This gateman’s shanty is typical of the ones used on the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee electric interurban railway at its ground-level road crossings. Before the ubiquity of automatic crossing gates, railroad crossings needed to be staffed by a gate operator, and these men were given small buildings – known

The oldest major artifact at IRM isn’t any of the trains – it’s the museum’s depot. The East Union Depot, as it is known today, was built in 1851 by the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, the first railroad built west out of Chicago. Originally this building was located in

At locations where railroads crossed each other at grade (i.e. at the same level), it was usually necessary to install an interlocking tower. This was a manned building, usually two stories tall for better visibility from the tower, where one or more “tower men” would operate the signals and switches

The Schroeder Mercantile Store is a typical commercial building similar to thousands seen in downtown areas all across the country during the 19th and 20th centuries. This building was built at an unknown date and was located very close to IRM, at the corner of Main and Washington Streets just

This gas station office, typical of hundreds once commonly seen across the Midwest, was built by the Sun Oil Company, also known as Sunoco. It was acquired by IRM in 1998 after it fell into disuse. It is currently awaiting restoration and placement at its intended future location on the