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.^[3][4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] There are over 500 pieces of equipment, and over 100 acres of land owned by the museum.^[4]

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),^[7] 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.^[8] 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^[9]
• 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	Notes
St. Louis-San Francisco 1630	2-10-0 Decapod		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1918	Operational	Eagle-Picher Ore Mine	Often used on coach trains out of East Union Station.[10]
American Creosote Works 7	0-4-0 Tank locomotive		Steam locomotive	Vulcan Iron Works	1917	Display	American Creosote Works (Jackson)	Arrived in 1971. Smallest locomotive in the collection.[11]
Amtrak 945	EMD AEM-7		Electric Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1982	Display	Amtrak	Incompatible electric system. Can only operate under 11,000 AC Volts as opposed to the museum's 600 DC Volts.
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 92	EMD FP45		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1967	Operational	Santa Fe	Built as Santa Fe 102
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 2903	4-8-4 Northern		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1943	Display	Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)	Arrived in 1993.
Burlington Northern 1	EMD F9A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1954	Operational	Burlington Northern	Built as Northern Pacific 6700A
Burlington Northern 2	EMD F9B		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1954	Operational	Burlington Northern	Built as Northern Pacific 7002C
Burlington Northern 3	EMD E9A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1956	Operational	Burlington Northern	Formerly Burlington Northern 9919
Burlington Northern 5383	GE U30C		Diesel Locomotive	GE Transportation	1974	Operational	Burlington Northern	Repainted In 2006.
Chesapeake and Ohio 2707	2-8-4 Kanawha		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1943	Display	City of Cincinnati, Ohio	Only 2-8-4 in the collection.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 114	GE U28B		Diesel Locomotive	GE Transportation	1967	Operational	Burlington Northern	Only non-rebuilt GE U28B in preservation.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 504	EMD SD24		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1959	Operational	Burlington Northern	Formerly Burlington Northern 6244.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 637	4-6-0 Ten wheeler		Steam Locomotive	Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works	1892	Display	City of Aurora, Illinois	Second oldest locomotive in the collection, formerly used for the CB&Q's steam excursion trains in the 1950s.
Chicago Burlington and Quincy 3007	4-6-4 Hudson		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1930	Display, awaiting restoration	City of Griggsville, Illinois	Only 4-6-4 in the collection.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 4963	2-8-2 Mikado		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1923	Display	Chicago scrapyard	Traded for five Grand Trunk Western 0-8-0s in the early 1990s.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9255	EMD SW7		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1950	Operational	Burlington Northern	Formerly Burlington Northern 121, later served the Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern Railroad.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9911A Silver Pilot	EMD E5		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1940	Operational	Chicago Burlington And Quincy	Only surviving EMD E5, often paired with the Nebraska Zephyr.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy 9976	EMD E9A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1953	Operational	Burlington Northern	Recently Burlington Northern 9908
Chicago And North Western 411	EMD F7A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1949	Operational	Metra	Ex Metra 305
Chicago And North Western 515	EMD E8A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1953	Operational	Iowa Pacific Holdings	Originally C&NW 5029B
Chicago And North Western 1518	EMD GP7		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1949	Operational	Chicago And North Western	First EMD GP7 ever built.
Chicago And North Western 1689	Alco RSD5		Diesel Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1954	Operational	Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad	Formerly operated by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
Chicago And North Western 6847	EMD SD40-2		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1976	Operational	Union Pacific	Formerly Union Pacific 3028
Chicago & North Western 7009	EMD SD50		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1985	Operational	Chicago & North Western, National Railway Equipment (NREX)	First SD50 to be preserved.[12]
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	Operated on the museum's trackage from 1970 to 1974.
Commonwealth Edison 15	EMD SW1		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1950	Operational	Midwest Generation LLC	Often seen on the Caboose Train
Conrail 4601	GE E33		Electric Locomotive	GE Transportation	1956	Display	Railroad Museum of New England	Formerly Virginian Railway 131. One of only two E33s left to be preserved.
Coronet Phosphate 9	2-6-2 Prairie tank locomotive		Steam locomotive	H.K. Porter, Inc.	1925	Display	Private owner	Arrived in 2008.[13]
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton 16	4-4-0		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1915	Display	The Henry Ford Museum	One of only two DT&I steam locomotives to be preserved. Traded for Bessemer and Lake Erie 154.
Grand Trunk Western 6323	4-8-4 Northern (Confederation)		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1942	Display	Private owner in Detroit, Michigan	Famous for being the very last steam locomotive to operate under GTW ownership.
Grand Trunk Western 8380	0-8-0 switcher		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1929	Display	Northwestern Steel and Wire Company[14]
Graysonia Nashville and Ashdown 26	2-6-0 Mogul		Steam locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1926	Display	Private owner	Arrived in 1974.[15]
Green Bay and Western 2407	Alco RSD15		Diesel Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1960	Operational	Green Bay and Western Railroad	Formerly Santa Fe 841
Illinois Central 201	2-4-4T		Steam Locomotive	Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works	1880	Display	Private owner	Oldest locomotive in the collection.
Illinois Central 3719	2-6-0 Mogul		Steam locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1900	Display	Steamtown, U.S.A.	One of the largest 2-6-0s to be preserved.[16]
Illinois Terminal 1605	EMD GP7		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1953	Operational	Illinois Terminal Railroad	Formerly Norfolk & Western 3406
J. Neils Lumber Co. No. 5	3 Truck Shay		Steam Locomotive	Lima Locomotive Works	1929	Operational	J. Neils Lumber Co.	Previously woodfired and converted to run on coal.
