National Railroad Museum
The National Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, in suburban Green Bay. 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 of railroading. 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. A museum building houses a wide variety of railroad artifacts, an archive, and photography gallery. A standard gauge track rings the grounds. An wooden observation tower has views of the Fox River and Green Bay. The museum hosts an annual "Day Out with Thomas" event, where Thomas the Tank Engine pulls young  friends past the exhibited rolling stock; and in October, "Terror on the Fox": Green Bay Preble Optimist Club's haunted attraction that includes "haunted" train rides after dark. The Frederick J. Lenfesty Center, an enclosed and climate-controlled structure was recently added that houses several of the unique and rarer locomotives and cars. Other collections. The Museum's archives holds 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. 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.