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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

The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States.^[1][2] It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, 55 miles (89 km) northwest of downtown Chicago.

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]

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.

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.

Locomotive details^[10][11][12]

Number	Images	Type	Class	Builder	Built	Status	Previous owner
1630		Steam	2-10-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1918	Undergoing 1,472-day inspection and overhaul	Eagle-Picher Ore Mine
7		Steam	0-4-0	Vulcan Iron Works	1917	Display	American Creosote Works
231		Diesel	F40PHR	Electro-Motive Division	1977	Operational, off property, awaiting transit to Museum	Dynamic Rail Preservation
644		Diesel	SDF40-2	Electro-Motive Division	1974	Operational, off property, awaiting transit to Museum	Dynamic Rail Preservation
945		Electric	AEM-7	Electro-Motive Division	1982	Display	Amtrak
92		Diesel	FP45	Electro-Motive Division	1967	Operational	Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
2903		Steam	4-8-4	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1943	Display	Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
1		Diesel	F9A	Electro-Motive Division	1954	Operational	Burlington Northern
2		Diesel	F9B	Electro-Motive Division	1954	Operational	Burlington Northern
3		Diesel	E9A	Electro-Motive Division	1956	Operational	Burlington Northern
5383		Diesel	U30C	GE Transportation	1974	Operational	Burlington Northern
2707		Steam	2-8-4	American Locomotive Company	1943	Display	City of Cincinnati, Ohio
114		Diesel	U28B	GE Transportation	1967	Operational	Burlington Northern
504		Diesel	SD24	Electro-Motive Division	1959	Operational	Burlington Northern
637		Steam	4-6-0	Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works	1892	Display	City of Aurora, Illinois
3007		Steam	4-6-4	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1930	Display, awaiting restoration	City of Griggsville, Illinois
4963		Steam	2-8-2	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1923	Display	Chicago scrapyard
9255		Diesel	SW7	Electro-Motive Division	1950	Operational	Burlington Northern
9911A (Silver Pilot)		Diesel	E5	Electro-Motive Division	1940	Operational	Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
9976		Diesel	E9A	Electro-Motive Division	1953	Operational	Burlington Northern
411		Diesel	F7A	Electro-Motive Division	1949	Operational	Metra
515		Diesel	E8A	Electro-Motive Division	1953	Operational	Iowa Pacific Holdings
1518		Diesel	GP7	Electro-Motive Division	1949	Operational	Chicago and North Western Railway
1689		Diesel	RSD-5	American Locomotive Company	1954	Operational	Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
6847		Diesel	SD40-2	Electro-Motive Division	1976	Operational	Union Pacific Railroad
7009		Diesel	SD50	Electro-Motive Division	1985	Operational	National Railway Equipment
803		Electric	Little Joe	GE Transportation	1949	Operational	Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
5		Steam	0-6-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1922	Display	Chicago scrapyard
15		Diesel	SW1	Electro-Motive Division	1950	Operational	Midwest Generation LLC
4601		Electric	E33	GE Transportation	1956	Display	Railroad Museum of New England
9		Steam	2-6-2	H.K. Porter, Inc.	1925	Display	Private owner
16		Steam	4-4-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1915	Display	The Henry Ford Museum
6323		Steam	4-8-4	American Locomotive Company	1942	Display	Private owner in Detroit, Michigan
