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Illinois Railway Museum
Illinois Railway Museum Herald.gif
Ilinois Railway Museum Overhead.jpg
Aerial overview of the museum
Locale Union, Illinois
Coordinates 42°13′40″N 88°31′43″W / 42.22778380°N 88.52859170°W / 42.22778380; -88.52859170
Connections Union Pacific Railroad
Commercial operations
Built by Elgin and Belvidere Electric Company
Original gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Reporting mark IRMX
Stations Mainline: 2
Streetcar loop: 5
Length 4.6 mi (7.4 km)
Preserved gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preservation history
1953 Opened as Illinois Electric Railway Museum
1956 Elgin and Belvidere Electric Company right-of-way acquired
1961 Named Illinois Railway Museum
1964 Museum relocated
1966 Illinois Terminal Railroad interurban car 415 first operated
1968 First steam locomotive operated
1972 First storage barn erected
1981 Streetcar loop constructed
Late 1980s/early 1990s Railroad line built
Headquarters Union, Illinois

The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, 55 miles (89 km) northwest of downtown Chicago.

Overview

History

The museum was founded in 1953 by ten people who joined to purchase Indiana Railroad interurban car 65. Originally called the Illinois Electric Railway Museum, the museum was located on the grounds of the Chicago Hardware Foundry in North Chicago. In 1961, it was renamed to the Illinois Railway Museum to reflect its expanding scope. In 1964, the museum moved to Union, Illinois along the former right-of-way of the Elgin and Belvidere Electric Company. In 1968 the first steam locomotive was operated at the museum. The first storage barn was erected in 1972. In 1981, a one-mile (1.6 km) streetcar loop was constructed. The right-of-way the museum was constructed next to still had back taxes into the 1980s. To gain full use of the track, the museum paid the back taxes, and gained the 4.6 miles (7.4 km) of railroad track to add to their property portfolio. In 2016, the IRM purchased a 130-foot turntable from Union Pacific's former Denver & Rio Grande Western Burnham Shops complex in Denver for $10,000. The turntable is large enough for any locomotive in their collection, and will be used to store their steam locomotives, along with a planned roundhouse. There are over 500 pieces of equipment, and over 100 acres of land owned by the museum.

Operations

The museum's operations are primarily concentrated around its main campus just east of Union. Train rides are offered on the main line as well as the streetcar loop. Electric trains are operated from April through October and diesel and steam trains from the beginning of May through the end of September. Trolleybus operation occurs on the Saturdays of the Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day weekends, as well as on "Bus Day"; the last Saturday in September or the first Saturday in October. IRM is one of only two railway museums in the country that operates both electric and diesel trains, and the only one to offer trolleybus rides on a regular basis.

Equipment and structures

Museum site and structures

The Illinois Railway Museum property covers more than 80 acres (32 ha), the most extensive physical plant of any rail museum in North America. In 2009, the museum bought another 89 acres (36 ha) of adjacent land as a buffer against development. The main campus is located at 42°13′40.0″N 88°31′38.08″W / 42.227778°N 88.5272444°W / 42.227778; -88.5272444. In addition to the museum's revenue trackage, the main campus in Union includes:

  • 11 equipment storage barns with a total of 3.25 miles (5.23 km) of track under cover
  • Two additional garages housing trolleybuses and motor buses
  • A dedicated steam restoration shop
  • A former Chicago and North Western railway depot from Marengo, Illinois, built in 1851
  • A complete Chicago Rapid Transit Company ground-level station (50th Avenue station, closed by CTA in 1978)
  • Five streetcar stations of varying design
  • Several restored and functional neon signs and concrete entablatures on display
  • An indoor dining facility built in 2003 (open seasonally)
  • The Multi-purpose Building completed in 2021 housing the Model Railroad Display, the Revolving Exhibit Gallery, the Pullman Archive, and the Milwaukee Road Historic Association.
  • A 130-foot (40 m) turntable from the Union Pacific Railroad's Burnham Shops
  • Seven railroad crossings, with five wigwags. Two of the five wigwags are upper-quadrant wigwags from the Magnetic Signal Company, one from the Union Switch & Signal, and the other two are lower quadrant wigwag from the Western Railroad Supply Company. The other two crossings are from the Griswold Signal Company.

