Highlights of the 2017 Monticello Railway Museum Railroad Days Monticello, IL 09/16/17 (1/2)

Описание: Something that is becoming a every year thing for me is the Monticello Railway Museum Railroad Days at the Monticello Railway Museum not far west from Champaign, IL. I went last year and was very impressed. Sure the Illinois Railway Museum may have more equipment as it is a bigger museum, but this museum has many good items of it's own plus the train rides actually take you into the town. While on regular days where one diesel engine operates passenger trains or the Southern Railway steam engine 401, the diesel days has the 401 steam engine pulling a passenger train, a diesel pulling a freight/caboose train, and a diesel passenger train using air conditioned Illinois Central coaches. Plus there is a yard switcher engine that pulls a caboose hop between the yard/engine facility and a display barn which has items like a beautifully restored Wabash club car and Shedd Aquarium car. I rode the steam train pulled by Southern 401 (BLW 2-8-0 built 1907) to the downtown Wabash depot and took the diesel passenger train back pulled by CN 6789 (FPA4 built 4/1959). My girlfriend was with me making it even more enjoyable. We then took motor cars out to White Heath on the museum's rail line which incorporates former Illinois Terminal and Wabash trackage. Plenty of footage that I had to split it into two parts. Not only was the focus on the trains but much of the equipment there inside the barns and out including a old Pennsylvania caboose that was acquired just a couple days earlier. Enjoy and don't forget to comment and subscribe!!
0:00 Southern Railway 401 reverses down the yard track to fetch the passenger cars it would be pulling from the barn.
0:47 A freight/caboose train pulled by IC 8733 (Rebuilt EMD GP11 built 12/1958), heads toward downtown Monticello.
1:47 Southern 401 gets into postion at the Nelson Crossing Depot to pull the first passengers of the day.
3:14 Look at a couple cabooses in the display barn including Wabash 2824 and Wabash 2834
3:23 Inside a Wabash club car that has to be the best restored car I've seen the inside of.
5:36 A view inside and out of a unique Shedd Aquarium (Chicago) car used to carry fish to/from the ocean to the city. The passenger compartment is being restored.
6:12 IC 6071 (SD40-2R built 7/1964) on display and with the engine doors open on the its right side meaning that it's currently being worked on.
6:42 A Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal caboose interior and exterior and a Northern Pacific caboose.
7:43 A view of some of the previously mentioned equipment from the other side.
9:18 The caboose hop led by MILW 1649 (NW2 built 11/1947) picks up a crew member before heading to pick up riders. A Pennsylvania Railroad caboose sits nearby recently donated to the museum after it's owner had recently passed. It was relocated from Chestnut, IL and was built in 1917.
9:49 CN 6789 leads a passenger train made up of Illinois Central coaches coming from downtown Monticello.
11:01 Riding the caboose hop to the yard and shops
13:40 View of ex PRR E8A in the shop, the plan is to paint it in Illinois Central passenger colors to match the passenger coach set. Wabash F7A 1189 (built 3/1952) is also featured, it switches with CN 6789 pulling the trains.
14:42 Various other pieces of equipment featured including a couple cranes, IC 704 (RS3 built 9/1955), Illinois Central caboose, and more.
16:01 Lincoln Sand and Gravel 44 built 1940, Delaware & Hudson baggage car 405, Illinois Central Mail Car, Norfolk and Western Caboose.
17:21 Southern 401 returning to the Nelson crossing depot where we would board. Such a beautiful engine.
18:39 The freight/caboose train heads toward downtown Monticello as Southern 401 arrives at the depot
19:30 Republic Steel 191
20:19 Inside a mail car, a Santa Fe car,
21:29 Various railroad exhibits inside a car
21:49 Getting ready to board Southern 401
22:29 Riding behind Southern 401 to downtown Monticello, I cut the part out where the train backs up to near White Heath due to length. The trains do this in order to get on the mainline. There is a bridge over a creek that is dried up due to a minor drought we are in. Quite the nice ride with a view of the engine from our car.
31:36 Inside the old Wabash depot built in the late 1800s.
32:13 Southern 401 departs towards the Nelson crossing dept. Note the discharge of steam and how it nearly plows that plant over.
33:29 A couple model railroad layouts on display in a building near the Wabash depot