Museum

The Riverside & Great Northern Railway is not only a ride for the kids through the Dells countryside. It is also a "living museum", meaning it is "a non-profit making, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, the evidence of people and their environment." [Thanks to the International Council of Museums for that explanation.] In our case, we are conserving, etc. the Sandley Light Railway Equipment, Co., of which the Riverside & Great Northern Railway is a part. The Sandleys (Elmer and his son, Norm -- that's Elmer with his back to the camera in that photo and Norm is in the cab, but pretty much impossible to see) manufactured 15- and 24-inch gauge railroad engines and carriages, first in Janesville, WI in the late 1940s (where the photo was taken) and then on this location from the early 1950s until they went out of business in the 1980s. The Preservation Society came along a few years later to keep it open as a living museum and as one of the attractions in the Dells area.

The train track was set up for Elmer and Norm to demonstrate their engines to zoos and other folks that they were trying to get to buy equipment. They also opened it up to the public as a ide, and Tom remembers coming out to ride the train as a child. We recently had a visitor who told me his father had brought him, he had brought his kids and now he was there as his adult kids were bringing their own kids. So four generations of that family are a part of our history.

Little kids aren't the only ones who like trains. Most of the time, energy and finances of the Preservation Society have gone into the restoration, maintenance and operation of the little steam and diesel trains, mainly because the folks who started the society just love to play with trains. Incidentally, this includes women who serve as conductors, engineers and work on the tracks alongside the guys. The museum part of the mission has been somewhat neglected as a result. Tom and I have committed ourselves to helping develop that side of things, and this morning we say down to do some brainstorming for a proposal to send to the Board when it meets in December. Our hope is to create a series of kiosks that will make it possible for visitors to do a self-guided tour. The information and photographs that are incorporated into the displays would also be used as part of a virtual tour that visitors to the web site can take to familiarize themselves with the site before they come. The kiosks would also serve as anchors that tour guides could use to take small groups around, making it very easy for almost any volunteer to handle this important task.

So step one in a long line of steps has now been taken. We'll see where we go from here.

We are also supposed to be creating a proposal to present to the Board for getting the gift shop online. These things should keep us occupied somewhat as the winter weather shuts down on-site involvement in the railway, which will be closed to the public from early December until the spring thaw.

I had to include this picture of John and Judi Dauphin with their son Matt. I mentioned Matt as our youngest volunteer some time back. This is a great shot of the whole family. One of the ways people support the railway is by purchasing ties with their names carved into them. In this picture, the Dauphins are working on installing some of those ties.