Illinois Railway Museum Showcase Weekend 2018

Описание: After catching 765 racing to Chicago on the morning of September 15, 2018, I headed north out of the suburbs to the small town of Union and the Illinois Railway Museum. Covering 80 acres and owning over 450 pieces of equipment, it is the largest railroad museum in the United States. I visited during the annual Museum Showcase Weekend, and operating that day was Frisco 1630, one of nearly 200 Russian Railways Ye class 2-10-0s stranded in the US by the Bolshevik Revolution, which was celebrating its 100th birthday during the event. Also running was Charles City Western 300, an electric steeple-cab locomotive, Rock Island GP7 4506, some Chicago Aurora and Elgin interurban cars, some Northwestern Elevated 'L' cars, a plethora of trolleys, and the Nebraska Zephyr, which was debuting a restored CB&Q baggage car. At the end of the day steeple-cab 300 developed a problem and was replaced by Minnesota Transfer RS-3 200.

Unfortunately I was just a day too early to see J Neils Lumber Co 5, a shay locomotive under restoration that made some of its first test runs in front of the shop on the 16th. I guess I have a reason to go back!