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.

Transportation Lesson #9: U.S. Largest Wooden Passenger Collection at Mid-Continent Railway Museum

One of the thrills of traveling in China was the opportunity to take the Shanghai Maglev (magnetic levitation train), which we called to bullet train, from the Shanghai Pudong International airport to Longyang Road Station.  We could have take a taxi, but the $13 round-trip ride on the fastest commercial electric train in the world offered an adventure.  It has a maximum speed of 430 kmph.  The passenger train had an electric sign that announced the train speed, so we had fun just watching the speed climb.  It began service in 2007 and my co-workers and I took a ride in 2011.  The train has transported over 50 million passengers, so there's many people around the world sharing the story of adventure this high-speed passenger train.

You don't need to travel to China to teach your kids about the Golden Age of U.S. train travel (1900-1940's).  You can travel to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin.  Owning 34 passenger cars, this museum earns the title of the United States largest wooden passenger museum collection.  The museum offers public visitation May thru October on weekends with no admission (donations appreciated).  They also offer train rides for a fee, three times a day.

The indoor/outdoor museum has two coach sheds.  In these sheds, I appreciated the historical stories and ability to peek into the glamorous interiors.  I found three passenger cars especially interesting:

1) Copper Range 

Difficult to miss this train with it's orange color.  The museum restored the car to the standard Milwaukee Road orange paint, the color it would have donned in 1911.  The American Car & Foundary (Jeffersonville, Indiana) built the train in 1903.  The train transported people during the Golden Age in Copper Country of Upper Michigan and operated until 1946.  Peek inside and see the restored gold leaf striping and oak veneer ceiling.

2) Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western Railway

Built by the Barney & Smith Co. in Dayton, Ohio, this train first served the northeast regions of Wisconsin (1872-1893).  The Chicago & North Western Railway purchased the train and the train retired in 1930.  Peek inside to see the polished cherry wood and curved panels.  Since I worked in Dayton and traveled by train into Chicago for work years later, I found this train story feeling close to home.

3) Wisconsin Fish Commission (labeled Badger #2)

The sign for this train especially caught my attention, connecting trains, fish, and the World's Fair.  The introduction explained need that led to the combination of passenger transportation with fish transportation, using steel under frames to carry fish.  The story begins with the problem "In 1873 the U.S. Fish Commission began experimenting with shipping live fish across the country by rail.  Like many other states, Wisconsin began hauling eggs, fry and fingerlings in milk cans stacked in baggage cars hauled by local railways.  It was an expensive and labor-intensive journey often complicated by heat, cramped conditions, and missed connections.  A better means to safely transport more fish, greater distances, was needed..."  The restoration of the car cost nearly $1 million and you can see it for free.

Transportation Lesson #6: Ticket to Ride, Lebanon Ohio & 9 Train Rides

Depot, Photo by Krenda

Games, geography, history, and trains.  You can combine them for your kids.  Kids love trains, so you'll have a hit.  Bring in the edutainment, starting with the game Ticket to Ride.  This board game for kids 8 sets the scene of a 1900 adventure.  The game requires strategy as you choose routes across the US, completing trips and competing for longest route.  It's rated 5/5 stars on Amazon and while you play on the map board game, the kids will likely learn geography, searching for cities.  Credit to my brother-in-law for introducing us to the US Ticket to Ride game.  When my son got older, my sister bought him Ticket to Ride Europe, a bit more complicated with tunnels and stations.



For parents with kids under 8, you may jump to train activity #2:  take a train ride!  My friend from Atlanta visited us in Ohio and we bought tickets for the LM&M, Lebanon, Mason, & Monroe train.  Most trips include a history lesson, explaining that the locomotive CNRY is one of the oldest GP& locomotives still operating and the coaches 101-104 were built in 1931.  You can get outside to view the countryside because the train includes an open car built in 1934 as a freight gondola.  This special excursion brought history to life by acting out a train robbery.

Facts:
Typical tickets cost $13 adult, $8 children.  Themed outings at a premium:
-Fall: Harvest Flyer adults $19, kids $16
-Winter: The North Pole Express including the reading of The Polar Express book cost $20.50 adults, $15.50 for kids.
 http://lebanonrr.com/



Here's 9 other train trips to consider:
1.  Durango & Silverton Train - Colorado - 45 miles narrow gauge railroad takes you through the San Juan National Forest, originally built to carry gold and silver down from the peaks; my friend got married on the enclosed Prospector Car; enjoy the beautiful mountain views, $85 adults, $51 kids

2.  Heber Valley Railroad - Utah - Heber Valley & Provo Canyon, steam and diesel trains, adventure outings take you to whitewater rafting

3.  Thunder Mountain Line - Horseshoe Bend, Idaho - ride along the Payette River & thru the Boise National Forest, explore gold mining exhibit in Banks

4.  Mount Washington Cog Railway - Marshfield Station, NH - 3 miles up the steepest railroad tracks in North America to get to views of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont; kids $39, Adults $69

5.  Strasburg Railroad - Ronks, PA - coal burning steam train thru countryside and Amish area, look for special outing Day Out with Thomas

6.  Virginia & Truckee Railroad - NV - 90 min. ride from Carson City to Virginia City, pass thru tunnels and near cemeteries and abandoned mines

7.  Grand Canyon Railway - Williams, AZ - ride through desert and mountains to reach the Grand Canyons South Rim

8.  Cass Scenic Railway - Cass, WV - 11 mile journey within the state park includes a steep incline and great views of the mill town Cass

9.  Great Smoky Mountain Railroad - Tuckasegee River Excursion - Bryson City, NC - 32 miles through railroad towns and meadows.  Check if special for kids free with paying adult on Tue. is offered.