A day at the National Railroad Museum

Recently, my husband and I visited the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. Both of us had been there about 20 years ago, but a lot has changed in those years!

(Note: click on any of the photos to enlarge. You know you want to!)

A nice timeline filled the wall near the toy train exhibit. I was disappointed to see that CTT was not on the timeline!

Lots of goodies on display, including this Hiawatha set.

The main building houses several exhibits, the newest  being "From Generation to Generation: The Love of Toy Trains," which opened on January 30. The collection features primarily vintage Standard Gauge pieces on loan from John Casperson. It also houses a nice drumhead collection. The drumheads were attractively displayed and many were lit.

A nice grouping in the drumhead display room.

The main exhibit building is very nice, and contains plenty of eye candy. The current display is of Pullman Porters. In addition to a uniform, a timeline and signage, there is a video recording of an interview with a former porter and his memories of the job. The Pullman car was open to walk through. You could even get instructions on how to properly make up a bed for travelers!

A nice timeline and graphics for the Pullman exhibit.

Pullman porter uniform.

Part of the Pullman car on display. My hubby is seated inside.

Lounging in style in the Pullman car!

The equivalent of today's 'do not disturb' signs.

Another attraction is the Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was part of "The Great Gathering" in England in 2013.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A backed-off view of the Eisenhower.

Of course, my husband was fascinated with Big Boy #4017. This locomotive was open for viewing too. What a beast! My husband asked "how do you learn what all of the controls do?"

The big boy!

Inside the Big Boy. So many controls. . .

Also on the property is a large storage shed, which houses the Aerotrain and many other items. Outside of the shed were a number of pieces, including a Wisconsin Central GP30. Several of the pieces weren't marked, and we wished we could have learned more about them.

An overview of the storage shed.

Wisconsin Central GP30.

There is a short excursion train that travels around the property. It is a short ride, but hey, it was only two bucks! The tour guide noticed our train-related t-shirts (mine was Chessie System and hubby's was the Hiawatha) and we struck up a conversation. He has a garden railroad and was quite familiar with Kalmbach Publishing!

The wallpaper in the women's bathroom. Sadly, the men's room was plain cinderblock.

All in all, it was a great trip and an enjoyable time. If you're in the Green Bay area, check it out. It's not hard to find and we met some nice folks to boot!