Fox River Trolley Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fox River Trolley Museum
AE&FRE #5 and CA&E #458 at the museum (2024)
Locale	South Elgin, Illinois
Coordinates	41°59′27″N 88°17′48″W / 41.99091320°N 88.29672780°W / 41.99091320; -88.29672780
Commercial operations
Built by	Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company
Original gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Closed to passengers	1935
Closed	1973
Preservation history
1961	Railway Equipment Leasing and Investment Corporation (RELIC) founded
1966	Began operating (on leased track from the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company)
1973	Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company mainline sold to the museum
2002	Extension into Blackhawk Forest Preserve (now Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve) finished
2018	Vandals break in and cause more than $150,000 worth of damage
Present	Continues to be open to the public on Sundays and special events from May–June, Saturdays, Sundays, and special events July–August, Sundays and special events September–October, and Special events November–December.

The Fox River Trolley Museum is a cool place in South Elgin, Illinois where you can see and ride old trains and trolleys! It started in 1961 as R.E.L.I.C. (Railway Equipment Leasing and Investment Co.). It opened its doors in 1966 and later became the Fox River Trolley Museum in 1984.

Where to Find the Museum

The museum is located at 365 South LaFox Street, which is also Illinois Route 31. You can find it about two blocks south of where LaFox and State Streets meet.

Meet the Volunteers

Did you know the Fox River Trolley Museum is completely run by amazing volunteers? These dedicated people give their time to keep the museum running and the old trolleys moving!

Take a Ride on the Heritage Railroad

Since 2003, the museum has offered fun trolley rides. You can travel about 2 miles along the beautiful Fox River. The ride takes you to the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, which used to be called Blackhawk Forest Preserve.

The museum offers trolley rides from Mother's Day until the first Sunday in November. During May, June, September, and October, you can ride on Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In July and August, they also run on Saturdays!

The Museum's Main Track

The Woodcliff flagstop building.

Switch stands and a path to the tracks near Woodcliff House.

Castlemuir Depot on Members' Day 2024.

Blackhawk Station with a train on Labor Day Weekend.

The Fox River Trolley Museum's main track is about 1.9 miles long. It runs along the Fox River. This track is special because it's one of the few railroads in the country that goes through a forest preserve!

The track has two ends, called "termini." The northern end is in South Elgin, Illinois. This is the museum's main area, called "Castlemuir." Here you'll find two platforms, a big train yard, and the building where they fix and store the trolleys.

The southern end of the track is called "Blackhawk." This station is inside the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve. It's named after the forest preserve's old name.

There's also a special stop called "Woodcliff." This is a private home about 0.2 miles south of Castlemuir. It's right by the museum's track and the Fox River. There's a path from the Woodcliff house down to the tracks. It's decorated with old railroad signs and a small stop building.

Even though some of the stations are new, the track itself is very old! It has been used since 1896. The Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric railroad built it. It carried passengers until 1935. After that, most of the track was removed, except for 3.5 miles in South Elgin. This remaining part was used to carry coal to the Elgin State Mental Hospital.

In 1946, the railroad started using a diesel train instead of electric wires. This train was the Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric #5, which you can now see at the museum! It carried freight until 1973.

In 1961, the Railway Equipment Leasing and Investment Company (RELIC) was started. They used land next to the railroad, which was kindly lent to them. In 1966, the museum began operating as the RELIC Trolley Museum. When freight service stopped in 1973, the museum bought the remaining track. In 2003, the track was made longer, extending into the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve.

Car Barn Extension

In late 2024, the museum announced plans to make their car barn bigger. The car barn was built in 1984. The new extension will be 50 feet longer. This will help protect three more trolley cars from bad weather. This project is expected to be finished by September 27, 2025.

A Non-Profit Museum

The Fox River Trolley Museum is run by the Fox River Trolley Association (FRTA). This group is a non-profit organization. This means they use all the money they earn to keep the museum going and teach people about old trains.

The Museum's Collection

The museum has a collection of 30 old electric trolleys, railroad cars, and locomotives. These vehicles were built between 1887 and 1973. Most of the collection focuses on trains and electric transit lines from the Chicago area.

