History is everywhere, here the last surviving E5A is kept in good running order.

For any railfan, a visit to a railway museum is a must; for the hardcore railfan, a visit to every rail museum you can is a requirement! I fall into the latter. Although, for me, one must see museum (aside from the California Railroad museum in Sacramento) is the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. Having wanted to visit it for some time, all it took was a conversation with my cousin. He had just returned from visiting there himself. A month after I started to hatch a rough plan. My visit had to be sooner-rather-than-later.

After driving 12 hours the day before and cutting my railroad museum teeth in North Freedom, my plan was to arrive at 9am sharp when the grounds open. Waking early enough to grab a bite to eat, I set out for the 45 minute drive to Union. Even though I was working off hand-written directions, I pulled into a parking spot at 8:58am - not a bad start to the day. The temp was forecasted to be in the mid-80s and no clouds within 200 miles. Wow! What a day to spend outside walking among history.

Starting at the depot I walked the platform. I took pic after pic of rolling stock: old tankcars, once owned by powerhouse companies like Dow chemical and Chevron; Chicago Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) open hoppers which looked like they just rolled out of the paint shop in 1965; and the weirdest looking tankcar designed only to carry milk. Further down, past the end of the platform, was the diesel house. Although, off limits for a walk through, the power lined up outside represented power from Class I roads like the Chicago & Northwestern (C&NW), Burlington Northern (BN) and the Union Pacific (UP) to shortlines [including from my home state of Minnesota, in the form of a Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern (MN&S) Baldwin-built DT6-6-2000] and even a few industrial units from Commonwealth Edison.

Walking around the backside of the diesel house I spied a BN U30C tucked away near a small campground. Walking lightly, not wanting to disturb anyone still sleeping, I made my way to the mighty unit once charged with pulling coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin to power plants all over the Midwest. One thing I eventually noticed was every time I turned a corner, there was something else… better. There was something that made, what I just thought was the coolest thing, not as cool as the thing I saw next.

After spending another half-an-hour shooting units from the Illinois Terminal Railroad (ITR), Metra, C&NW, and a few shortlines, I found myself looking at four impressive lines of motive power. The array ranged from the small, Illinois Central (IC) 0-6-4T steam locomotive to the biggest locomotive I have ever seen before, the UP 18. The UP 18, classified by General Electric as a 8500GTEL (8500 horsepower, Gas Turbine Electric Locomotive), set-up in an A-B-Fuel tender configuration. The most impressive part was the fuel tender, it has a capacity of 24,384 gallons of fuel. Also found in these lines of locomotives, several Milwaukee Road F and E units in need of some TLC; three BN units, each decked out in executive paint scheme (most commonly seen on SD70MACs) it was nice to see the paint job on an F9A and F9B, as well as on a E9AM, a larger version of an F unit; and lots of passenger cars from all over the country.

Making my way to the electric car and trolley car buildings, I was whisked back in time to a day that I could only imagine. The museum housed line after line of interurban trolley cars and modern day rapid transit cars from Chicago and New York City. The display showed the progression of rapid transit before and after automobiles came to be.

Next to the electric car and trolley buildings is the electric locomotive barn. It houses mostly steeple cab locomotives that worked many places, from the mining and coal industries to a former Charles City Western steeple cab that worked not from home in Mason City, Iowa. Even today, the Iowa Traction Railway still uses this technology.

Moving down a maze of pathways, the sound of horns in the distance drew my attention to the crossing of the operational display. The museum operates trains which pull visitors along a nine mile stretch of track that parallels museum property on the hour. Along the southern edge of the grounds, I found one solid line of steam and diesel locomotives in various stages of repair (or neglect, depending on how you want to look at it). A few of the highlights from here would be the: Wisconsin Central SD45 7525; a MARC E9AM; a C&O 2-8-4; and the Southern Pacific 975, an Alco built 2-10-2.

Just across the road, in what I called "the boondocks," as it was off limits to visitors, I could see several EMD SW-type switch engines. There were two Soo Line cabooses as well as older pieces of rolling stock. I maxed out my zoom lense as I strained to grab as many shots as I could. Now close to 1pm, I was getting a little hungry.

Before I could stop at the diner I had to make a stop in the steam barn. It was here I looked forward to seeing the Milwaukee Road's 4-8-4 265, sister unit to my hometown steam locomotive, the Milwaukee 261. The 265 is parked on the southern end of the building, basking in the sun all day long. Keeping company with the MILW 265 are three CB&Q steamers, two Grand Trunk & Westerns units and a Norfolk and Western 2-8-8-2. Walking through to the other end of the steam barn I was very surprised to find a surviving E5A. A truly unique locomotive, being the only one EMD built. It is here along with an entire set of Nebraska Zephyr cars.

Seeing all the barn had to offer, I was ready for lunch. My plan was to spend the rest of the afternoon riding the trains and checking out the remaining displays - signals, signs, buildings, and much more. I ended up spending a total of nine hours at the museum. I could spend another nine if given the chance.

I encourage all of you to plan a visit to the museum! In the meantime, check out their Website and marvel at the equipment rosters. Take some time to watch one of the five webcams set up around the grounds. During operating hours, you will see more trains here than on the Rochelle webcam. So, until next time, good luck railfanning, stay safe and I will see you by the rails.