Milwaukee Caboose #01984

Milwaukee Road caboose #01984 was built by the railroad’s Milwaukee, Wisconsin shops in 1946. It was later renumbered #991984. The Milwaukee Road was the only railroad to have cabooses with ribbed sided such as this one.

Photo by Cliff West

CB&Q Caboose #13572

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy caboose #13572 was built by the Burlington Route in 1960 at their shops in Havelock, Nebraska. It became Burlington Northern #10343 after the merger on March 2, 1970.

Photo by Cliff West

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CB&Q Nebraska Zephyr

The Nebraska Zephyr trainset was one of two sets built by the Budd Company in 1936. The two sets were originally built as the second Twin Zephyrs, replacing the original 1935 equipment of the service between Chicago and Minneapolis, Minnesota which had been quickly outgrown. These new Twin Zephyrs entered service on December 18, 1936. On November 16, 1947, as new Twin Zephyr equipment entered service, the old trains were reassigned to a new service between Chicago and Lincoln, Nebraska called the Nebraska Zephyr. The original 1800 horsepower shovelnose diesels were replaced with 2000 horsepower E5s like Silver Pilot. The trains were retired in February 1968, though the Nebraska Zephyr service would continue with different equipment until 1971. This set came to the Illinois Railway Museum on September 21, 1968 with Silver Pilot. The other Nebraska Zephyr train was acquired by the Royal Saudi Railroad and is in storage in Saudi Arabia.

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Borden’s Milk Tank Car #520

BFIX #520 is a 6000 gallon milk car built by Merchants Despatch Company in 1935, consisting of two 3000 gallon glass-lined tanks. Cars like this carried and distributed milk mainly in the northeastern part of the country and were known as “Butter Dish Cars” due to their shape, which resembles a butter dish.

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DOTX Boxcar #3

This car, formerly owned by the United States Department of Transportation, was originally an express refrigerator car owned by the Railway Express Agency. It was built in 1957 by General American Transportation. It was part of the Railway Express Agency’s REX 7400-7899 series of cars.

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Union Pacific Boxcar #907149

Union Pacific #907149 was built in 1939 by the railroad as #9195, one of 100 cars for the railroad’s new Challenger Merchandise Service. Challenger Service trains carried “Less-Than-Carload” (LCL) Merchandise Shipments and provided overnight service between several pairs of cities across the Union Pacific system. The U. S. entering World War II forced the service to end in 1942, and the cars, including 30 more built in early 1941, were assigned to carrying express freight in Union Pacific passenger trains until Amtrak’s creation in 1971. Some of the cars found further use in maintenance service, including #9195, which became storage car #907149 until its retirement.

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Union Pacific Rotary #900075

Union Pacific #900075 is a steam-powered rotary snow plow, built in December 1949 by Lima-Hamilton as Union Pacific #079. Rotary snow plows are still used today, though almost all are now powered by diesel engines. Rotary snow plows are used to clear tracks after the most severe winter storms. Their large rotating blades are capable of clearing snow higher than the plow itself, and throwing the snow one hundred feet from the track. This plow was retired in April 1979. It was originally donated to the Smokey Hills Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society and was displayed at a railroad museum in Kansas City. It came to the Illinois Railroad Museum sometime later.

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Burlington Northern #5383

Burlington Northern #5383 is a 3000 horsepower U30C built by General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania in November 1974, one of an order of 50. General Electric built a total of 596 U30C locomotives between 1966 and 1976, when the model was replaced by the new C30-7. Burlington Northern was the largest owner of U30Cs, eventually owning 181 of the locomotives. #5383 was placed in storage in April 1994, and was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum on September 24, 1994.

