The Big Boy Trip: National Railroad Museum

Tuesday morning we woke up and Ernie made us bacon and eggs with the things we had bought at Marchant's Foods. Good God in heaven the bacon was amazing. And we're used to some pretty good local bacon here...from Triple S and the Meat Lab...but this was fantastic. Properly fed, we headed to the National Train Museum in Green Bay. Now we have been to our fair share of train museums but this one was AMAZING! I was truly impressed with the quality of the place...their exhibitions were well done and well thought out and balanced.....there was one on train graffiti and graffiti as art, and another on Pullman Porters and civil rights issues. Oh, and some wonderful displays on train equipment and the signs used on the front of the trains, or drumheads as I learned. Just a wonderful place!

We began by taking a train ride around the grounds (got to see a blue heron hanging out) and then we went into the museum and saw a video about the Big Boy which must have been done in the late 50/early 60's. It was actually pretty fascinating.....I learned more about the actual engineering of it all....

We wandered around the exhibits but Leo was quivering with excitement so we were off to see the Big Boy. My Lord. I know we've seen the one in St. Louis but this one felt even more enormous. The scale of this thing is mind boggling inhuman. Perhaps it was because it was inside a structure that it felt different...even though the building was the size of...well, a train shed. 

 

The Big Boy:

Other trains which were pretty great....but let's face it....they were no Big Boy:

If you are a train or rail fan....I can't recommend this place enough. Thanks to the National Train Museum for making my Leo happy....and for taking good care of the Big Boy!