8380		Steam	0-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1929	Display	Northwestern Steel and Wire Company
26		Steam	2-6-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1926	Display	Private owner
2407		Diesel	RSD-15	American Locomotive Company	1960	Operational	Green Bay and Western Railroad
201		Steam	2-4-4T	Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works	1880	Display	Private owner
3719		Steam	2-6-0	American Locomotive Company	1900	Display	Steamtown, U.S.A.
1605		Diesel	GP7	Electro-Motive Division	1953	Operational	Norfolk and Western Railroad
5		Steam	Shay	Lima Locomotive Works	1929	Operational	J. Neils Lumber Co.
35		Steam	2-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1916	Display	Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad
207		Steam	0-6-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1936	Display	Private owner in Detroit, Michigan
99		Steam	2-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1919	Display	South Shore Railroad
902		Diesel	GP9	Electro-Motive Division	1957	Display	MBTA
308		Diesel	F7A	Electro-Motive Division	1949	Operational	Metra
614		Diesel	F40C	Electro-Motive Division	1974	Inoperable, awaiting restoration	Metra
30		Inspection car	Sedan	Dodge	1947	Display	Mid-Continent Railway Museum
118C		Diesel	F7A	Electro-Motive Division	1951	Operational	Milwaukee Road
265		Steam	4-8-4	American Locomotive Company	1944	Display	City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
760		Diesel	H-10-44	Fairbanks-Morse	1944	Operational	Milwaukee Road
21		Diesel	DT-6-6-2000	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1948	Operational	Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway
200		Diesel	RS-3	American Locomotive Company	1951	Operational	Minnesota Transfer Railway
14		Diesel	S-1	American Locomotive Company	1947	Operational	Nekoosa Paper, Inc.
2050		Steam	2-8-8-2	American Locomotive Company	1923	Display	AK Steel Holding
4927		Electric	GG1	GE Transportation	1942	Display	Amtrak
7		Steam	0-6-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1926	Display	Central Illinois Public Service Company
938		Steam	4-6-2	American Locomotive Company	1910	Display	Fort Worth and Western Railroad
4506		Diesel	GP9R	Electro-Motive Division	1955	Operational	Rock Island
975		Steam	2-10-2	American Locomotive Company	1918	Display	City of Beaumont, Texas
1518		Diesel	SD7	Electro-Motive Division	1951	Operational	Southern Pacific
400		Diesel	RS-11	American Locomotive Company	1958	Display
800		Diesel	C424	American Locomotive Company	1964	Operational	Morristown and Erie Railway
101		Steam	2-6-2	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1924	Awaiting restoration	T. R. Miller
4		Fireless	0-4-0	H.K. Porter, Inc.	1946	Display	Transport Museum Association
18		Gas turbine	GTEL	GE Transportation	1960	Display	Union Pacific
428		Steam	2-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1900	Under restoration	Union Pacific Railroad
1848		Diesel	Dash 8-40B	GE Transportation	1988	Operational	Union Pacific Railroad
6930		Diesel	DDA40X	Electro-Motive Division	1970	Display	Union Pacific Railroad
8537		Diesel	45-ton switcher	GE Transportation	1944	Operational	United States Army Transportation Corps
967B		Diesel	E9B	Electro-Motive Division	1955	Operational	Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
7525		Diesel	SD45	Electro-Motive Division	1971	Operational	Wisconsin Central
30		Diesel	RS1325	Electro-Motive Division	1960	Operational	Atlantic and Western Railway
9400		Diesel	EMD SD70MAC	Electro-Motive Division	1993	Operational	BNSF Railway