Lake Superior and Ishpeming 35	2-8-0 Consolidation		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1916	Display	Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad	One of only three LS&I SC-1 locomotives to be preserved.
Lehigh and New England 207	0-6-0 switcher		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1936	Display	Private owner in Detroit, Michigan	The only Lehigh and New England relic in the collection.[17]
Louisiana and Arkansas 99	2-8-0 Consolidation		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1919	Display	South Shore Railroad	Arrived in 1971.[18]
MBTA 902	EMD GP9		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1957	Operational	MBTA	Formerly GTW and SEMTA
Metra 308	EMD F7A		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive	1949	Operational	Metra	ex C&NW 414. As of 2020, still in original Metra paint scheme.
Milwaukee Road 30	Sedan		Inspection car	Dodge	1947	Display	Mid-Continent Railway Museum	Sold to the museum on May 26, 2014.[19]
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	One of only two Milwaukee Road S3s to be preserved.
Milwaukee Road 760	FM H10-44		Diesel Locomotive	Fairbanks-Morse	1944	Operational	Milwaukee Road	First Diesel built by Fairbanks - Morse.
Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern 21	Baldwin DT-6-6-2000		Diesel Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1948	Operational	Minneapolis Northfield and Southern Railway	The only Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 left to be preserved.
Minnesota Transfer Railway 200	Alco RS3		Diesel Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1951	Operational	Minnesota Transfer Railway	Used for "Take the Throttle" event at Diesel Days 2019.
Nekoosa Paper 14	ALCO S1		Diesel Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1947	Operational	Nekoosa Paper, Inc.	Ex-South Omaha Terminal
Norfolk and Western 2050	2-8-8-2 Y3a		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1923	Display	Armco	Only articulated steam locomotive in the collection. One of only two N&W Y-Class 2-8-8-2s left to be preserved.
Pennsylvania Railroad 4927	PRR GG1		Electric Locomotive	GE Transportation	1942	Display	Amtrak	Only PRR locomotive in the collection.
Public Service Co. 7	0-6-0 Tank locomotive		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1926	Display	Central Illinois Public Service Company	The first steam locomotive to be donated to the museum.
Rock Island 938	4-6-2 Pacific		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1910	Display	Fort Worth and Western Railroad	One of only four Rock Island steam locomotives left to be preserved.
Rock Island 4506	EMD GP7R		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1952	Operational	Chicago And North Western	Ran as Chicago And North Western 4160 until restoration back into Rock Island Paint.
Southern Pacific 975	2-10-2 Santa Fe type		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1918	Display	City of Beaumont, Texas	One of only two SP F-1 locomotives left to be preserved.
Southern Pacific 1518	EMD SD7		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1951	Operational	Southern Pacific	First SD7 ever built.
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	Operated on the IRM's trackage from 1970 to 1987. It has been disassembled since 1990.[20]
Union Electric Co. 4	0-4-0 Fireless locomotive		Fireless Steam Locomotive	H.K. Porter, Inc.	1946	Display	Transport Museum Association	The only fireless locomotive in the collection.
Union Pacific 18	Union Pacific GTEL		Gas turbine Locomotive	GE Transportation	1960	Display	Union Pacific	One of only two UP gas turbine locomotives left in the United States.
Union Pacific 428	2-8-0 Consolidation		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1900	Undergoing restoration	Union Pacific	Arrived in 1969, undergoing restoration to operating condition.
Union Pacific 1848	GE Dash 8-40B		Diesel Locomotive	GE Transportation	1988	Operational	Union Pacific	Formerly Cotton Belt 8049, second B40-8 restored.
Union Pacific 6930	EMD DDA40X "Centennial"		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1970	Display	Union Pacific	One of several EMD DDA40X locomotives to be preserved.
United States Army 8537	GE 45-ton switcher		Diesel Locomotive		1944	Operational	United States Army Transportation Corps	Has been used as one of the museum's primary switchers for several years.
Wisconsin & Southern 102	EMD E9B		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1955	Operational	Wisconsin Southern	Formerly Union Pacific 967B.
Wisconsin Central 7525	EMD SD45		Diesel Locomotive	Electro-Motive Corporation	1971	Operational	Wisconsin Central	Has Operation Life Saver paint scheme applied. Was also the lead locomotive of the train in the Weyauwega, Wisconsin, derailment.

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	Notes
Bessemer and Lake Erie 154	2-8-0 Consolidation		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1909	Static display	The Henry Ford Museum	Traded for Detroit, Toledo and Ironton 16 in 1989. Resides in Dearborn, Michigan.[21]
Georgia Northern 102	4-6-0 Ten wheeler		Steam Locomotive	American Locomotive Company	1923	Static display	End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum	Moved to Currie, Minnesota, in 1993.[22][23]
Lake Superior and Ishpeming 34	2-8-0 Consolidation		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1916	Stored	Western Maryland Scenic Railroad	Used in excursion service between Cumberland and Frostburg, Maryland, while masquerating as Western Maryland No. 734.[24]
Norfolk and Western 475	4-8-0 Mastodon		Steam Locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1906	Operational	Strasburg Rail Road	Went through several owners, including the IRM between 1980 and 1982, before being restored to operating condition at Strasburg.[25]
Polson Logging Co. 2	2-8-2		Steam locomotive	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1912	Operational	Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, Oregon Rail Heritage Center	The Cadillac and Lake City Railroad donated the engine to the IRM in 1980, and it was purchased by a private owner two years later.[26][27]