Volunteer

Become an Illinois Railway Museum Volunteer

The Illinois Railway Museum is a museum of volunteers. Volunteers preserve and restore the museum's railway equipment, run the trains, punch the tickets, and maintain the museum's track and infrastructure. They also keep the books, manage the computer systems, and do the thousand other tasks needed to keep the museum running.

A few museum volunteers have worked for railroads but most have not. Some have specific skills that they are willing to bring to their volunteer activities, but this is not a requirement. All of us learn on the job at the museum - we will train you! There is no minimum time commitment: whether you volunteer a couple of days a week or a couple of days a year, your time makes a difference. The only requirement is being a museum member 18+ years of age. You can sign up as a member here.

We need your help, your time, your energy, and your ideas, to keep our Museum in Motion, to preserve and operate our collection and to help our visitors make the very most of their visits. Learn about our mission here.

Get started today!

The best way to get started with volunteering is to fill out the form below. Make sure to click "submit" at the bottom. Let us know where your area of interest lies, or where you'd like to begin, and we will put you in touch with that department's curator to set up an introductory visit. This is not a long-term commitment to a specific department. In fact, many volunteers work in more than one department. You can also talk to any of our volunteers during your next visit or you can call our office at 815-923-4391. Our office staff will be able to discuss volunteerism opportunities and can put you in touch with department curators.


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