroads. The National Railroad Museum is the place to go for them.

This started in 1956 or so as a way to raise money for a single train that traveled around the park. That idea grew until it was a full-fledged museum, greeting more than 100,000 fans per year. Looks like the place hosts a wedding every weekend when the weather is good; it is located right on the Fox River.

There are a variety of train-related items here. Some of the engines and cars are kept either inside a large hall or outside in a shed. The highlight might be Union Pacific's "Big Boy," one of the largest engines ever built. It takes up two full cars, tied together so it can go around turns. You can see the engineer's viewpoint of the controls in this photo. The museum also has part of an "aerotrain," which was GM's answer to airplane competition in the 1950s. It never really worked well at high speeds, and didn't catch up. Dwight Eisenhower's personal car from World War II is here. I enjoyed seeing a Pullman car, with the upper and lower sleeping berths on display.

By the way, you can take a ride around the grounds. It takes 25 minutes for two trips around and only costs a couple of extra dollars when you buy an admission ticket.

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