History After Dark
History After Dark is a new series brought to you by the Education Department of the National Railroad Museum. Each month, we will host a Behind the Scenes tour and one lecture event to coincide with our extended hours on Tuesday evenings. Explore our wide variety of exhibits and learn something new each month in 2024!
Tickets are $8 for each of these experiences. Members will pay $6 for Behind the Scenes tours and enjoy lectures free of charge. These events do not include standard Museum admission.
Behind the Scenes Tours will return in 2025!
Behind the Scenes tours are presented by Justin Lambrecht, National Railroad Museum Director of Education.
You may have explored the public spaces of the National Railroad Museum before, but not like this! Let us take you behind the scenes! In this one-hour program, we’ll go beyond the public portion of the Museum and look into the spaces where those railroad stories come from. Come along as we visit the archives and restoration shop to learn what happens before you see an exhibit. Note: This program involves considerable walking, climbing stairs, and entering a working shop facility. Closed-toe shoes are required.
At 6:00 PM, there will also be a train ride! For those interested in riding the train and taking a Behind the Scenes Tour, we recommend arriving at 5:45 PM.
Tickets are $8 each, and $6 for members. Reservations are encouraged as there are only 20 spots in each Behind the Scenes tour.
November 5th, 2024 – 6:00 PM
Russell D. Porter: Consummate Rail Fan
Presented by Bob Porter
Throughout his life, Russ Porter distinguished himself as an artist, photographer and modeler with his efforts directed mostly toward one subject – railroads.
Born in Chicago on November 5th, 1918, Porter studied at the Chicago Academy of Arts. In 1952, Milwaukee became his home as he took up the position of associate editor for Model Railroader magazine. In 1957, Porter moved to Railroad Model Craftsman magazine as the Midwest editor, a position he held until 1972. Sadly, Russ Porter died at age 82 on October 24, 2001.
Join Russ’ son, Bob Porter, on an adventure through Russ’ life and works on and around the railroad. Russ Porter was just one man, but his life and adventures led him to not only be a railfan, but a Railroad Artist, Modeler, Historian, Photographer, and Author.
During your visit for the program, you can see the tree decorated by the Bob Porter & Deb Tyszka Families, enjoy some hot chocolate and Russ’ favorite almond cookies, and even a few “diabetic” candies. This is going to be a very special event that may not be offered again!
November 19th, 2024 – 6:00 PM
Train Robberies: Did They Work?
Trains were often a tempting target for robberies due to the money and valuables they were transporting. We’ll look at some attempted robberies. What were their plans, anyway? How did they do it? Were they successful?
Presenter Info: Brian Buchanan is a lifelong railroader who, in his retirement, wants to Educate, Engage, and Entertain people about his favorite topic – how railroads work – by using Museum artifacts to explain.
Tickets are $8 each, and attendance is free for Museum members. Reservations are encouraged, but not required for this event.
Contact Us
Justin Lambrecht, Education Director: (920) 437-7623 or nrrmeducation@nationalrrmuseum.org
