National Railroad Museum

The National Railroad Museum (reporting mark NRMX) is a railroad museum located in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1956 by community volunteers, the National Railroad Museum is one of the oldest and largest U.S. institutions dedicated to preserving and interpreting the nation's railroad history. Two years later, a joint resolution of Congress recognized the museum as the National Railroad Museum. The museum has been a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization since 1958. Its collection of locomotives and rolling stock spans more than a century. Notable items include an Aerotrain; Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4017, one of the world's largest steam locomotives; and British Railways Class A4 No. 60008 Dwight D Eisenhower (ex-London & North Eastern Railway No. 4496 Golden Shuttle) and train used by the Supreme Allied Commander and his staff in the United Kingdom and continental Europe during World War II. The Frederick J. Lenfesty Center, an enclosed and climate-controlled structure, built in 2001, houses several of the unique and rarer locomotives and cars. A museum building houses railroad artifacts, an archive, and photography gallery. A standard gauge track rings the grounds. An 80-foot (24 m) wooden observation tower has views of the Fox River and Green Bay. The museum hosted an annual Day Out with Thomas event until 2019, in which Thomas the Tank Engine pulled young friends past the exhibited rolling stock. In October, it hosts "Terror on the Fox", the Green Bay Preble Optimist Club's haunted attraction that includes "haunted" train rides after dark. Expansion A $17 million project expanded the indoor display area and added a plaza along the river. Opened on September 20, 2025, it used $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds contributed by the state of Wisconsin. Rolling stock Steam Locomotives Diesel locomotives Electric locomotives Passenger cars Freight cars Maintenance of way cars Cabooses Other equipment Other collections The museum's archives hold corporate records and documents, annual reports, maps, mechanical and engineering drawings, oral histories, and ephemera. The holdings represent various railroad companies, labor unions, and fraternal organizations. Its library holds works on the social, economic, political, and cultural aspects of U.S. railroading history. The National Railroad Museum holds over 5,000 artifacts, including textiles, uniforms, tools and personal items. Its photograph collection includes 15,000 photographic prints, slides, and film negatives of U.S. railroading since 1890. Bauer Drum Head Gallery In 1999, Frederick Bauer donated his collection of over three dozen drumheads to the museum. Drumheads are one of the rarest railroading memorabilia. When train cars were removed from service many of these were scrapped along with the cars they were on. The gallery features touchscreen displays with narration to provide more information on the route symbolized on the drumhead. Capital campaign As of 2019, the museum was working to raise money to build a roundhouse to surround its current buildings (except the train station) to shelter from the weather the locomotives and cars displayed in the open pavilion. See also List of heritage railroads in the United States References Further reading Schauer, David (2015). Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad In Color. Vol. 1. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58248-494-5. External links National Railroad Museum