Had to go to Elgin for work today so I stopped by the Trolley Museum. Some nice and some dilapidated equipment. I really like the 3 car articulated RTA set. Each car was about 30 feet long. The steeple cab and the small orange diesel were also nice as was the natural weathering on the Wilson and Swift cars. Here are a few of the pictures I took.
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Nice photos, Dave. I have not been there since I was a kid. I don't remember much about it other than the trolley rides on hot summer days.
Great Photos! As a bit of history, I know the artist who drew the CSS&SB The Little Train that Could artwork. His Name is Dale Fleming and he is an artist in Indiana (at the time of making the artwork, East of Gary). I have several other pieces of his. There is one for sale on Amazon which contains sketches of his layout I saw many times when I lived in upstate Indiana.
Awesome photos! I saw the Virginia Central rod driven centercab in VMT about a week or two ago.
I go there all the time. it is fun to ride the 'Roarin' Elgin' car and the older CTA equipment - sometimes they give caboose rides and run some themed days. The rusty reefers are used for storage.
Tried to get there once, years ago and it was closed... then forgot about it...If they have an IC sidedoor caboose, need to try again. These are in HO brass, but l don't think in O, nor have l heard of a kit for one. None in three-rail, of course. (Correct me if I'm wrong)
The AE&FRE - RELIC was my first 1:1 railroad. It was the fertile field from which sprang a long and sometimes illustrious railroad career that took me far from the Fox River Valley home of my youth.
No. 20 is now 116 years old but the photos show that she's been loved and cherished by those who stayed and others who came after me. Well done! In memory, I still see RELIC as it was in June of 1967, on my first day as a volunteer, when I helped dig the little foundation for Castlemuir Station.
Some may yet live who were aboard CA&E No. 20 on a run chartered by Maury Klebolt. The return trip from Coleman to Castlemuir began with a cry from Klebolt: "LARAMIE AVENUE WILL BE NEXT!" The details of that brief trip must remain behind a veil of secrecy but the then un-bonded rail joints arced and smoked while Old Car 20 proved she still had "IT". Half a century later, I'll bet she still has "IT".
Founders and volunteers of the Fox River Trolley Museum, I salute you. Many of the railroad museums established in the '50's and '60's have folded, during the past half century, and their collections have rusted, rotted, been junked or dispersed but "RELIC" keeps rolling along - thanks to your efforts.
That is a great little museum. I was just there for Father’s Day. The IC Caboose ride is always fun! They’ve got a really old wooden SOO caboose in the barn too. Those South Shore cars should either be cut up or hidden somewhere. They really give a big instant bad impression about the group.
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