One very special car is the wooden interurban (meaning it traveled between cities) Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad car #20. It was built in 1902. It's the oldest electric interurban car still running in the United States!

Another cool car is the Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric Co. #304. It was built in 1923 for the Fox River Line. It ran daily between Elgin and Aurora until 1935. It even ran in Cleveland later! Car #304 made its first trip back on its original railroad on August 21, 2010. That was over 75 years after it last ran there!

Types of Vehicles in the Collection

The museum has vehicles from many different railway companies, mostly from the Chicago area. Some of these include:

• Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company (AE&FRE)
• Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railroad (CA&E)
• Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (CNS&M)
• Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (CSS&SB)
• Chicago City Railway (CCRy)
• Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT)
• Chicago Surface Lines (CSL)
• Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
• And others like the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) and Illinois Central Railroad (IC).

Fox River Trolley Museum Equipment Roster

Here's a look at some of the cool vehicles at the museum:

Name	Type	Image	Builder	Built	Status	Previous Owner	Notes
AE&FRE #5	45 Ton Diesel-Electric Switcher		General Electric	1946	Operational, In Occasional Service	AE&FRE	This train replaced two electric engines. It carried coal cars from the Illinois Central Railroad to the State Hospital until 1972.
AE&FRE #304	Lightweight Interurban Car		St. Louis Car Company	1923	Operational, In Occasional Service	AE&FRE, Shaker Heights Rapid Transit	This is one of three vehicles in the museum that originally ran on this line.
CA&E #11	Line Car		J. G. Brill Company	1910, Rebuilt 1947	Awaiting Restoration	CA&E	This car was used to fix and build overhead trolley wires. It was damaged during an incident at the museum in 2018.
CA&E #20	Wood Interurban Passenger Car		Niles Car Company	1902	Out Of Service, Pending Wheel Replacement	CA&E	It is the oldest working electric interurban car in the United States.
CA&E #316	Wood Interurban Passenger Car		Jewett Car Company	1913	Undergoing Restoration	CA&E	It ran on the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin until 1957. When fixed, it will be the only "Coffee-And-Cream" painted interurban car running.
CA&E #317	Wood Interurban Passenger Car		Jewett Car Company	1913	Awaiting Restoration	CA&E	It ran on the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin until 1957.
CA&E #458	Steel Interurban Passenger Car		St. Louis Car Company	1945	Operational, In Regular Service	CA&E, Trolleyville USA	This car is one of the few CA&E cars that still has a toilet inside!
CNS&M #715	Steel Interurban Passenger Car		Cincinnati Car Company	1926	Operational, In Regular Service	CNS&M	This is one of the museum's five regular service cars.
CNS&M #756	Steel Interurban Passenger Car		Standard Steel Car Company	1930	Awaiting Restoration	CNS&M	It's painted to look like shiny stainless steel.
CCRy #L-202	Steel Electric Switcher Locomotive		Chicago City Railway	1908	Operational, In Occasional Service	CCRy, CTA	This electric locomotive was used to move cars around in train yards.
CCRy #S-314	Flatcar With Crane		Chicago City Railway	1907	In Need of Servicing, Used For Non-Revenue Maintenance Work	CCRy, CTA	This car is used for maintenance work on the tracks.
CRT #4103	Steel Center-Door Rapid Transit Car		Cincinnati Car Company	1914	Awaiting Restoration	CRT, CTA	This car is a "Baldy" type, meaning it used a third rail for power, not overhead wires.
CTA #4451	Steel Rapid Transit Car		Cincinnati Car Company	1924	Operational, In Regular Service	CRT, CTA	This car is a "Plushie" type with two doors per side and trolley poles on the roof.
CTA #4288	Steel Rapid Transit Car		Cincinnati Car Company	1922	Currently Being Restored	CRT, CTA	This car is very similar to #4451. It will likely run with #4451 when restored.
CSL #6	Street Railway Post Office		American Car Company	1891, Modified Circa 1900	Awaiting Restoration	CCRy, CSL	This is a rare example of a streetcar that was also a post office! It was damaged in an incident at the museum in 2018. It's the oldest trolley car at the museum.
CTA #5001	Steel Rapid Transit Car		Pullman-Standard	1947	Awaiting Restoration	CTA	This is a rare "articulated" car, meaning it has sections that can bend.
CTA #40	Steel Rapid Transit Car		St. Louis Car Company	1959	Operational, In Regular Service	CTA	This car is used for the museum's "Polar Express" event. It's one of the newer cars at the museum.
CTA #43	Steel Rapid Transit Car		St. Louis Car Company	1959	Operational, In Regular Service	CTA	Also used for the "Polar Express" event.
CTA #45	Steel Rapid Transit Car		St. Louis Car Company	1959	Awaiting Restoration	CTA	One of the newer cars at the museum.
CTA #MS-65	25 Ton Diesel-Electric Switcher		General Electric	1942	Operational, In Occasional Service	CTA
WSRR #73	70 Ton Diesel-Electric Switcher		Whitcomb Locomotive Works	1948	Awaiting Restoration	WSRR
WCL #2013	Steel Ice Refrigerator Car		Unknown	1956	Operational, In Occasional Service	WCL
SOO #130	Wooden Caboose		Missouri	1887	Currently Being Restored	SOO	This is the oldest car in the museum's collection!
SOO #117	Steel Caboose		International Car Company	1973	Undergoing Restoration	SOO	This is the newest car in the museum's collection, acquired in 2023.
IC #9648	Steel Caboose		IC	1957	Operational, In Occasional Service	IC	This is a rare type of caboose with a side door.
CTC #788	2 Foot Gauge Ash Car		Unknown	Unknown	Static Display	CTC, MSI	This car is special because it's the only one of its kind that survived the Chicago Tunnel Company Flood of 1992. It was restored in July 2024.
CPR #7700-12	Steel Motorcar (Speeder)		Unknown	Unknown	Operational, in occasional service for track work	CPR
IC #F8695	Steel Motorcar (Speeder)		Fairmont	1958	Operational, in occasional service for track work	IC	It was originally located in Lena, Illinois.
RDJ #1719	Double-Trucked Open-Air Trolley Car		Rio De Janeiro Tramway Light and Power Company	1911	Awaiting Restoration	RDJ, Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad	The museum used this car until 1983.

