Several towns are competing for the right to host South Dakota's railroad museum, but one state lawmaker thinks sharing the wealth might be the way to go.
The idea of creating a state railroad museum surfaced this winter when a Rapid City representative proposed placing it in the Black Hills town of Hill City.
That prompted such towns as Aberdeen, Milbank and Huron to jump into the competition.
Now Rep. Jim Hundstad, D-Bath, says a network of museums across several towns could allow each to show off its heritage.
"If we start butting heads with the Black Hills people, we could lose," Hundstad says.
He says the branch museum idea jells with the goals of the Northern Route to the Black Hills, a northeast South Dakota organization trying to boost tourism.
Some of the towns in the area have a rich railroad heritage.
Milbank holds an annual summer train festival with a ride on the old-time Whetstone Valley Express from Milbank to Corona. Redfield recently restored its brick-and-mortar depot.
And Aberdeen is called the Hub City because at one time major all the major rail lines converged here.
Four railroad depots that appeared in Aberdeen during the boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are still standing.
Some Aberdeen residents have already identified what they consider to be the ideal spot for a state railroad museum. The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway Depot is an original brick and masonry depot, and it's for sale.
"It's on the (national) register of historic places, so it can't be torn down easily," said Tom Blanchard, a charter member of the James Valley Model Railroad Association of Aberdeen.
But that Black Hills has its own draw. Tourists already flock to the area, and Hill City is home to an award-winning 1880 train that takes them through the hills.
Hundstad says a compromise would acknowledge all the cities' selling points.
"This is just my personal opinion at this point," he says. "I've been discussing it a little bit, but I really haven't talked much with local people about it."
