From the earliest days of railroading right up to the present, the movement of freight has been a primary role of railroads. Two of the cars in the Freight Train Exhibit focus specifically on the trains that kept the Chicago Stockyards, at one time among the largest in the world, in business.
- See how cattle, pigs, and other meat “on the hoof” was moved in special ventilated stock cars
- Step inside a refrigerated boxcar, or “reefer,” and discover how the invention of refrigerated railway cars revolutionized American life
- Walk through a railroad caboose and learn about the role a freight train’s conductor played
- See a wedge-nosed snow plow that was used to clear snow from the railroad tracks
The Freight Train Exhibit is located inside Barn 3, along Depot Street just south of the East Union Depot, on the southernmost track. The exhibit is open for self-guided tours whenever the museum is open.