Midwest Overland Rail Preservation Society

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Midwest Overland Rail Preservation Society Preserving the history of America’s Western railroads.

09/26/2026

MILW 156 sitting pretty at Railroading Heritage of Midwest America.

Can’t wait to see everyone coming out to ride The Liberty Rocket this weekend!

Drone video by John Biggs

We’re incredibly excited to partner with Railroading Heritage of Midwest America to have the Milwaukee Road #156 on dis...
09/15/2026

We’re incredibly excited to partner with Railroading Heritage of Midwest America to have the Milwaukee Road #156 on display at their campus in Silvis, IL the weekend of September 26th and 27th, as part of the Liberty Rocket event for , featuring UP Centennial DDA40X #6936 and restored ATSF B40-8W #537. We can’t wait to see you all there to continue MILW 156’s celebratory tour for America’s 250th birthday!

Never Forget 9/11/01 Photo by John Biggs
09/11/2026

Never Forget 9/11/01

Photo by John Biggs

We were honored and incredibly excited to have our Milwaukee Road 156 Bicentennial locomotive invited to participate in ...
09/04/2026

We were honored and incredibly excited to have our Milwaukee Road 156 Bicentennial locomotive invited to participate in the 250th Locomotive Celebration in Spencer, NC, at the N.C. Transportation Museum

It was wonderful to see so many people come together to celebrate the rich history of American railroading and help make this special event possible. We are grateful to have been a part of such a memorable occasion and to share our locomotive with fellow railroad enthusiasts and visitors.

A special thank you to the N.C. Transportation Museum for hosting this incredible celebration and for inviting us to be a part of it. We truly appreciate the opportunity to celebrate this important piece of railroad history with you!

Photographer credits in each photo caption

As our MILW #156 heads to Spencer, North Carolina we wanted to share some photos we took when our crew was working on t...
08/17/2026

As our MILW #156 heads to Spencer, North Carolina we wanted to share some photos we took when our crew was working on the restoration!  

07/30/2026

America 250 Locomotive Celebration roster nears three dozen locomotives!
Bicentennial and America 250 passenger, commuter, and additional short line locomotives confirmed for August event.

Additional red, white, and blue railroad equipment will attend the America 250 Locomotive Celebration at the North Carolina Transportation Museum — including three locomotives that have been restored to their historic 1976 Bicentennial paint schemes.

The three-day event, set for Aug. 28-30, is now expected to include nearly three dozen locomotives from Class I railroads, short line and regional railroads, passenger and commuter railroads, and museums and preservation societies, along with patriotic boxcars and a caboose.

The liveries found on the trio of Bicentennial locomotives now set to join the America 250 event appeared in the iconic Trains Magazine photo of specially painted locomotives that were gathered in Chicago in 1975. They are the Virginia Museum of Transportation’s former Norfolk & Western SD45 No. 1776, the Midwest Overland Rail Preservation Society’s former Milwaukee Road SD40-2 No. 156, and the Southern California Railroad Museum’s former Santa Fe SD45-2 No. 5704. (While No. 5704 was not present for the Trains photo shoot in 1975, it wears the same livery as Santa Fe No. 5701, which was pictured at the Chicago gathering.)

Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will send locomotives to the event to show off their patriotic spirit, as well.

Also now set to attend: Vermont Rail System’s GATX America 250 GP38-2 locomotive will join 18 other short line and regional locomotives that will be displayed alongside 10 Class I railroad locomotives.

Rounding out confirmed equipment scheduled to appear at the event are red, white, and blue TTX Co. boxcars and a former Erie Lackawanna bay window caboose that has been restored to its Bicentennial appearance by the TOYX preservation group.

The America 250 Locomotive Celebration is organized by the North Carolina Transportation Museum, Trains Magazine, and White River Productions to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. Scale Trains and Virtual Railfan are sponsors of the event.

Tickets are on sale now through the museum website, https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/america-250-locomotive-celebration/.

The America 250 Locomotive Celebration will include unique photo opportunities, rotating locomotive displays on the Bob Julian Roundhouse turntable, and train rides pulled by a museum diesel locomotive.

Each day will feature a different lineup of locomotives and photography opportunities as equipment is rotated and repositioned throughout the event, ensuring a unique experience for returning visitors.

Locomotives attending the event are subject to change in the event of circumstances beyond the museum’s control.

With our display at Union Station Kansas City wrapped up and the 156 back in Kansas for the next few weeks getting prepa...
07/14/2026

With our display at Union Station Kansas City wrapped up and the 156 back in Kansas for the next few weeks getting prepared for travel to its next display location (hint: it won’t be in this time zone! 😁), we wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who came out to Kansas City to visit and photograph the 156.

Getting to meet all the incredible Milwaukee Road fans and hearing stories from those whose lives the 156 has touched in the 50 years since 1976 was a truly humbling experience for our team, and we can’t wait to share our next exciting opportunity to see and photograph the Milwaukee Road Bicentennial in person with you!

Thanks again to our amazing partners at Union Pacific Railroad and Watco for handling the transportation, and the great team at Union Station for making this all possible!

07/08/2026

The locomotive was completed this week and is slated to make its public debut at Kansas City Union Station on July 5.

07/08/2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Midwest Overland Rail Preservation Society, a non-profit group, has returned Milwaukee Road EMD SD40-2 No. 156 to its Bicentennial paint scheme. The locomotive made its first restored public appearance this week at the Kansas City Union Station, according to information post...

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30 W Pershing Rd
Kansas City, MO
64108

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