IRM also owns one off-site library; the Strahorn Research Library in downtown Marengo. The Pullman Archive, formerly located in downtown Union, IL moved on campus to the Multi-purpose Building in 2021.

Equipment

Locomotives

Name Class Image Type Builder Built Status Previous Owner
St. Louis-San Francisco 1630 2-10-0 Decapod Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1918 Operational Eagle-Picher Ore Mine
American Creosote Works 7 0-4-0 Tank locomotive Steam locomotive Vulcan Iron Works 1917 Display American Creosote Works (Jackson)
Amtrak 945 EMD AEM-7
AMTK 945.jpg
Electric Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1982 Display Amtrak
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 92 EMD FP45
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1967 Operational Santa Fe
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 2903 4-8-4 Northern
2023-05-27 Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe 2903.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1943 Display Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
Burlington Northern 1 EMD F9A
BN F-Units (1).jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1954 Operational Burlington Northern
Burlington Northern 2 EMD F9B Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1954 Operational Burlington Northern
Burlington Northern 3 EMD E9A
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1956 Operational Burlington Northern
Burlington Northern 5383 GE U30C Diesel Locomotive GE Transportation 1974 Operational Burlington Northern
Chesapeake and Ohio 2707 2-8-4 Kanawha
Chesapeake & Ohio No. 2707 at the Illinois Railway Museum August 2014.jpg
Steam Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1943 Display City of Cincinnati, Ohio
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 114 GE U28B
2023-05-27 Illinois Railway Museum TTI No. 260.jpg
Diesel Locomotive GE Transportation 1967 Operational Burlington Northern
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 504 EMD SD24
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1959 Operational Burlington Northern
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 637 4-6-0 Ten wheeler
Burlington & Missouri River Engine 637, Chicago Railroad Fair (NBY 2906).jpg
Steam Locomotive Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works 1892 Display City of Aurora, Illinois
Chicago Burlington and Quincy 3007 4-6-4 Hudson
CB&Q 3007 - May 2010.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1930 Display, awaiting restoration City of Griggsville, Illinois
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 4963 2-8-2 Mikado Chicago, Burlington and Quincy No. 4963 at the Illinois Railway Museum - May 2023.jpg Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1923 Display Chicago scrapyard
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9255 EMD SW7
20080621 34 Illinois Railway Museum.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1950 Operational Burlington Northern
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9911A Silver Pilot EMD E5 Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1940 Operational Chicago Burlington And Quincy
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9976 EMD E9A
North Shore 749 and BN 9908.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1953 Operational Burlington Northern
Chicago And North Western 411 EMD F7A Cnw411.jpg Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1949 Operational Metra
Chicago And North Western 515 EMD E8A
2023-05-27 Chicago And North Western No. 515.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1953 Operational Iowa Pacific Holdings
Chicago And North Western 1518 EMD GP7 Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1949 Operational Chicago And North Western
Chicago And North Western 1689 Alco RSD5
CNW 1619 (1).jpg
Diesel Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1954 Operational Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Chicago And North Western 6847 EMD SD40-2
CNW SD40-2 -6847 (2).jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1976 Operational Union Pacific
Chicago & North Western 7009 EMD SD50 Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1985 Operational Chicago & North Western, National Railway Equipment (NREX)
Chicago South Shore and South Bend 803 Little Joe
20040911 26 South Shore Line Little Joe @ Illinois Railway Museum (8519366925).jpg
Electric Locomotive GE Transportation 1949 Display, operable Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
Commonwealth Edison 5 0-6-0 switcher
ComEd5 1 - 15309601647.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1922 Display Chicago scrapyard
Commonwealth Edison 15 EMD SW1
Ex-Commonwealth Edison SW1 locomotive 15 at IRM (2010).jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1950 Operational Midwest Generation LLC
Conrail 4601 GE E33 Electric Locomotive GE Transportation 1956 Display Railroad Museum of New England
Coronet Phosphate 9 2-6-2 Prairie tank locomotive
IRM CoronetPhosphate PorterSteam aug2014 05 - 22042205039.jpg
Steam locomotive H.K. Porter, Inc. 1925 Display Private owner
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton 16 4-4-0
Detroit, Toledo & Ironton No. 16 at the Illinois Railway Museum, August 2012.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1915 Display The Henry Ford Museum
Grand Trunk Western 6323 4-8-4 Northern (Confederation)
2023-05-27 Grand Trunk Western 6323.jpg
Steam Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1942 Display Private owner in Detroit, Michigan
Grand Trunk Western 8380 0-8-0 switcher
Grand Trunk Western No. 8380 at the Illinois Railway Museum - August 2014 - 06.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1929 Display Northwestern Steel and Wire Company
Graysonia Nashville and Ashdown 26 2-6-0 Mogul
Graysonia, Nashville, and Ashdown 26 1926 Mogul Steam locomotive September 2017.jpg
Steam locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1926 Display Private owner
Green Bay and Western 2407 Alco RSD15
Diesel Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1960 Operational Green Bay and Western Railroad
Illinois Central 201 2-4-4T
IC 201 20050716 IL Union.jpg
Steam Locomotive Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works 1880 Display Private owner
Illinois Central 3719 2-6-0 Mogul
Illinois Central Railroad -3719, 2-6-0 "Mogul", Brooks, 1900.jpg
Steam locomotive American Locomotive Company 1900 Display Steamtown, U.S.A.
Illinois Terminal 1605 EMD GP7 Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1953 Operational Illinois Terminal Railroad
J. Neils Lumber Co. No. 5 3 Truck Shay Steam Locomotive Lima Locomotive Works 1929 Operational J. Neils Lumber Co.
Lake Superior and Ishpeming 35 2-8-0 Consolidation Lake Superior & Ishpeming No. 35 at the Illinois Railway Museum - May 2023.jpg Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1916 Display Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad
Lehigh and New England 207 0-6-0 switcher Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1936 Display Private owner in Detroit, Michigan
Louisiana and Arkansas 99 2-8-0 Consolidation
Louisiana and Arkansas Railway No. 99 August 2014.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1919 Display South Shore Railroad
MBTA 902 EMD GP9
MBTA 902.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1957 Display MBTA
Metra 308 EMD F7A
Metra EMD F7 No. 308.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1949 Operational Metra
Milwaukee Road 30 Sedan Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific No. 30 Inspection Car at the Illinois Railway Museum - August 2018.jpg Inspection car Dodge 1947 Display Mid-Continent Railway Museum
Milwaukee Road 118C EMD F7A
Milwaukee Road 118c.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive 1951 Operational Milwaukee Road
Milwaukee Road 265 4-8-4 Northern
2023-05-27 Pennsylvania Railroad 4927, Milwaukee Road 265, and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 4963.jpg
Steam Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1944 Display City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee Road 760 FM H10-44
Diesel Locomotive Fairbanks-Morse 1944 Operational Milwaukee Road
Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern 21 Baldwin DT-6-6-2000
Minneapolis Northfield & Southern 21 (Baldwin DT6-6-2000), 1948.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1948 Operational Minneapolis Northfield and Southern Railway
Minnesota Transfer Railway 200 Alco RS3
Minnesota Transfer Railway -200 (Alco RS-3), 1951 - 10570909323.jpg
Diesel Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1951 Operational Minnesota Transfer Railway
Nekoosa Paper 14 ALCO S1
NEKP 14.jpg
Diesel Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1947 Operational Nekoosa

