Training For Fall

Sorry, the pun opportunities are too great to pass up ALL of them...

Mr Dan indulged me and my love of all things old by joining me on a trip to The Illinois Railway Museum, our country's largest rail travel museum.

IRM describes itself:

The Illinois Railway Museum is a Museum in Motion. Watch now, as a little red streetcar clangs across Depot Street on the car line, or as the thundering steam train whistles past on the mainline, or perhaps as the gleaming streamliner simply whispers by. These artifacts don't just sit there, they move!

The Museum's operating demonstration railroad consists of two distinct divisions: the 5-mile long mainline, and the mile-long streetcar loop. Generally, steam, diesel and heavy electric trains run on the mainline, while streetcars run on the streetcar line. Interurban and elevated trains may operate on either division. The streetcar curves are too sharp for conventional railroad equipment, and the streetcars are too slow for mainline service. The hybrid interurbans and "L" cars can operate in either environment.

The mainline is equipped with trolley wire so that electric cars can obtain the 600 volt DC power needed for their propulsion. Steam and diesel locomotives, of course, carry their fuel with them, but an electric car must depend on the overhead trolley wire for power.

It was all very cool.

The main passenger boarding and alighting area is built around an 1851 depot (from Marengo, Illinois), the oldest continuously operating passenger station west of Pittsburgh.

Here we see the depot and the Museum's Zephyr during filming of 'A League of Our Own'

One of yesterday's operating trains (2-3 trains from the collection run on any weekend day) was the 160. An electric 'Inter-Urban' car, the 160 ran between Chicago and Milwaukee from 1915 until the 1960's. We tour the countryside with it now.

And we're back.

Dining and drinking on the road

A Private Car

1915 El Station from Cicero IL. Fair to assume at some time in their life that some of Capone's men got stuck here.

Chicago El Signs

The Nebraska Zephyr. Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry has a restored Zephyr (4 cars) which they proudly exhibit. This one also is restored has all of its cars, and actually operates. It was seen in 'A League Of Their Own' (see Depot pic above)

The South Shore Line

Still lot's of work to do.