Transportation Lesson #8: Illinois Railway Museum & 6 Other Midwest Rail Museums

Here comes the train

You probably recall the American folk song "I've been working on the railroad" from your childhood.  Kids still hear it today on Loony Tunes or Barney.

The Golden Age of Railroading was considered to take place from period of 1880 to 1916.  That's when the United States had an unprecedented rate of expansion from 93,000 to 254,000 miles of track, according to Iowa University Libraries.  You may not be able to go back in time, but you can get close to trains.  Do you know that you can still work on trains, even without experience?  Most train museums operate with mostly volunteers.  You could greet visitors, demonstrate technology, help organize archive & collections, sell items in the gift shop, work in the office, sell tickets, and/or refurbish locomotives. 

All aboard

"Can't you hear the captain shouting , 'Dinah, blow your horn."  If you don't have time to volunteer, take your kids to the train museum and meet the engineers.  One of our family outings took us to the Illinois Railway Museum.

Location:  Union, Illinois (approx. 1 hour Northwest of Chicago, IL)

Cost:  $15 or less per person, depending on season and age; Free parking

Includes unlimited train rides (except for special-fare days) and access to all the exhibits

If you go, wear your walking shoes for the self-guided tour.  This museum holds the largest collection of historic railway equipment in America from restored Pullman sleeping cars in Barn 3 to trolleys in Barn 7.  We visited every barn and took both the train rides (street car that loops around the property for 15 minutes and the transfer to main line diesel train - available in summer).  Don't miss the Nebraska Zephyr, the only remaining articulated streamliner of it's type and star of the move "A League of Their Own."  I also recommend this movie!

Photo by Krenda

Tip:  We ate at the diner, but you could save by bringing your own food and using a picnic table.

"Fee, fie, fiddy-i-o, Strummin' on the old banjo"  Perhaps you are looking for a smaller or different experience.  Here's other Midwest Railway musuems to consider:

1.     Hooiser Valley Railroad Museum (North Judson, IN) - 1.5 hours Southeast of Chicago

- free admission, but train rides cost $12

- Guest Engineer Program, 18 and over $240 learn how to pull back on the throttle, ring the bell, blow the horn in the cab of a diesel, 1 hour of operation

2. National New York Central Railroad Museum (Elkhart, IN) - 2 hours Southeast of Chicago

- $6 admission, family membership $40, largest surviving example of a NYC Steam locomotive

- The New York Central was once the second-largest railroad in the U.S.

3.  Monticello Railway (Monticello, IL) - 2 hours South of Chicago

- Wabash depot, Nelson Crossing depot, locomotives, cabooses, passenger cars, freight cars

- Housing for volunteers to stay overnight at The Villas at Hodge Park

The train returns

- $10 train rides Sat. & Sun. in summer; $20 surcharge for cab ride; max 2 cab riders per trip

4. Mid-Continent Railway Museum (North Freedom, WI) - 3 hours Northwest of Chicago 

- largest collection of wooden passenger cars in the U.S., 13 steam, 7 diesel locomotive

- 7-mile heritage railroad passing through the former mining community of La Reu, special 1 hour rides from $22 (Coach in Sept., Harvest Limited, Santa Express in Nov./Dec.)

5.  Galesburg Railroad Museum (Galesburg, IL) - 3 hours Southwest of Chicago

-$6 admission Fri./Sat/Sun. or by appointment, Galesburg history where once >3.3K rail employees

-Visit during Railroad Days, a festival with 300 tables of model trains, >50 vendor tables of toys, arts & crafts market, Firefighter's water fights, car cruise in, festival has extra fees

6.  National Railroad Museum (Ashwaubenon, WI) - 3.5 hours North of Chicago, near Green Bay, WI

- popular museum with over 100,000 visitor per year and 300 volunteers

- $11 entrance, $2 for a 25-minute train ride with museum admission 

- Don't miss the Union Pacific #4017 Big Boy, only 25 constructed & weighs 1.1 million pounds

 "Can't you hear the whistle blowing.  Rise up so early in the morn."  It's your cue to get up early and listen to the sounds of the whistles and clickety clack of the rails.