The latest from the museum

Remember, you can sign up to receive these e-newsletters yourself at the bottom of www.irm.org:

Cancellations and Covid-19 Updates  It's been a while since we have sent out a newsletter, but that's because there hasn't been much IRM news. The museum is closed until further notice due to coronavirus. We have also cancelled all special events through early September. Among these is Day Out With Thomas, which has been cancelled for 2020. More information may be found below. Featured in this e-newsletter: Day Out With Thomas 2020 cancelled The museum is closed until further notice due to coronavirus New webcam added overlooking museum property Museum acquires 1998 Dayton trolley bus Restoration work continues as volunteers work from home Historic signs available in IRM's online sign shop Planned giving - another way you can support IRM

Visit us online for schedules, blog updates, and more

Day Out With Thomas Cancelled The health and well-being of our guests, volunteers, employees and partners continues to be our first priority. After careful consideration, the Illinois Railway Museum has decided that it will not be possible to hold Day Out With Thomas events in 2020. The museum is continuing to monitor Illinois state guidance as it affects our ability to welcome visitors back to our site, on even a restricted scale. However, it is now clear that we could not realistically hope to safely host the large numbers of visitors attracted by Thomas to the site within the next couple of months. If you already hold tickets for the event, no action is necessary. Ticketweb will begin issuing refunds to the card that was used to buy the tickets within the next week. It is a great sadness to us that this will be the first time in many years that we have not been able to host this event and we hope that you will be able to join us for Day Out With Thomas events in 2021. Thank you for your understanding during these uncertain times. Click here for info

The Museum is closed for now Due to the great deal of uncertainty surrounding opening and operating our Museum campus consistent with public policy and health recommendations, the Illinois Railway Museum remains closed to the public until further notice and has elected to proactively cancel all previously-announced special events scheduled through September 15, 2020. The Museum does not take this action lightly, but it is the most prudent action to take to preserve the health and safety of our volunteers, staff and many valued friends. There currently is not enough official guidance to permit us to predict when the Museum can safely reopen to the public in any manner, let alone our traditional large special events. We will continue to make every reasonable effort to welcome guests back to the Museum and will make announcements on our website and in social media should the opportunity to open the campus or hold any special events present itself. The Museum thanks all of our members and supporters for their understanding and is grateful for the support we have been given in this most difficult time.

New high-def webcam added We are pleased to announce that we have added a new high-definition webcam that is accessible via our website. The camera is available via YouTube's Live Streaming service and overlooks the property from its location atop the historic light tower in our parking lot. Click here to check out our live webcams

New trolley bus acquired On May 1st our latest piece of historic equipment arrived. Dayton 9809 is a type 14TrE2 electric trolley bus built for that city by ETI in 1998 to a Skoda design. It was the last trolley bus of this type in operation and was retired in December 2019. It's one of the most modern pieces of equipment at IRM and helps fill out our unrivalled collection of historic trolley buses. Click for more information

Working from home While the state stay-at-home order has prevented all but essential work from being done on our property by volunteers, that doesn't mean that work has stopped. Many of our volunteers are working from home and making progress on restoration projects. Windows and doors are popular pieces to take home and restore, as are smaller mechanical components. Volunteers are also working on creating new and improved exhibits for our visitors, exhibits that will be assembled and available to see once we reopen. Other behind-the-scenes work includes catching up with necessary maintenance, putting together plans for future events and group offerings, and website and ticketing system upgrades. We hope that you'll like what you see when the museum reopens.

IRM's Online Sign Shop If you are looking for something to give that train lover you know, take a look at IRM's online sign shop. We have dozens of unique and historic Chicago and CTA signs for sale. All sales benefit our sign restoration efforts. Click to check out the Online Sign Shop

Planned Giving and IRM IRM has been around for more than 65 years due to the consistent support of people like you. You can help keep IRM a museum in motion for the next generation through planned giving, either by including the museum in a bequest or as a retirement account beneficiary. Click here for more information