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Burlington Northern BN-3

BN-3 was originally built as Chicago, Burlington & Quincy E9A #9989A by EMD in January 1956. It became Burlington Northern #9989 after the merger of March 2, 1970. In April 1973 it was rebuilt for Chicago commuter service and became E9AM #9919, the Joseph F. Coyle. At this point, the locomotive technically was owned by Chicago’s West Suburban Mass Transit District and leased to Burlington Northern. The rebuilt E-units were retired from Chicago commuter service in July 1992, and in August #9919 was transferred back to Burlington Northern. It was sent to be repainted and emerged on January 6, 1993 as BN-3. It joined BN-1 and BN-2 in Executive Service until the 1996 BNSF merger, after which it was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum.

Photo by Cliff West

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Burlington Northern BN-1/BN-2

Burlington Northern locomotives BN-1 and BN-2 (not visible behind BN-1) were the locomotives assigned to Burlington Northern’s Executive Service in the 1990’s. BN-1 and BN-2 were originally Northern Pacific F-9A #6700A and F-9B #7002C, built by EMD in February 1954 and August 1954 respectively.  They became Burlington Northern #9800 and #809 after the merger of March 2, 1970. After the creation of Amtrak, #9800, originally a passenger unit, was assigned to freight service and renumbered #766. In the 1980s, the locomotives became rotary snow plow power supply units #972567 and #972574. In September 1990 they were rebuilt by Burlington Northern’s West Burlington Shops in Burlington, Iowa into F9-2s BN-1 and BN-2. The rebuild included replacing the original 1500 horsepower engine with a new 2000 horsepower 16 cylinder engine. They were retired after the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe merger of 1996 and were donated to the Illinois Railway Museum.

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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe FP45 #92

Santa Fe #92 is an FP45 built by EMD in December 1967 as Santa Fe #102.  It is one of 9 FP45s built for passenger service on the Santa Fe. It is powered by a 20 cylinder engine producing 3600 horsepower. In 1970, #102 was renumbered to #5942. It was rebuilt in October 1982 and was renumbered to #5992. In 1989 it was renumbered to #101 and in 1990 was renumbered again to #92. It was retired in January 1997 and donated to the Illinois Railway Museum. Though two of the Santa Fe’s FP45s were destroyed in accidents, the other seven all survive today.

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Union Pacific DDA40X #6930

Union Pacific #6930 is a DDA40X built by EMD in 1970. There were a total of 45 of these locomotives built between 1969 and 1971, and Union Pacific was the only owner of them. They were called Centennials, due to their introduction 100 years after the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. A Centennial is nearly 100 feet long, and is powered by two 20 cylinder engines producing a total of 6600 horsepower. Centennials are still the largest and most powerful diesel locomotives in the world. #6930 made its last trip on March 12, 1985, and was donated to the Smokey Hill Railway & Historical Society of Shawnee Mission, Kansas in August 1985.  In October 1991 it was traded to the Illinois Railway Museum. #6930 is one of 14 surviving Centennials; one other survivor, #6936, is still owned by Union Pacific and is operated on special occasions.

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Union Pacific Gas Turbine #18

Union Pacific #18 is a Gas Turbine-Electric locomotive, built by General Electric in August 1960. Turbine locomotives are powered by a large, powerful turbine rather than a diesel engine. #18 was capable of producing 8500 horsepower, while the most powerful diesel locomotives of the time produced 2400 horsepower. At one time, Union Pacific owned 55 turbine locomotives for freight service between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Ogden, Utah. The first 10, #51-60, were built in 1952 and produced 4500 horsepower. An additional 15 4500 horsepower units, #61-75, were built in 1954. Finally, 30 8500 horsepower locomotives, #1-30, were built from 1958 to 1961. This last group was made up of three units each: the first unit had the control cab and a Cooper-Bessemer diesel engine for slow speed yard work, the second unit contained the 8500 horsepower turbine itself, and the third unit was a tender carrying 24384 gallons of fuel. The last turbines ran in December 1969, victims of rising fuel costs and more efficient diesel locomotives, though even today a single diesel locomotive cannot produce as much horsepower as the last group of turbines. #18 is one of only two surviving turbines, both from the last group. The other is #26, on display in Ogden. Union Pacific sold #18 to Continental Leasing in September 1971. It then went to the Intercontinental Engineering scrapyard in North Kansas City. Intercontinental donated it to the Kansas City Railroad Museum on May 6, 1977. It since was moved to the Illinois Railway Museum.

