{image1}So what do you do in Green Bay between the end of the playoffs and the start of Packers' spring camp? You might want to check out the National Railroad Museum.
You can see Lambeau Field in the distance to the west from the museum's site at 2285 S.Broadway. Established in 1956, the museum has developed into one of the largest and oldest facilities for the preservation of rail history.
Interest has remained high in trains, even though they play a much smaller role in most of our overall transportation plans than they once did. Model railroading remains very popular. Shows in Milwaukee, Madison and elsewhere in the state pack people of all ages into their venues.
The Green Bay museum has some outstanding features. You can see the largest steam locomotive in history, the Union Pacific Big Boy. It truly is a monster.
Weighing 1.2 million pounds itself, the Big Boy line of locomotives was built to pull 3600 ton trains through the Wasatch Mountains in Utah.
You also can tour Eisenhower's WWII command train, and the Aerotrain, which in the 1950s was considered a futuristic form of rail transportation.
These, and many other train cars, are displayed both indoors and outdoors. You once had to brave the Green Bay winters to see some of the cars in a shelter that had a roof, but no heat. But, now some of the most historic locomotives and cars are housed in the Lenfestey Center, a climate-controlled building.
It's better for the preservation of the trains and spectators. Groups up to 400 also can rent the center for special events.
When the weather warms up, you can take a train trip around the 32-acre grounds of the museum, which sits on the Fox River. On certain weekends, steam locomotives pull the train. The first this year is on May 1-2.
Inside the museum, you also can trace the development of rail from the early years through the building of the nation years and into the future. The museum truly has a wonderful collection of memorabilia and artifacts, most of which have been donated over the years.
If model railroading is your passion -- like it is mine -- you can see a great exhibit that is maintained by local clubs in a side building to the main museum.
The museum also holds several special events during the course of the year. A model railroading clinic was scheduled in March. On April 3, its Spring Gala will be held.
In October, the Great Pumpkin Train takes passengers to an area pumpkin patch. A haunted train also brings Terror on the Fox to those who want a few thrills and scares for Halloween.
Museum officials once tried to organize a special train between Chicago and Green Bay for the Bears and Packers game, but it never materialized. It seems like a unique idea to this writer, and any potential sponsor out there can contact the museum about possibilities in the future.
Some other facilities around the country also claim the title of the national museum for railroading, but the Green Bay museum has sustained itself as long, or longer, than most of the others.
The Green Bay museum also is not Wisconsin's only strong tie to railroads and model railroading.
In Fennimore, the Railroad Historical Society Museum houses The Dinky, a replica of a 1907 Davenport locomotive.
The Mid-Continent Railroad, located in North Freedom, offers a seven-mile scenic trip through the Baraboo Hills, starting May 8.
Walthers, located on the west side of Milwaukee, is the biggest distributor of model railroad equipment in the world, with 85,000 items from 300 manufacturers around the globe. The company has been in business since 1932.
Kalmbach Publishing in Brookfield publishes Garden Railways, Classic Toy Trains, Model Railroader, Classic Trains and Trains magazines and is considered the leading publishing house in the nation, if not the world, on the hobby.
There are other train attractions around the state and Midwest. But, the Green Bay National Railroad Museum offers perhaps the best experience in one place for somebody who is enchanted with trains. It also gives you something to do in Packerland when the Packers aren't there.
