Western Railroad Discussion > Diesel Days at the Illinois Railway Museum

After years of wanting to visit the Illinois Railway Museum, this past Sunday things finally came together. Coincidentally the museum was celebrating Diesel Days and so there was a plethora of diesel electric locomotives and trainsets operating throughout the day. I was visiting with my 7yo boys and we all had a great time. A huge thanks to everyone with IRM as they put on a great show. We're already looking forward to our next trip. Below are a sampling of images from the day as well as a few extras from our trip.

1) MKT + SPSF! :) UP was kind enough to send a couple visitors for the weekend.
2) BN & CNW heritage equipment sit side by side at the station
3) BN-3 awaits its next trip as SP 1518 gets ready for its spot in the Diesel Parade

-Brian

---

---

---

4) BN 5383 in fresh cascade green sits next to the last two "active" CNW locomotives on UP's roster
5) A closeup of CNW 8701
6) A reflection of Frisco 1630

---

---

---

7) A three way meet as we pass the Zephyr and a UP freight racing west.
8) The Zephyr shoves west as the dispatcher tower stays busy moving trains along the museum's mainline.
9) Another meet with the caboose train and BN-3

---

---

---

10) Splitting the Semaphores
11) Meeting the caboose train
12) WC 7525 struts her stuff during the diesel parade



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/17 04:08 by K8CNW.

---

---

---

13-15) Participants of the Diesel Parade

---

---

---

16) Passing UP 1988 and 1996
17) An eclectic lineup in front of the CNW shed
18) CNW 411 passes the semaphores on its trip west back towards Union

---

---

---

19) CNW 411 passing the depot
20) One of the last Santa Fe painted GP40X's was sitting in the house track in Rochelle. I grabbed a few late night photos during a brief stop in town.
21) A parting shot near Maple Park IL along the UP Geneva Sub

Thanks for looking!

BTW wig wag, no sign of the MILW FM.

---

---

---

Great photos--looks like a really cool day with all the different equipment.
Brian Stevens

That wye switch in picture 7 is not lining up right.

Nice photos! Someday I hope to visit IRM. (Your "CPL's" are actually semaphores.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/17 21:13 by CPR_4000.

tomstp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That wye switch in picture 7 is not lining up
> right.

I don't see evidence of an "SS" sign, but might it be a spring switch?

Perhaps it is a 'buffered' spring switch.
Still running to close the points.

James R.(Jim) Baker
Whittier, CA

CPR_4000 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> tomstp Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That wye switch in picture 7 is not lining up
> > right.
>
> I don't see evidence of an "SS" sign, but might it
> be a spring switch?

No law says u have to have SS on a spring switch. The Erie/EL didnt have SS on spring switches. Locations were just listed in the ETT. This is probably one restoring slowly to normal position. They dont all restore quickly either.

tomstp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That wye switch in picture 7 is not lining up
> right.

The switch is a spring switch. The train just cleared the switch and the buffer returning to normal. I assure you everything is working as intended.

Frank D.
IRM Track Department.

Those Grinstein Green BNSF E-units sure would be very, very nice leading BNSF Officer's Specials.  They would make a statement.

What a fine series of photos. You can tell you put some thought into your picture composition. Congratulations on IOTD.
John

Thanks for the kind words about the photos. It was a fun day. In regards to the signals, yes they're semaphores. . . I knew that lol! They also have CPLs in service on their main line but these of course are not them.

Thanks!
-Brian



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/17 05:58 by K8CNW.

Great series of shots! Doesn't seem to be many fans out on that day however.

If the scheduling conflict continues in future years, Summerail will always win out over a museum visit.

Living in Cincinnati, Summerail has been a priority. However, with the move to Marion and the weekend being focused on having a good time with my 7yo's (it was their birthday weekend), it wasn't feasible to attend Summerail. We made the most of it with a visit to Chicago followed by IRM. Everyone had a great time!

In regards to fans, there were quite a few. It wasn't overly packed but I'd guess several hundred people came out. I tried to keep them out of most shots which was easier at some points than others.

-Brian

LiveWire2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If the scheduling conflict continues in future
> years, Summerail will always win out over a museum
> visit.