Photo by Cliff West

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Green Bay & Western #2407

Green Bay & Western #2407 is a 2400 horsepower RSD-15 built by Alco in May 1960 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #841. Santa Fe renumbered it to #9841 in October 1969. In 1975 it was sold to the Lake Superior & Ishpeming where it became #2402. It was one of 6 LS&I RSD-15s acquired by the Green Bay & Western in November 1989. It was retired August 27, 1993 when the GB&W was merged into the Wisconsin Central, and was sold to the Illinois Railway Museum in October 1996. The other five GB&W RSD-15s were scrapped by March 1996. The Wisconsin Central was merged into Canadian National on October 9, 1999. The Green Bay & Western does still exist as a company within CN, though only on paper.

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Toledo, Peoria & Western #400

Toledo, Peoria & Western #400 is an RS-11 built by Alco in November 1958.  It produces 1800 horsepower. #400 came to the Illinois Railway Museum in November 1983. The Toledo, Peoria & Western has existed since the 1880s, and still exists today, although since September 3, 1999 it has been part of the RailAmerica family of short line railroads. The Toledo, Peoria & Western today consists of about 300 miles of track in Illinois and Indiana.

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Illinois Terminal GP7 #1605

IT #1605 is the green & yellow locomotive in the center.

Illinois Terminal #1605 is a GP7 built by EMD in 1953. It produces 1500 horsepower. It was later renumbered #1505. Illinois Terminal was incorporated in 1895 when future U.S. President William McKinley purchased a streetcar system serving Urbana and Champaign, Illinois. The Illinois Terminal was purchased by the Norfolk & Western in 1981. In 1982, the N&W merged with the Southern Railway to form Norfolk Southern. NS donated #1605 to the Illinois Railway Museum on October 15, 1985.

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Southern Pacific SD7R #1518

Southern Pacific #1518 was built May 3, 1951 by EMD. It was the first EMD six-axle freight diesel, an SD7, and was originally numbered EMD #990 and used as a demonstrator on many railroads. Southern Pacific purchased the locomotive on October 10, 1952 after a major overhaul by EMD personnel, and it became SP #5308. The locomotive was renumbered #2715 in 1965 and renumbered again in 1973 as #1415. The locomotive was rebuilt by Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Locomotive Works, emerging as SD7R #1518 on February 5, 1980. Union Pacific acquired the locomotive as part of the 1996 merger with Southern Pacific. Recognizing the locomotive’s historical significance, it was placed in their historical collection at Cheyenne, Wyoming until being donated to the Illinois Railway Museum.

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Grand Trunk Western #1951

Grand Trunk Western #1951 is an Alco RS-1 built in 1957. It produces 1500 horsepower. It was the last RS-1 produced by Alco, the second of a group of two delivered to Grand Trunk Western.

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Commonwealth Edison #15

Commonwealth Edison #15 is a 600 horsepower SW1 built by EMD in September 1950. Locomotives such as #15 replaced the electric locomotives on the Commonwealth Edison line in Chicago. They served until the power plant closed in the 1970s and the railroad shut down. The tracks remained until the mid 1980s, but almost all have now been removed.

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Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern DT-6-6-2000 #21

MNS #21 is a DT-6-6-2000 built by Baldwin in 1948. It produces 2000 horsepower from two diesel engines. It is the only surviving DT-6-6-2000 of 42 built, of which the MNS owned five. The MNS was formed in 1918 and was absorbed in 1982 by the Soo Line, now part of Canadian Pacific.

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