On Friday, May 15th, IRM received four pieces of historic transit equipment donated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Two of these were ‘L’ cars recently retired from service and the other two were historically significant motor buses. The ‘L’ cars, CTA 2871 and 2872, were built in 1984 by

The Museum is pleased to announce that its latest storage building has been completed and was approved for occupancy on Friday, April 17th. This building, formally known as the Bob Bourne Transit Building, was constructed as part of the RAIL Project. Initial planning and fundraising were done by the Motor

A new television special premiering Monday, April 13th, 2026, at 7:00pm on WTTW, will feature the Illinois Railway Museum. Riding the Rails with Geoffrey Baer is a 60-minute television special that tells the story of how railroads shaped the Chicago area. Baer travels around northern Illinois to discover traces of

UNION, IL — The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) will host a major retrospective exhibition, “Under the Wire – The Art and Life of Mitch Markovitz,” showcasing more than 50 years of original paintings and posters by acclaimed artist Mitch Markovitz. The exhibit opens Sunday, April 12, 2026, with a public

Construction work on Barn 15 is complete, and on Friday, February 27th, the Museum received the occupancy permit for the building. Over the weekend, IRM volunteers began switching equipment into the barn, starting with passenger cars and diesels. The completion of Barn 15 comes 10 years to the month after

The safety of our guests, volunteers, and staff is our top priority, and the expected conditions would make travel and event operations unsafe. We know this is disappointing news, especially during such a festive season, and we truly appreciate your understanding. Next steps: Fear not, you can still visit Happy

On Saturday, November 1st, join the Illinois Railway Museum on the Fall Colors Express. This day of excursions on the Chicago ‘L’ system is being hosted by IRM and the Chicago Transit Authority’s Heritage Fleet Program. Three excursion trips over the course of the day will feature CTA 6000-series ‘L’

The SD70MAC was the first production AC traction locomotive in the US Burlington Northern Santa Fe 9400, the SD70MAC diesel locomotive that pioneered AC traction for freight service in the United States when it was built in 1993, has been donated by BNSF to the Illinois Railway Museum for preservation.

UNION, IL: Dynamic Rail Preservation (DynaRail) and the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) are pleased to announce that DynaRail has donated the two ex-Amtrak diesel locomotives under its care to IRM. The locomotives are Amtrak 231, an F40PHR built in 1977, and Amtrak 644/BNSF 6976, an SDP40F built in 1974. Number

Every day a steam engine operates, a little bit of wear occurs. It is our fundamental belief that we have an obligation to the future to put more life into Frisco 1630 than we take out of it through regular operation so it can operate far into the future. Every