Pictures from Chuck Amstein - Pt. 1

I haven't had time to add captions yet, but you'll get the idea.  Thanks as always to Chuck for providing such great photography.

Who Dares Stand Idle?

Don't just sit there.  It's Labor Day Weekend.  We've got work to do!  And since the wood cars are scheduled for all three days, somebody's got to be there to make sure nothing goes wrong.  Or at least take the blame if it does.  

Today it was just Frank and his father, generally known as Frank Sr.  We were too busy to take many pictures, but our friend Chuck was there, and I'm sure he'll have plenty of great photos to share.  Dick Lukin was there, and we talked with some visitors from Seashore, and so on.

We were running the 308 and 309 today, and everything went well.  We didn't even have our usual bugaboo, the dewirement.  I'm pretty sure we never had to pull a rope out of retrieve.  Of course, I suppose that means tomorrow will be a nightmare, but we'll see.

And the 4000's were running, as was much more common back in the good old days.

The earlier wood cars, I must admit, have the world's worst trap door design, so we generally tried to use the yellow steps whenever possible.

And to keep the passengers entertained, Frank brought out his portable Victrola and some old records.   Keep the home fires burning!

And we terminated at 50th Avenue for one trip, which is always good.

And look, there goes the open car!

The LGB train guys had their layout set up by the depot, as usual.

Say, did we ever mention anything about night operations?  I think we did!  At about 4:00, the North Shore cars came out to take our place, and they were going to be running until 9 or so.  Tomorrow night it will be the CA&E cars running late, so don't miss it.

And here's Greg Ceurvorst, ready to take the first trip.

We'll have many more pictures from this weekend soon, so please stay tuned.  And by the way, for Sunday and Monday we will have Burlington Zephyr service.  It'll probably be even better than this:

IRM Newsletter for September

Nighttime Trains This Weekend Special trains including Frisco 1630 and our 1906 wooden interurban cars will operate all three days of Labor Day Weekend. Saturday and Sunday, they'll be running until 9:30pm, providing a uniquely immersive experience. There are a lot of other things happening at IRM too. Special twilight and nighttime train operations Labor Day Weekend Buy tickets for Happy Holiday Railway now and save! Museum Showcase Weekend is September 16th & 17th The rubber meets the road: September 30th is Bus Day New event for this year: Milwaukee Transit Day Santa Fe "Warbonnet" 92 fired up for the first time Ceremonial start of work on new Main Street building Electric Car Department progress Painting work on Illinois Central lightweight car Visit us online for schedules, blog updates, and more Night Trains Labor Day Weekend One of the best times of the year to visit IRM is on Labor Day Weekend, when train operations extend until 9:30pm. Nighttime operations give an indescribable "time machine" feel, transporting you back a century in a way you have to be there to experience! It's also a great photo opportunity. Night trains run Saturday and Sunday and are included with your regular ticket those days. See our website for more information Happy Holiday Railway tickets Take a train ride with Santa - and if you buy your tickets now you can get $3 off per ticket! This family event features a magical train ride with Santa, cookies, gifts, carols, and a winter wonderland of lights and holiday decorations. Prices go up after Labor Day so don't delay! Click here for tickets and information Museum Showcase Weekend Coming up September 16th & 17th is our annual Museum Showcase Weekend celebration, when we show off some of the more rarely-seen pieces in the collection. It's a great time to visit if you're interested in seeing some unusual trains that don't make it out onto the railroad very often. Bring your camera and get ready for a great time! See our schedule for more information 2nd Annual Bus Day at IRM It's not just trains that are preserved at IRM; we also have a renowned collection of historic motor buses and trolley buses. The best day of the year to see and ride these artifacts is September 30th, our 2nd Annual Bus Day. Go off the rails and come see a different side of our collection! Schedule information on our website Milwaukee Transit Day On October 7th the biggest and best collection of 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! "Warbonnet" 92 Fired Up The museum's FP45 "Warbonnet" diesel, Santa Fe 92, is seeing rapid progress. On August 21st its newly-installed 20-cylinder prime mover was fired up for the first time. Work on testing the locomotive is in progress and soon IRM should have a fully operational FP45. But funding is badly needed to complete backdating work and, eventually, repaint this iconic engine. Click for more information on this project Groundbreaking on New Building The next building to be added to our Main Street Scene, on the south side of the main parking lot, will be a library and archives building. In August a ceremonial groundbreaking was held by the Milwaukee Road Historical Association, which is assisting with building construction and will be housing archive materials in the building. Looking to help? Consider buying a historic CTA sign from our online store! Click here for info. Illinois Central Car Painting The volunteers in our Passnger Car Department have turned their attention to Illinois Central (ex-Missouri Pacific) food bar/coach car. Built in 1948, it was acquired by IRM nearly 20 years ago but is now the focus of significant work. Most noticeably, its white primer is being replaced by attractive brown and orange. Click here for more information on this project Stay tuned next month for information on the winner(s) of our Family Fun Photo Contest! Visit us online for schedules, blog updates, and more Copyright © 2017 Illinois Railway Museum, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have purchased a ticket in the past. The Illinois Railway Museum is located at 7000 Olson Road, Union, IL 60180 Our contact information: PO Box 427, Union, IL 60180 - Phone 815-923-4391  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.