Paper, Inc.

Norfolk and Western 2050 2-8-8-2 Y3a
Norfolk & Western 2050.jpg
Steam Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1923 Display Armco
Pennsylvania Railroad 4927 PRR GG1
Restored GG1 PRR 4927 at IRM.jpg
Electric Locomotive GE Transportation 1942 Display Amtrak
Public Service Co. 7 0-6-0 Tank locomotive
2023-05-27 Public Service Co. No. 7.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1926 Display Central Illinois Public Service Company
Rock Island 938 4-6-2 Pacific Rock Island No. 938 at the Illinois Railway Museum - December 2008.jpg Steam Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1910 Display Fort Worth and Western Railroad
Rock Island 4506 EMD GP7R
Rock Island 4506 (1).jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1952 Operational Chicago And North Western
Southern Pacific 975 2-10-2 Santa Fe type
SP 975.jpg
Steam Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1918 Display City of Beaumont, Texas
Southern Pacific 1518 EMD SD7
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1951 Operational Southern Pacific
Toledo, Peoria and Western 400 ALCO RS-11
TPW 400 20050716 Illinois Railway Museum.JPG
Diesel Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1958 Display
Toledo, Peoria and Western 800 ALCO C424 Diesel Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1964 Operational Morristown and Erie Railway
Tuskegee 101 2-6-2 Prairie Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1924 Awaiting restoration T. R. Miller
Union Electric Co. 4 0-4-0 Fireless locomotive
Union Electric Co. No. 4 at the Illinois Railway Museum - December 2008.jpg
Fireless Steam Locomotive H.K. Porter, Inc. 1946 Display Transport Museum Association
Union Pacific 18 Union Pacific GTEL
Union Pacific 18.jpg
Gas turbine Locomotive GE Transportation 1960 Display Union Pacific
Union Pacific 428 2-8-0 Consolidation Steam

