Illinois Railway Museum

It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, 55 miles (89 km) northwest of downtown Chicago.

Illinois Railway Museum
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+1⁄2 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+1⁄2 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
Website
irm.org
Route map Legend Elgin and Belvidere Electric west to Belvidere and Rockford Union Pacific Railroad Schmidt Siding 50th Ave. Central Ave. East Union Barn 9 North Depot St. Springfield Ave. Electric Park Boot Creek Johnson Siding Seeman Road 4 Mile Siding South Branch Kishwaukee River Elgin and Belvidere Electric east to Elgin

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.

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.

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		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		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1943	Display	Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
Burlington Northern 1	EMD F9A		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		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1943	Display	City of Cincinnati, Ohio
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 114	GE U28B		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		Steam Locomotive	Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works	1892	Display	City of Aurora, Illinois
Chicago Burlington and Quincy 3007	4-6-4 Hudson		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1930	Display, awaiting restoration	City of Griggsville, Illinois
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 4963	2-8-2 Mikado		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1923	Display	Chicago scrapyard
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9255	EMD SW7		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		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1953	Operational	Burlington Northern
Chicago And North Western 411	EMD F7A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1949	Operational	Metra
Chicago And North Western 515	EMD E8A		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		Diesel Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1954	Operational	Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Chicago And North Western 6847	EMD SD40-2		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		Electric Locomotive	GE Transportation	1949	Display, operable	Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
Commonwealth Edison 5	0-6-0 switcher		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1922	Display	Chicago scrapyard
Commonwealth Edison 15	EMD SW1		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		Steam locomotive	H.K. Porter, Inc.	1925	Display	Private owner
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton 16	4-4-0		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1915	Display	The Henry Ford Museum
Grand Trunk Western 6323	4-8-4 Northern (Confederation)		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1942	Display	Private owner in Detroit, Michigan
Grand Trunk Western 8380	0-8-0 switcher		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1929	Display	Northwestern Steel and Wire Company
Graysonia Nashville and Ashdown 26	2-6-0 Mogul		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		Steam Locomotive	Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works	1880	Display	Private owner
Illinois Central 3719	2-6-0 Mogul		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		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		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1919	Display	South Shore Railroad
MBTA 902	EMD GP9		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1957	Display	MBTA
Metra 308	EMD F7A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1949	Operational	Metra
Milwaukee Road 30	Sedan		Inspection car	Dodge	1947	Display	Mid-Continent Railway Museum
Milwaukee Road 118C	EMD F7A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1951	Operational	Milwaukee Road
Milwaukee Road 265	4-8-4 Northern		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		Diesel Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1948	Operational	Minneapolis Northfield and Southern Railway
Minnesota Transfer Railway 200	Alco RS3		Diesel Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1951	Operational	Minnesota Transfer Railway
Nekoosa Paper 14	ALCO S1		Diesel Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1947	Operational	Nekoosa Paper, Inc.
Norfolk and Western 2050	2-8-8-2 Y3a		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1923	Display	Armco
Pennsylvania Railroad 4927	PRR GG1		Electric Locomotive	GE Transportation	1942	Display	Amtrak
Public Service Co. 7	0-6-0 Tank locomotive		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1926	Display	Central Illinois Public Service Company
Rock Island 938	4-6-2 Pacific		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1910	Display	Fort Worth and Western Railroad
Rock Island 4506	EMD GP7R		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1952	Operational	Chicago And North Western
Southern Pacific 975	2-10-2 Santa Fe type		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		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		Fireless Steam Locomotive	H.K. Porter, Inc.	1946	Display	Transport Museum Association
Union Pacific 18	Union Pacific GTEL		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		Diesel Locomotive	GE Transportation	1988	Operational	Union Pacific
Union Pacific 6930	EMD DDA40X "Centennial"		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1970	Display	Union Pacific
United States Army 8537	GE 45-ton switcher		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		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

• Toronto Transit Commission CLRV #4034, the newest in the museum's streetcar collection. The streetcar is being regauged (truck exchange or Wheelset exchange) from TTC gauge (4 ft 10+7⁄8 in / 1,495 mm) to operate on IRM's 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge trackage.
• Nebraska Zephyr: Streamlined Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad passenger train
• North Shore Line Electroliner trainset: One of only two built, under restoration
• Two New York City Transit Authority IRT Division R28 Series subway cars from 1960 (numbers 7926–7927): Built by ACF in the Berwick, Pennsylvania Plant
• The museum's depot: Built in 1851 for the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, the oldest train station west of the Appalachian Mountains in regular use
• 23 electric trolleybuses from Chicago, Dayton, Ohio, Cleveland, Des Moines, Iowa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Indianapolis, and Seattle;
• 13 motor buses: from CTA (3), Janesville, WI (2), RTA (1), CMC (1), CSL (1), NSL (1), StL Public Service (1), Connecticut Co (1), Bee Line (1), and Montebello (1).

Formerly-owned locomotives

Locomotive	Class	Image	Type	Builder	Built	Status	Owner
Bessemer and Lake Erie 154	2-8-0 Consolidation		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1909	Static display	The Henry Ford Museum
Georgia Northern 102	4-6-0 Ten wheeler		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1923	Static display	End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum
Lake Superior and Ishpeming 34	2-8-0 Consolidation		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1916	Stored	Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
Norfolk and Western 475	4-8-0 Mastodon		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1906	Operational	Strasburg Rail Road
Polson Logging Co. 2	2-8-2		Steam locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1912	Operational	Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, Oregon Rail Heritage Center

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.

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".

• Day Out with Thomas
• Happy Holiday Railroad
• Bunny Trolley Hop

• 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