Vehicles That Have Left the Museum

The museum sometimes sells or trades vehicles. Here are some that have moved on to new homes:

Name	Type	Image	Builder	Built	Status	New Owner	Year Sold
MUNI #1030	Single-Ended PCC Car		St. Louis Car Company	1953	Inoperable	Scrapped	2024
AE&FRE #7	Piggyback Flat Car		Standard Steel Car Company	1927	Inoperable	Bob Harris (South Shore Line Collector) in Indiana	2024
CSS&SB #7	Steel Interurban Passenger Car		Pullman Car Company	1927	Inoperable	Bob Harris (South Shore Line Collector) in Indiana	2020
CSS&SB #14	Steel Interurban Passenger Car	(Car On The Left)	Pullman Car Company		Scrapped, no longer in existence	Parts went to Bob Harris, car body was scrapped by FRTM	2020
CTA #6101-6102	Steel Rapid Transit Car		St. Louis Car Company	1950	Operable	CTA Heritage Fleet	2018
JTC #362	Steel Streetcar		St. Louis Car Company	1926	In Storage	Vintage Electric Streetcar Company	2010
CSS&SB #24	Steel Interurban Passenger Car	Note: Car #24 is on the rear of the train.	Pullman Car Company	1927	Operable	East Troy Electric Railroad	1992
RDJ #441	Single-Trucked Open-Air Trolley Car		Rio De Janeiro	1909	In Storage	Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad	1984
CNS&M #415	Steel Dining Car		Cincinnati Car Company	1926	In Storage	Seashore Trolley Museum	1977
PRT #C-150	Wood Rapid Transit Snowplow		J. G. Brill Company	1912	???	???	???