150 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, establishing the Union Pacific Railway. In honor of Union Pacific’s sesquicentennial, six local organizations are collaborating to offer Railroad Days. The two-day celebration takes place July 14th and 15th.
Each venue will offer special activities to explore the region’s railroad heritage. The Durham Museum is one of the participating venues. Shawna Forsberg is Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Durham.
"We have the Pacific Railway Act here, which is a rare document. It’s considered one of the Top 100 significant document s in American history from the National Archives. It was signed by Abraham Lincoln and is actually what started Union Pacific Railroad and the building of the railroads west of here. So we are thrilled to have that on display during the month of July and folks can take a peek at that.”
Joslyn Art Museum, Lauritzen Gardens, the Historic General Dodge House, the Rails West Railroad Museum and the Union Pacific Railroad Museum are also participating in Railroad Days 2012. Forsberg says one family pass allows admission to and transportation among all six locations.
For prices and details, the website is omaharailroaddays.com.