Electric Interurban Cars and Streetcars details^[10]

Number	Image	Type	Builder	Built	Status	Previous Owner(s)
431		Interurban Coach	Cincinnati Car Company	1927	Operational	Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad
409		Interurban Coach	Pullman Car Company	1923	Operational	Trolleyville USA, Chicago Aurora & Elgin
460		Interurban Coach	St. Louis Car Company	1945	Operational	Trolleyville USA, Chicago Aurora & Elgin
451		Interurban Coach	St. Louis Car Company	1945	Under restoration	Trolleyville USA, Chicago Aurora & Elgin
453		Interurban Coach	St. Louis Car Company	1945	Under restoration	Trolleyville USA, Electric City Trolley Museum, Chicago Aurora & Elgin
36		Interurban Coach	Stephenson Car Company	1902	Operational	Trolleyville USA, Chicago Aurora & Elgin
308		Interurban Coach	Niles Car Company	1906	Operational	Indiana Museum of Transportation and Communication, Chicago Aurora & Elgin
309		Interurban Coach	Hicks Car Works	1907	Operational	Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad
319		Interurban Coach	Jewett Car Company	1914	Operational	Trolleyville USA, Chicago Aurora & Elgin
321		Interurban Car	Jewett Car Company	1914	Inoperable	Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad
306		Interurban Coach	St. Louis Car Company	1924	Under restoration	Shaker Heights Rapid Transit,Trolleyville USA, Aurora Elgin & Fox River Electric
160		Interurban Coach	Brill Car Company	1915	Operational	Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
172		Interurban Coach	Cincinnati Car Company	1920	Inoperable	Indiana Railway Museum, Anderson Railroad Club, Indiana Museum of Transportation and Communication, Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee
251		Interurban Combine	Jewett Car Company	1917	Operational	Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee
253		Interurban Combine	Jewett Car Company	1917	Inoperable	Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
714		Interurban Coach	Cincinnati Car Company	1926	Operational	Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
749		Interurban Coach	Pullman Car Company	1928	Operational	Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
757		Interurban Coach	Standard Steel Car Company	1930	Operational	Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society, Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
763		Interurban Coach	Standard Steel Car Company	1930	Inoperable	Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society, Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
801-802 (Electroliner)		Interurban Four-Section Articulated Streamliner	St. Louis Car Company	1941	Under restoration	Philadelphia Suburban Transportation, Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
19		Interurban Coach	Pullman Car Company	1928	Inoperable	National Park Service, Chicago South Shore & South Bend
28		Interurban Coach	Standard Steel Car Company	1929	Inoperable	Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society, Chicago South Shore & South Bend
34		Interurban Coach	Standard Steel Car Company	1929	Operational	Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
40		Interurban Coach	Standard Steel Car Company	1929	Operational	National Park Service, Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
8		Interurban Coach	Pullman Car Company	1926	Inoperable	Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
101		Interurban Center-Entrance Coach	American Car Company	1917	Operational	Illinois Terminal
233		Interurban Office Car	St. Louis Car Company	1906	Inoperable	Illini Railroad Club, Illinois Terminal
234		Interurban Observation Car	Danville Car Company	1910	Operational	Illini Railroad Club, Illinois Terminal
277		Interurban Combine	St. Louis Car Company	1913	Operational	Illinois Terminal
415		Interurban Coach/Streetcar	St. Louis Car Company	1924	Operational	Illinois Terminal
504		Interurban Sleeper	American Car & Foundry Company	1910	Inoperable	Illinois Terminal
518		Interurban Trailer	St. Louis Car Company	1911	Operational	Illini Railroad Club, Illinois Terminal
65		Light Interurban Coach	Pullman Car Company	1931	Operational	Indiana Railroad, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City
1754		Rapid Transit Car	Jewett Car Company	1906	Operational	Chicago Elevated Railway, Chicago Transit Authority
1268		Rapid Transit Trailer	American Car & Foundry Company	1907	Operational	Chicago Rapid Transit Company, Chicago Transit Authority

Source:^[10]

• 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 trainset.
• 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, Boston and Seattle.
• 13 motor buses: from CTA, Janesville, WI, RTA, CMC, CSL, NSL, StL Public Service, Connecticut Co, Bee Line, and Montebello.
• 87 passenger cars: from Budd, ACF, CB&Q, CC&F, MILW, PSC, WC, PC, and SLCC.
• 106 freight cars: from AT&SF, KRLX, AMOX, AC&F, IRCX, B&O, CB&Q, UP, MILW, NYC, CSDX, EVEX, CRIX, SHPX, GN, CPVX, MD&W, TCAX, IT, MD&W, CGW, CN&W, DODX, Bethlehem Steel, NP, BFIX, EJ&E, Amtrak, URTX, GTW, URTX, GPEX, NOKL, St. Louis Car Company, FGEX, PFE, Greenville Steel Car, International Car, CRDX, PC&F, FMC, TTX, AC&F, Standard Steel, PC, PFE, A&W, MDT, FMC, Pressed Steel, EVEX, SRLX, NOKL, KRLX, and H&B.

Locomotive details^[13][14]

Number	Images	Type	Class	Builder	Built	Status	Owner
154		Steam	2-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1909	Display	The Henry Ford Museum
102		Steam	4-6-0	American Locomotive Company	1923	Display	End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum
34		Steam	2-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1916	Stored	Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
475		Steam	4-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1906	Operational	Strasburg Rail Road
2		Steam	2-8-2	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1912	Operational	Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, Oregon Rail Heritage Center

Locomotives that have visited the Illinois Railway Museum in the past have included members of the Union Pacific Heritage Fleet including 6936 and 951, as well as their heritage units, Metra locomotives, and several others.

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.^[15] The 1993 movie Groundhog Day featured the museum's EMD SD24 diesel locomotive.^[15] The museum's grounds and some of the passenger cars were used in the movie The Babe, starring John Goodman.^[15] In late 2005, the Burlington 9911A and several coaches operated to Chicago for filming in Flags of Our Fathers, a Clint Eastwood film.^[16] Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) made IRM the host of several scenes.^[17]

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.^[18] The show Chicago Fire features the IRM onsite in the season 2 episode "No Regrets".^[19]

• Day Out with Thomas

• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Illinois Railway Museum.

External image
Railroad Picture Archives - Photos taken in Union, IL

• Official website