Well, you folks wanted it, so here it is, the GRAND tour of the Illinois Railway Museum(IRM).
The IRM is located in Union Illinois, about halfway between Chicago and Rockford.
I am doing this post for several reasons, i want to give you folks an idea of just how AWESOME the IRM really is, and i hope those of you that probably wont get a chance to see it will find this post to be informative. In NO WAY do i want to take away from the IRM, i hope this post encourages you folks to get over there and see just how neat it really is.
I am really only just slightly touching on some of the MANY things the IRM has to offer.
The IRM is so HUGE, and has SO MUCH, that i couldn't even begin to show you folks everything.
this is like the eighth consecutive year i have been there, and though i am showing you some pics of it, those that haven't been there are really missing out.
The IRM's goal is to restore everything they have there, and every year i go, i see them getting more and more of this goal accomplished, there is ALWAYS some NEW things to see or do, EVERY TIME i go.
MANY of the diesel engines i am posting actually RUN!:eeki: , how neat is that!:thumb: , because of the IRM, i can HONESTLY say: I KNOW EXACTLY what an FM, Alco, Baldwin, etc sound like running, and how the exhaust from them smells, i tell you folks, if your a train nut, the IRM is an ABSOLUTE MUST to go to and see.
ANYTIME is a good time to go to the IRM, but if you want to see/hear/smell most of the diesels running, the best weekend to go is in July, on "diesel days", on that weekend the IRM pulls out engines that you normally wouldn't see, because they are being worked on, or what ever.
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I am sorry folks, but most the pics i am posting are not that great a shots, but none the less, i felt i wanted you folks to see them for one reason or another.
I guess i have rambled enough, so i recommend getting a beverage of your choice(coffee for me:mrgreen: ), and just sit back, and enjoy the show:smilie: .
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As you enter the IRM, you come up on the East Union Station, if i remember right, this was the REAL station in Union, and it was moved to the museum to preserve it.
(i guess i should have done better research:119: )
Follow me folks, lets head over to "signal row", here they have just about every type of RR signal ever made. many of them are hooked up and really work too!
The IRM has many "barns", this is good because it keeps some of the old stuff from getting further damage. some of the barns are closed to the public, like the diesel shop...
...but MANY of the barns are open to the public, and have stuff like trolleys, interurbans, passenger cars, steam engines, etc.
Getting pictures in the barns is next to impossible, they are so packed full, and the paths in them are only 3'-4' wide.
lets go into a couple of them and see SOME of whats in them.
WOW!!!:eeki: , a Pennsy GG1
How about a "Little Joe"
WHOLLY SMOKES!:eeki: its the ELECTROLINER!!!
Hey folks, MUCH of whats at the IRM has "Info Boards" on or by them, PLEASE take the time to read them, but WATCH OUT, if your not careful, you just might learn something.
Lets check out the inside of these two cars in this barn, first, the inside of a Diner...
...and now, the inside of a lounge car.
OK, now we will check out the inside of the Steamer barn...WOW!:eeki: , i don't think i have seen Wayne and nutbar move so fast to get to the front of the line:119: . this is only a VERY SMALL sample of whats inside.
This GTW's all weather cab has Wayne wrote all over it:winki: .
Since we are checking out Steamers, lets see SOME of them outside...here's a tissue Gus, you might need it for some of these:frowns: .
Lets end our steamer tour with a engine that was the EXACT SAME model type as the famous(dead) Casey Jones was the engineer on.
The IRM has MANY different RR signs, lets check some out.
I don't know about you folks, but my feet are getting a little tired, lets catch one of the MANY Trolleys/Interurbans, and head over to the restaurant:winki: .
The Diner isn't finished yet, but the restaurant behind it serves good food, is reasonably priced, has air conditioning, and CLEAN restrooms.
OK, now that we are rested up, lets go and check out SOME of the MANY passenger cars/caboose's/freight cars.
Hey folks, this is the VERY LAST KNOWN "butter dish" milk car, popular in the 20's.(they don't make these in model, i wish some one would make one)
We will end this part of the tour with a UP caboose.
Before we go on to the Diesels, look at this UP snow plow.
TO THE DIESELS!:thumb:
We will start out with MY FAVORITE IN THE WHOLE WORLD, UP's #18 GAS TURBINE! Just to give you folks an idea on how big this is, i am 5'11'', that engine is HUGE! (thats me!:mrgreen: )
How about a DD40AX ...Jim, no you cant get in the cab of it.
Here are some shots of two FM's. the first one, #760 is the VERY FIRST FM EVER MADE, AND IT RUNS!.
A Baldwin, THAT RUNS!, for Kurt.
This is the VERY LAST KNOWN E5.
A CNW RDC
I have a BLI model of THIS EXACT ENGINE, its so cool.
Lets keep going and see SOME more diesels
I want to add, most ALL of the diesels i posted, REALLY RUN!
:bravo:
IRM, :bravo:
I really hope this tour has inspired some of you to check out the IRM, as you can see, its quite an AWESOME place. and like i mentioned before, i really didn't even scratch the surface of the place, it has SO MUCH MORE then i posted, and there is more & more added to see and do there EVERY YEAR!
Well folks, its the end of the line for this tour, i hope you all have enjoyed it, and didn't mind some of the corny captions i made.
I would like to thank my Dad for going to the IRM with me every year, THANKS DAD!
AND AS ALWAYS....
Till next time...STAY ON TRACK!:mrgreen: