Friday, October 6, 2017

All the news that's fit to e-mail

Well look at that, another issue of the IRM e-newsletter is out. If you'd like to subscribe to receive these, just click here and click the "subscribe" button. And hey, the Snowflake Specials are back!

Happy Holiday Railway is Coming
Following Milwaukee Transit Day this Saturday, our next special event is the Happy Holiday Railway in November and December. Ride the train with Santa, sing carols, enjoy cocoa and treats, and enjoy an enchanting trip through a winter wonderland!
  • Tickets for Happy Holiday Railway are now on sale - buy now to reserve your seat
  • Join us for Milwaukee Transit Day on Saturday, October 7th
  • Snowflake Special excursion on the CTA on November 12th - limited space available!
  • Progress report on Santa Fe "Warbonnet" locomotive 92
  • Memberships for 2018 are now on sale 
  • Steam Department working on getting a second engine running
  • Rock Island locomotive being repainted
Visit us online for schedules, blog updates, and more

Happy Holiday Railway tickets

Take a train ride with Santa and start a new family tradition this year! This event features a magical train ride with Santa, cookies, gifts, carols, plus train displays and holiday lights. Trains run weekends November 25th through December 17th and advance purchase is strongly recommended.
Click here for tickets and information

Milwaukee Transit Day

On October 7th the biggest and best collection of vintage Milwaukee transit equipment anywhere will be on show at IRM. See and ride streetcars, interurbans, trolley buses, and other equipment from the Cream City. Special guided tours of normally off-limits barns will be conducted. Don't miss this unique event highlighting our neighbor city north of the state line! Click here for details.

Snowflake Special Excursion

The museum's famous Snowflake Special excursion is back! On Sunday, November 12th, IRM is sponsoring a special trip on the CTA to raise money for our 'L' car collection. The trip departs Rosemont at 9am and will travel much of the CTA system including non-revenue trackage.
Tickets and more info are available here

Santa Fe "Warbonnet" Progress

Our famous "Warbonnet" diesel locomotive, Santa Fe 92, is operating and undergoing testing at the rebuilder in Silvis, IL. But more funding is needed to put the correct trucks under it. Your support can help bring this historic 50-year-old passenger engine back to IRM fully operational.
Click here for more information

2018 Memberships now on sale

One of the best ways you can support IRM and its preservation activities is by becoming a member. You'll get free admission all year, gift shop and bookstore discounts, and access to special events for members. New members who sign up before November 1st get a free bonus issue of "Rail & Wire" magazine. An IRM membership also makes a great gift!
Sign up online to help support our history

A second steam engine in 2018?

With your help, the answer could be yes! IRM's Steam Team is hard at work on Shay 5, which hasn't run at IRM since the 1990s. They're in the home stretch, with a great deal of work already complete, but progress is being held up by a need for more funding. Please consider a donation to the Steam Department. With your help the museum can have two steam engines fired up for 2018! Click here to help.

Rock Island GP7 Restoration

The IRM Diesel Department is back at it, repainting engines. This time it's Rock Island GP7R 4506, a freight locomotive built in 1952. It's being repainted in its late-1970s colors of light blue and white with "THE ROCK" on the side. Keep an eye on the IRM website blog for more updates on this exciting project!
Click here to support diesel restoration work
Visit us online for schedules, blog updates, and more

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What happened to the Halloween event?

Artschwartz

Randall Hicks said...

Art: I meant to ask around about this issue yesterday, but didn't get a chance. I think that as usual it was a combination of factors. There was too much work required for too little return, and several pieces of equipment essentially had to be dedicated to this event which people were no longer willing to do. And then finding crews was difficult because you typically had to work until midnight. Maybe there were other reasons.