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Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District

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Coordinates: 42°31′38.6″N 96°28′34.3″W / 42.527389°N 96.476194°W / 42.527389; -96.476194
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Milwaukee Railroad Shops
Historic District
A Milwaukee Road switcher at the museum
Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is located in Iowa
Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District
Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District is located in the United States
Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District
Location3400 Sioux River Rd.
Sioux City, Iowa
Coordinates42°31′38.6″N 96°28′34.3″W / 42.527389°N 96.476194°W / 42.527389; -96.476194
Area30 acres (12 ha)
NRHP reference No.100002243[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 22, 2018

The Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District, also known as the Sioux City Railroad Museum is a nationally recognized historic district located in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[1] At the time of its nomination it contained 41 resources, which included six contributing buildings, 16 archaeological sites, six contributing structures, and 14 contributing objects.[2]

The first railroad to arrive in town was the Sioux City and Pacific in 1868. Eventually, eight railroads would serve Sioux City before consolidations reduced the number to six, making the city the tenth largest rail center in the country in the 1920s and 1930s.[3] In 1912 the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) announced they would build a repair shop terminal in Sioux City. Construction began in 1916 and it was completed two years later. At its height during World War II, the terminal employed 560 workers. They overhauled 35 steam locomotives a day, servicing over 70 trains a day, and maintained thousands of rail cars every year.[2] By the mid-1950s the number of employees dropped to ten after the railroad's conversion to diesel engines was complete. The railroad tore down many of the obsolete buildings and structures beginning in 1954, and the roundhouse was reduced from 30 stalls to six. The Milwaukee Road filed for bankruptcy in 1977. They sold their property in Sioux City to a farm machinery salvage company in 1981, and by 1987 it fell into a state of disrepair.[4]

The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association acquired the property in 1995 and converted the facility into a museum, incorporating the roundhouse. In 2024 the museum announced plans in conjunction with the American Heartland Railroad Society to restore Great Northern 4-6-2 No. 1355 to operation.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Program: Weekly List". National Park Service. October 29, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Milwaukee Railroad Shops listed on National Register of Historic Places". Sioux City Railroad Museum. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "The History of Rail in Sioux City". Sioux City Railroad Museum. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Jaret Lansford (November 14, 2018). "Milwaukee Railroad Shops designated as National Historic District". Sioux City: KTIV. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  5. ^ Lassen, David (Fall 2024). "Great Northern 4-6-2 restoration launched". Classic Trains. Vol. 25, no. 3. Firecrown Media. p. 7.
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