Illinois Railway Museum

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The only surviving EMD E5 is used regularly on the museum's excursion trains, usually pulling the Nebraska Zephyr.

The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) is the United States's largest railway museum. Granted tax-exempt status in 1957, the mission of the Museum is to demonstrate the vital role railroads have played in the growth of the Chicago area as well as the United States.

Located in Union, Illinois, 55 miles northwest of Chicago, the museum has over 400 pieces of equipment. Rides on some of the museum's electric, steam and diesel powered trains are offered from April through October.

Contents

1 History
2 Operations
3 Notable equipment
4 Use in film
5 See also
6 External links

History

The museum was founded in 1953 by ten men (one of the founder was Howard Odinius from Milwaukee) who joined together to purchase Indiana Railroad interurban car 65. Originally called the Illinois Electric Railway Museum, the name was changed to IRM in 1961 to reflect the museum's expanding scope. The museum was initially located on the grounds of the Chicago Hardware Foundry in North Chicago, Illinois. In 1964 the museum's entire collection was relocated to Union along the former right-of-way of the Elgin & Belvidere interurban. Two years later, operations were begun using Illinois Terminal interurban car 415, and in 1967 the first steam engine was operated. The first of ten equipment storage barns was erected in 1971. In 1981 a one-mile streetcar loop was constructed and during the 1980s and early 1990s the museum's main line was extended to a length of 4.9 miles.

Operations

The museum's operations are primarily concentrated around its main campus just east of Union, Illinois. Train rides are offered on the 4.9 mile long main line as well as the one-mile streetcar loop. Electric trains are operated from April through October, and diesel and steam trains from Memorial Day through mid-September. Occasional trolley bus rides are also offered. IRM is one of only two railway museums in the country that operates both electric and diesel trains, and it is the only museum that offers trolley bus rides. IRM also owns two libraries, the Pullman Library in downtown Union and the Strahorn Research Library in downtown Marengo.

Notable equipment

One of only two surviving examples of Union Pacific's turbines is kept in non-operating condition.

SP 1518, the first EMD SD7 built.

Milwaukee Road 760, the first locomotive built by Fairbanks-Morse.

Among the equipment preserved at IRM is:

one of only two Electroliner trainsets ever built (restored to operating condition)
Illinois Central 201 (static display), participated in the "Wheels A-Rolling" pageant at the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1949.
Nebraska Zephyr (operated regularly)
Frisco Railroad 2-10-0 "Decapod" steam engine 1630 (restored to operating condition)
Milwaukee Road 760, the first diesel locomotive ever built by Fairbanks Morse (restored to operating condition)
Chicago Surface Lines 84, the oldest preserved trolley bus (restored to operating condition)
Chicago & North Western 1518, the first EMD GP7 ever built (undergoing restoration)
Southern Pacific 1518, the first EMD SD7 ever built (operational)
the museum's depot, built in 1851 for the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, is the oldest train station west of the Appalachian Mountains in regular use
the museum also maintains an historical collection of electric trolley buses from Chicago, Illinois, Dayton, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, Des Moines, Iowa, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Use in film

Due to its proximity to Chicago and its extensive collection of historic railroad equipment, IRM has been used in several films. The most apparent may be in the 1992 film "A League of Their Own", starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna; the museum's depot was used for several small town depot scenes and the Nebraska Zephyr and only surviving EMD E5 were used for scenes of and on the train. IRM equipment was also seen in the movie "Groundhog Day", which featured the museum's EMD SD24 diesel locomotive. In late 2005, the Burlington 9911A and several coaches operated to Chicago for filming in "Flags of Our Fathers," a Clint Eastwood film.

External links

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