Locomotive

Baldwin Locomotive Works 1900 Undergoing restoration Union Pacific
Union Pacific 1848 GE Dash 8-40B
Up 1848 (1).jpg
Diesel Locomotive GE Transportation 1988 Operational Union Pacific
Union Pacific 6930 EMD DDA40X "Centennial"
UP 6930 20050716 Illinois Railway Museum.JPG
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1970 Display Union Pacific
United States Army 8537 GE 45-ton switcher
2023-05-27 Illinois Railway Museum United States Army 8537.jpg
Diesel Locomotive 1944 Operational United States Army Transportation Corps
Wisconsin and Southern EMD E9B Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1955 Operational Wisconsin and Southern
Wisconsin Central 7525 EMD SD45
Wisconsin Central 7525.jpg
Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1971 Operational Wisconsin Central
Atlantic and Western 30 EMD RS1325 Diesel Locomotive Electro-Motive Corporation 1960 Operational Genesee & Wyoming

Other equipment

Formerly-owned locomotives

Locomotive Class Image Type Builder Built Status Owner
Bessemer and Lake Erie 154 2-8-0 Consolidation
Damptog på Henry Ford Museumet i Detroit.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1909 Static display The Henry Ford Museum
Georgia Northern 102 4-6-0 Ten wheeler
End-O-Line Railroad Park.JPG
Steam Locomotive American Locomotive Company 1923 Static display End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum
Lake Superior and Ishpeming 34 2-8-0 Consolidation
Cumberland Railroad Station, train (21600505165).jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1916 Stored Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
Norfolk and Western 475 4-8-0 Mastodon
N&W 475 at Leaman Place Junction - August 16, 2020.jpg
Steam Locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1906 Operational Strasburg Rail Road
Polson Logging Co. 2 2-8-2
Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon 34.jpg
Steam locomotive Baldwin Locomotive Works 1912 Operational Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, Oregon Rail Heritage Center

Organization

The Illinois Railway Museum is an IRS Chapter 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation owned and managed by its membership. Museum management includes a board of directors, elected by the regular membership of about 160 active volunteers. A board president is elected by the directors. The board oversees the general manager, a volunteer who in turn has oversight over an array of department heads. Major departments include Steam, Diesel, Electric Car, Passenger Car, Freight Car, Track & Signal, Buildings & Grounds, Trolley Bus, Motor Bus, and Operations. Other departments oversee the museum's libraries, electrical infrastructure, and display and education functions. Most department heads are volunteers. All workers at the museum fall under the direct authority of one of the department heads. The vast majority of workers are volunteers. Anyone who is interested in trains or other collections/aspects of the museum is actively encouraged to volunteer, with required training done by the museum.

Use in film

IRM has been used in several films, due to its proximity to Chicago and its extensive collection of historic railroad equipment. 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; other scenes featured with the Nebraska Zephyr and only surviving EMD E5. The 1993 movie Groundhog Day featured the museum's EMD SD24 diesel locomotive. The museum's grounds and some of the passenger cars were used in the movie The Babe, starring John Goodman. In late 2005, the Burlington 9911A and several coaches operated to Chicago for filming in Flags of Our Fathers, a Clint Eastwood film. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) made IRM the host of several scenes.

Many television shows' railroad sequences have been shot at the IRM. Scenes depicting steam era operations in the late 1920s were shot for the 1993 television series The Untouchables. The show Chicago Fire features the IRM onsite in the season 2 episode "No Regrets".

Special events

See also

  • List of common carrier freight railroads in the United States
  • List of Illinois railroads
  • List of heritage railroads in the United States
  • List of railway museums
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