Railroad today is something absolutely usual and not surprising. It is something we constantly use, never thinking of its history and meaning. The National Railroad Museum mission is to give all the people an understanding of railroading and its significance to American life. The Museum maintains this mission by preserving numerous magnificent collections such as Archive, Library, Object, Photograph, and Rolling Stock.
Even though it is 50 years after General Motors (GM) introduced the Aerotrain, rail enthusiasts are still amazed with this 1950s rail vehicle, which is exhibited in the National Railroad Museum, Wisconsin, USA. The Aerotrain model, including the locomotive, is currently on display at the Museum's Fuller Hall exhibit facility. The Museum also houses one of the two remaining full-size Aerotrains. The other remaining prototype is located at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.
It has been more than thirty-five years, that the National Railroad Museum attracts its visitors by the fascinating Eisenhower collection. Comprised of British Railways Board No. 60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower and General Eisenhower's World War II command train coaches, this is the most popular and the most exciting exhibition of the museum. It is the pride of the National Railroad Museum.
The history of this collection is as follows: on September 18, 1964, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the honorary guest at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was about a year since the famous locomotive named in his honour following the Allied victory over Germany in World War II was donated to the museum. Five years later the Museum acquired two British built coaches that had been assigned to General Eisenhower during the war. These two coaches and the Dwight D. Eisenhower locomotive are the heart of the Eisenhower Collection, which has been dazzling visitors for a long time.
The Bauer Drumhead Collection is the largest gathering of formerly widespread and presently almost forgotten drumheads (round, illuminated signs bearing the train's logo attached to the rear of the last car, used in the past to advertise and identify trains belonging to different railways). Frederick Bauer presented the collection to the National Railroad Museum in 1999 to be preserved and displayed for future generations. Among railroad memorabilia, drumheads are very rare items. Although hundreds of drumheads were manufactured, as a half dozen copies were made of some designs. Additionally, as trains were removed from service, the drumheads were scrapped along with unwanted passenger cars. Visiting the National Railroad Museum and its Bauer Drumhead Collection is a nice chance to go get acquainted with americanh railroad history.
The National Railroad Museum is not only a placee for keeping various objects somehow dealing with railroading, it also exhibits the Library Collection. It is a non-circulating collection that contains books, serials, pamphlets, and other bound materials. The collection has many volumes of technical publications, popular periodicals and pictorials. The Library Collection contains titles such as Trains, Railfan & Railroad, Model Railroader, Model Railroad Craftsman, and many others.
The Object Collection is also worth paying attention. The Object Collection is a non-circulating collection that contains three-dimensional items such as lanterns and signals, tools, textiles, models, original works of art, sketches, and lithographs.
And never forget about the Photograph Collection, which contains geographically diverse photographs, slides, and negatives. These items include images of steam, diesel, and electric locomotives, interurban equipment, assorted rolling stock, structures, and people.
The Rolling Stock Collection contains steam, diesel, and electric locomotives, assorted rolling stock, maintenance-of-way equipment, and other rail vehicles. Combined, the Museum has over 70 pieces in the collection.
National Railroad Museum offers you its collections and materials to get to know the history and the way of development of a railroad, which is so essential to our lives now. Should you want to become a qualified expert in railroading, visit also National Building Museum and National Railway Museum. This is the way to explore America's railroad heritage!