SIOUX CITY - A $2.2 million expansion is under way at the near century-old Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District.
The project, broken into three phases, hopes to spruce up the district that's one of the nation's largest collection of historic buildings associated with steam locomotive servicing, said Larry Obermeyer, Siouxland Historical Railroad Association secretary.
The buildings have been stabilized and cleaned with renovation of the outside and inside of the buildings up next. Then, museum exhibits will be designed for the district located along the west side of Iowa Highway 12.
Renovations include reconstruction of the roundhouse building, installation of a new roof for the sand house and adding several public works amenities like restrooms.
The amenities will also help a RV park in the works to the north of the district, Obermeyer said.
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Also, a new exhibit building will be built to house a model railroad exhibit donated by the Durham Western Heritage Museum. Most of the renovation work is scheduled to be complete by this June, Obermeyer said.
Looking forward, Obermeyer said the district would develop into a science park where visitors can learn through the exhibits.
"Right now, we need to raise a lot more money to complete some of the building renovations," Obermeyer said.
Of the remaining price tag, $800,000 will go towards the public works renovations. The district has requested about $700,000 from Vision Iowa and a federal grant of about $290,000.
In January, the district received an anonymous donation of $100,000. That, along with about $50,000 from the local business community, helped the district meet the requirements of getting a $263,000 federal grant.
In March, Obermeyer told the Community Attraction and Tourism Board that the project had gotten $30,000 in funding from the Sioux City city government. The money would come from the city's 2009-10 budget or subsequent years.
"This is a major accomplishment," said Larry Obermeyer, one of the project's organizers.
CAT Board members said the city support makes it more likely that the state will eventually kick in $750,000 for the $2.2 million museum plan. The railroad association has already raised $1.2 million.
The CAT board and the railroad association will continue to discuss the project over the next few months.
In 1995, the city started the district with a $135,000 investment. Since, $1.2 million has been spent at the railroad historic district.
The district gets about 8,000 visitors a year with more than half of those making repeat visits, Obermeyer said.
The district is on 31 acres on one of the largest remaining complexes from the Milwaukee Road line. It contains a six-stall roundhouse with turntable and five additional craft shop buildings that once included a machine/blacksmith shop, car shop and sand drying house.
The Milwaukee Road repair shop was a steam locomotive servicing terminal and rail car maintenance facility that included a 30-stall roundhouse, turntable, industrial shop buildings, a water tower, coaling tower, ash pit and sanding tower with a sand house. The tracks were a major route between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest.
In 2000, the district was listed as one of Iowa's 13 most endangered properties and was also designated as an official project of the Save America's Treasures Program
That program is a partnership of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the White House Millennium Council that recognizes endangered cultural treasures that are important to American history.
The district is owned and operated by the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association. It's open to the public every Saturday, weather permitting, or by special appointment. For more information about the site, call (712) 276-6432.
