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NRE Train Shop at 300 9th St. N., Silvis. The Railroading Heritage of Midwest America is buying the former National Railway Equipment shop complex in Silvis to use for preservation of historic rail cars and engines. The historic preservation group hopes to turn the 400,000 square foot building into the country's largest steam locomotive museum.
A 1952 aerial view of what at the time was a Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railroad locomotive repair shop in Silvis.
The National Railway Equipment complex in Silvis. The complex was purchased by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America to become a locomotive museum and historic preservation site.
NRE Train Shop at 300 9th St. N., Silvis. The Railroading Heritage of Midwest America is buying the former National Railway Equipment shop complex in Silvis to use for preservation of historic rail cars and engines. The historic preservation group hopes to turn the 400,000 square foot building into the country's largest steam locomotive museum.
Railroading Heritage of Midwest America is buying the former National Railway Equipment shop complex in Silvis to use for the preservation of historic rail cars and engines.
The 90-acre facility used to be the largest locomotive repair shop of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and once renovated, city and organization leaders think it could be largest steam locomotive museum in the U.S.
“We're excited about the expansion project out in Silvis: it's a railroad town, there's lots of railroad history in and around the Quad-Cities area," said Steve Sandberg, the president and chief operating officer of RHMA. "The property can bring a little bit of that history alive."
RHMA, a 501c3 nonprofit educational corporation, plans to use the 400,000 square-foot building as a locomotive repair shop and historic site for the public to visit. The National Railway Equipment shop will continue to lease a small space for at least another five years, and other buildings could serve other purposes, like commercial storage, said Sandberg.
Originally, the complex was built in 1902 as a service shop for the Rock Island, Chicago & Pacific Railroad, according to RHMA, until it shut down in March 1980. It was later bought by National Railway Equipment.
Steam powered locomotion, the specialty of the RHMA, phased out mid-century 1900s as the country transitioned to diesel-powered engines.
In 2020, the Mt. Vernon, Illinois-based rail company announced it would close its Silvis plant to consolidate several production lines to its Mt. Vernon, Ill., and Padcuah, Ky. facilities. A company spokesperson at the time said the decision was expected to affect 40-50 workers at the Silvis plant.
Then, of course, the RHMA got on board.
Sandberg said in the next year, the nonprofit leadership plans to clean up the site and assess its needs, like putting in new windows, or tearing down old dilapidated small buildings. He said there wasn’t a timeline yet on when it hoped to open to the public. The nonprofit receives funds from donations, grants, and tickets for train rides, and Sandberg said much of its timeline would depend on finances.
"We really would like to encourage people in the Quad-Cities area that if you're interested in supporting the restoration and saving this facility to go to our website, make a donation," Sandberg said.
The Silvis complex includes a wheel shop, warehouse space, and multiple overhead cranes powerful enough to lift steam locomotive engines and passenger cars.
Sandberg emphasized that the rail repair complex is not open to the public. Right now, it’s still in use by the National Railway Equipment.
A subsidiary of the RHMA, Friends of the 261 owns and operates an 1844 steam locomotive based in Minneapolis that's been operating for 30 years, and travels around the Midwest. A popular ticket aboard the 261 is the North Pole Express around Christmas time. Sandberg said the organization plans to update rail road track surrounding the Silvis site with the goal to bring some of those ticketed train rides to Silvis.
"The idea would be to hopefully drive more tourism into the area, bringing more people into the community from around the region and around the country," Sandberg said.
Silvis Mayor Matt Carter said the building itself was something to marvel at.
"It's ginormous," Carter said of the building. "You walk in and look up and looking at it you'd think this is a scene from the Raiders of the Lost Ark. You feel like an ant."
He added that the city is excited to work with RHMA leaders to help achieve their vision.
"Their success at the end of the day is our success," Carter said.
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Bettendorf, East Moline, and Silvis Reporter
Sarah is the Davenport, Scott County, and Iowa politics reporter for the Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus. A DeWitt native, she graduated from the University of Iowa in 2021 and was editor of the student-run newspaper The Daily Iowan.
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NRE Train Shop at 300 9th St. N., Silvis. The Railroading Heritage of Midwest America is buying the former National Railway Equipment shop complex in Silvis to use for preservation of historic rail cars and engines. The historic preservation group hopes to turn the 400,000 square foot building into the country's largest steam locomotive museum.
A 1952 aerial view of what at the time was a Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railroad locomotive repair shop in Silvis.
The National Railway Equipment complex in Silvis. The complex was purchased by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America to become a locomotive museum and historic preservation site.
NRE Train Shop at 300 9th St. N., Silvis. The Railroading Heritage of Midwest America is buying the former National Railway Equipment shop complex in Silvis to use for preservation of historic rail cars and engines. The historic preservation group hopes to turn the 400,000 square foot building into the country's largest steam locomotive museum.
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