07 July 2023 – Friday

0830  56,763  62°F  Leave Wine A Lot, an excellent Harvest Host spot.

0900 Green Bay, Wisconsin

Beth dropped me off at the National Railroad Museum, before she headed to the Botanical Garden.

The museum has three exhibits I really wanted to see. The engine and two cars used by General Eisenhower were shipped over from England after World War II and cosmetically restored.  This is the only A4 class locomotive in the US. It was renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower in honor of his service leading the allied forces in World War II. 

Imagine the conversations that took place in this rolling conference room. 

Armor plating and shutters protected those riding in this very special train. 

I couldn’t resist photographing the shiny lion on the engine cab, especially in contrast to the grey armored cars. British Railways has one of the best logos.

Just across the platform is one of the largest steam engines ever made; Union Pacific’s Big Boy locomotive. Built in Dec 1941 by American Locomotive Works in Schenectady, New York.

Here’s me trying to grasp the statistics. Starting at the front of the engine, there are 4 guiding wheels, eight driving wheels, another set of eight driving wheels, and four more wheels to hold up the cab. The tender capacities are 32 tons of coal and 24,000 gallons of water. A lot more than the 24 gallons of gasoline and 30 gallons of water we carry in the camper van!

Up in the cab, it appears to be a bit more complex to drive. The museum ran sound loops of this engine and the Dwight D. Eisenhower to give another sense of what it was like to be around these huge locomotives.

The cab was quite different from those of the steam engines. While simple, it controlled 4,600 hp of electric motors capable of pulling 20 car heavyweight passenger trains at over 100 mph. These engines were built between 1934 and 1943.

A train that I’d seen photos of, but didn’t know much about before today, is the AeroTrain. Built by General Motors. Designed to usher in a new era of fast, economical, passenger train service, they utilized components from several GM businesses.

Passenger coaches were based on bus bodies with luggage storage accessed from the exterior of the train.

Despite a design speed of 100 mph, the trains had a rough ride and were subsequently limited to 60 mph. Three railroads tested them and decided that they weren’t going to purchase these trainsets. Chicago commuter service was the ultimate fate of the prototype units when they were purchased by the Rock Island line.

What’s a train museum without a train to ride? A couple of passenger cars were pulled by this former Southern Pacific engine, now lettered for Burlington Route.

Examining the trucks a little closer, they were built in my old stomping grounds in northern New York.

I didn’t ride the loop as it was about time for Beth to pick me up.

Since our visit, the museum announced plans for a major new exhibit hall in the grassy area of this photo.

0917  56,779   Green Bay Botanical Garden. 

Beth here, sharing a few photos from my visit to the garden.

The garden was filled with interesting sculptures.

Radar Love Russian Clematis

Family: Ranunculaceae

Species native to eastern Asia

Praying Mantis

Dragonfly

Huge sculptures showing three different stages in the life of a butterfly along the garden fence line…must have missed the egg stage.

Dragonflies adorn the railings of a footbridge.

In addition to the large hosta collection outside the entrance to the gardens, there was a nice collection in the shade garden area.

There was a daylily collection, and I found the sign showing the forms very interesting. Their photos were better than mine.

Platycodon gradiflorus commonly called balloon flower

The large urns all had signage identifying the plants.

If it’s a little too small to read in the photo, here they are:

Blue Lace Carpet petunia

Black Spotlight sweet potato vine

White I’Conia Bacio begonia

Mercury dusty miller

Sparkling Burgundy pineapple lily

Also appreciated signs identifying all the different hostas in the front gardens near the parking lot.

Beth signing off.

1118  56,779  Leave Botanical Garden

1155  56,788  Green Bay Park  1310

After reuniting with Beth, we drove over to Green Bay Park to check out the riverfront and a historic train station. The park has a good view of a drawbridge for boat watchers.

Across the street we found the 1898 train station which is now “Titletown Brewing Co.” Canadian National trains still run past the former Chicago & Northwestern depot.

A plaque educated us on the connection between trains and the Green Bay Packers. Prior to the end of passenger service in 1971, the railroad would convert a baggage car to a bar car on game days, and “throw a party on wheels” for fans.

After purchasing a variety of beers to try later from the large taproom, we headed back to the van to find some local natural sites.

1324  56,791  78°F    Beach Park  Nature Center  1456

Local swans were preening.

It was a cute little park, but not worth a special trip. We liked fox, wolf, and otter exhibits the best. The bird area was overrun with geese.

An indoor exhibit where we could see bats up close was unique.

They did provide a list of free and inexpensive family attractions in the area.  Double click this, or any image in the post, to enlarge it. 

1544  56,799  Stopped for fuel in Green Bay

1705  56,853  76°F  Crossed from Marinette, Wisconsin into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at Menominee

Caught a glimpse of new combat ships as we crossed the bridge. The Fincantieri Shipyard has been building vessels for the US Navy and Coast Guard here since 1942.

1738  56,860  74°F   Menominee, Michigan  North Shore Golf Club – Harvest Host

Their big restaurant was closed, so we ate in the pro shop. The fresh whitefish was good. 

We experienced four bars of Verizon cell service. 

They encouraged us to walk the golf course after supper, so we did. With wind and intermittent showers, the golfers headed home early and we had the course to ourselves. 

With very little overnight traffic and a view of the lake just across the street,  we definitely recommend North Shore as a Harvest Host stop.

Good night from the shore of Lake Michigan.

Today’s Route

Greenleaf, WI to Menominee, MI