my father saw the episode of Modern Marvel on trains and wanted to know where it is located and if its worth the drive from Indiana to go see it
Here is a link to their web page so you can see what is offered…I would highly recommend the drive as it should only take you about four hours to get there.
Jim is right, but maybe you should wait a few days. They were closed last weekend due to flooding (Thomas was the featured attraction) and with all the rain up there this week I doubt the situation has improved. Check their web cams – someone posted a still frame the other day showing the high water.
PZ
I fully agree with PZ’s suggestion that you wait a few days for the flooding to subside. I checked their web cam this morning and there is still lots of standing water but not as much as over the weekend and more rain is forecast for the rest of the week…but when it dries up a little it will be a trip well worth taking.
Well the good news is that after being closed for a couple of days they are open again. Since Thomas also scheduled for this weekend, I would wait at least another week before going. Thomas weekends are nice for small kids but the place is packed and it is kind of hard to look around and enjoy it with that many people there.
Does anyone know if Hesston Steam Museum will be open this weekend? I know they had some major-serious storms and heavy rain there, too.
PZ
It is in Cary, Ill off of I-90 and is well worth the trip. they used to run a Russian decapod and now they run diesel and trolley cars most of the time. They have a huge collection including a GG1 and a Y3 as well as numerous street cars and other engines including a CB&Q E unit from a Zephyr. If you have interest on your way there or back you could also stop at the Fox Valley trolley museum in Elgin. It is about three miles south of I-90 right on the river. That is strictly a trolley museum with some North Shore stuff and others but it has been a long time since I was there.
This coming weekend is “A Day Out With Thomas”. Worth going to to see lots of trains running.
Except for the locality being Union, Illinois, ndbprr is correct. Every time I’ve been there, something “new” has surprised me by having been acquired.
Great thanks everone for the replies I appreciate it we weren’t planning on going anytime time soon but probably this fall but we didn’t know the location or if its worth it as far as this week end I don’t know about hesston but I know they have a big steam event on labor day thats worth it
Yes, definitely a great place and I highly recommend finding time to go there. And yes, do not plan to go anytime soon. I drive past Union on IL176 to work everyday and the river that flows past the museum still flows over the highway. Slowly, but surely, the road is being washed away. I expect, any day now, chunks of bituminous concrete to start floating away. But hey, I get free wheel well and base board washes everyday.
On a side note, UP was running cars out of Belvidere today, so the tracks probably are in decent condition and not too badly flooded.
I’ve been going to IRM on a fairly regular basis for a few years now, and enjoy myself every time. The place is filled with great people who love trains and great trains people love.
On a cool sidenote, my husband used to tell me about a steam engine that was stuffed and mounted in a park near where he grew up in SE Wisconsin. Sometime when he was younger, it just disappeared and he had no idea what happened to it.
On one of my earlier visits to IRM, I noticed a huge steam engine in one of the barns with a sign declaring that the engine had come from a park in Wiscsonsin. Turns out not only was this the same engine my husband used to climb all over, it’s also Milwaukee Road 265, sister to the 261. You never know what cool things you’ll discover there, or what you’ll see or learn. It’s absolutely worth a visit.
Hope to see you there!
Kathi