A brand new 40 x 80 foot building was built on top of the original foundation of the Airbrake Shop/Lunchroom to the south of the Car Shops building in 2010. The 15 x 75 foot HO scale model railroad the Nebraska Central Railroad has been installed and is currently undergoing extensive restoration and will be used as the key exhibit in this building. The Nebraska Central was originally the home layout of entrepreneur Wille Thiesen, founder of Godfathers Pizza. He donated the model to the Durham Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, NE. After spending more than a decade on public display as one of their top attractions the museum decided to change up their displays and offered up the model railroad display for another museum. We were fortunate enough to be selected out of many interested parties. This unique model railroad depicts a journey from Omaha to the Black Hills. The wiring will be updated and the model railroad will incorporate three continuous running loops using Model Rectifier Corporation (MRC) Digital Command and Control (DCC). This system will allow for the operation of multiple trains simultaneously on the same loops for the visitors enjoyment. Also, three smaller loops will be wired with analog control and will be available for public use so visitors can drive the trains too.
This layout will be used as a center piece to learning about civil engineering and the trials and triumphs of building a railroad from the plains to the mountains. Story boards, video, and interactive displays are being designed and developed to include such items as; land surveying, route planning, bridge building, tunnel digging, infrastructure, and logistical support. As with the rest of the museum we would like to focus on the people that made these kinds of operations work and the sciences and technologies they not only used, but also developed as well to surpass unforeseen obstacles.
This exhibit is sure to become a favorite of all our visitors’ young and old alike.
The slide show below shows some of the before and during progress being made by our volunteer as this exhibit is refurbished and grown.
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