Railroad Museum to Debut New “Building America” Exhibit | Arts & Culture

Timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Union Pacific Railroad this year, the California State Railroad Museum is proud to debut a new exhibit titled “Building America: Abraham Lincoln, California and the Union Pacific Railroad” on Saturday, September 29, 2012.  Located in the Roundhouse Gallery on the Museum’s second floor, the retrospective exhibit will include photos, maps, artifacts and memorabilia covering 150 years of railroad history.  The powerful new exhibit will begin with the early history of President Abraham Lincoln and his steadfast support of the railroad, culminating with the signing of the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862.  The exhibit will highlight the construction of this – the world’s very first transcontinental railroad – and continue on to showcase how the Union Pacific Railroad has helped with “Building America” through natural disasters, wars, and a changing transportation industry.  Through all of these changes, the Union Pacific Railroad has had many California connections, and these have grown over time.  The company today is America’s biggest railroad and a major part of the global supply chain with 32,000 route-miles in 23 states.

Museum visitors can expect to view a wide variety of artifacts, images and memorabilia, including:  a souvenir gold album locket from the late 1850s displaying a picture of Abraham Lincoln during his presidential campaign; a large stylized map of the famous route of the first transcontinental railroad; colorful railroad-related advertisements, posters and marketing materials; a rare uniform from the 1930s once worn by nurses/stewardesses who traveled aboard passenger trains assisting elderly or ill passengers and children prior to World War II; two large, lighted “drum-head” signs that once “brought up the rear” of famous passenger trains; framed photos of early railroad workers building the Transcontinental Railroad; and the iconic Union Pacific logo as it evolved over time. Guests will also learn about various other companies that have become part of today’s far-reaching Union Pacific system through mergers and acquisitions.  

The new “Building America” exhibit will remain on display at the California State Railroad Museum through August 2013. For more information about this exhibit or other events, activities and exhibits at the Railroad Museum, please visit www.californiastaterailroadmuseum.org or call (916) 445-6645.

About the California State Railroad Museum
Operated by California State Parks with financial assistance from the non-profit California State Railroad Museum Foundation, the California State Railroad Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Widely regarded as North America’s finest and most popular railroad museum, the complex of facilities includes the 100,000-square foot Railroad History Museum plus the reconstructed Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station and Freight Depot, 1849 Eagle Theatre, and Big Four and Dingley Spice Mill commercial buildings in Old Sacramento. For 24-hour information, visit www.californiastaterailroadmuseum.org or call (916) 445-6645.