Search Results for: interurban car

Interurban car returns home to Illinois after 57 years

A piece of Illinois history has returned to the Land of Lincoln after an absence of more than half a century. The Illinois Railway Museum is pleased to announce that Chicago Aurora & Elgin 453, an historic electric interurban car built in 1945, has returned to its home state of

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Historic 1920 interurban car returns home to Illinois

The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) is pleased to announce that it has acquired an electric interurban railway car built in 1920 for the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee, or North Shore Line. This car, number 172, carried passengers daily between Chicago and Milwaukee until the North Shore went out of

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IRM offered Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban car

The Illinois Railway Museum has been given the opportunity to purchase an historic interurban car from the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railway. The interurban car, CA&E 453, was built in 1946 by the St. Louis Car Company. It ran between Chicago and the western suburbs from 1946 until July 3,

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Illinois Terminal interurban car 101

Illinois Traction Society 37th Annual Meet

As part of the activities for the Illinois Traction Society meet on Saturday, April 27, 2024, we are offering ITS members the chance to actually BE THE MOTORMAN or BE THE ENGINEER! EVERY piece of operating IT equipment will be available for guest operation (even the three-car ‘Tangerine Flyer,’ but

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Welcome to the Illinois Railway Museum

Welcome to the Illinois Railway Museum. The museum is the largest railroad museum in the United States. The Museum is an IRS Chapter 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation owned and managed by its membership. Most of what you will see today results from the efforts of volunteer members of the museum over the last 70 years. The

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CA&E 431 in Barn 6 Exhibit Building at IRM

Barn 6

Barn 6 is one of our train exhibit buildings, or barns. In Barn 6 you’ll find interurban cars, freight equipment, and maintenance equipment from electric railways in the Chicago area and from across the Midwest. Exhibits in Barn 6 include: The elegant Talisman, a 1906 interurban parlor car that features

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Chicago Aurora & Elgin 453

Chicago Aurora & Elgin 453 is one of the last traditional interurban cars built in the United States. The CA&E ordered ten modern curve-side coaches in 1941 but the cars weren’t completed until 1945 due to World War II. Cars 451-460 featured lightweight design and newer electric control systems but

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Union Pacific M35

UP M-35 is the museum’s only example of a “doodlebug,” the universal nickname given to self-propelled internal combustion-powered passenger cars built during the 1920s. Cars like this were intended to provide passenger service on very lightly-trafficked branch lines and short lines, where a steam engine hauling a passenger train would

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Illinois Terminal 518

Illinois Terminal 518 is the only preserved coach trailer from the IT, which was the largest interurban network in Illinois. It has been restored to its appearance in the 1940s and early 1950s, including a fully stained-and-varnished wooden interior. It sees occasional operation on IRM’s demonstration railroad. Illinois Terminal 518

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