IRM Electric Car Shop

09/26/2026

It's Bus Day today! Come on out and take a ride on a variety of electric and motor buses! The CA&E woods are also out on the mainline, so come out and enjoy the great weather!

09/11/2026

Labor Day Weekend was a busy one around the Electric Car Shop, with a huge variety of electric equipment running across the museum! Visitors had the opportunity to see everything from Shaker Heights 18 and CTA Green Hornet to CTA 3142, the CA&E wood and steel cars, CTA 4000s, CRT wood cars, North Shore Line equipment, and plenty more.

In the middle of all the weekend activity, the CTA 2400s made their way into the Car Shop to begin the inspection process. Although the cars have operated occasionally at the museum, they have never entered regular service, making this an important step toward determining what will be needed to get them ready for future operation.

Meanwhile, volunteers in the Traction Air Brake Shop gave some well-deserved attention to Illinois Terminal 101's feed valve. After years of service, the component was pulled for inspection and deep cleaning. Thanks to a ready-to-go spare, 101 operated on Sunday night while this valve was inspected and cleaned.

There is always something happening around the Electric Car Shop, and Labor Day Weekend was a great example of the variety of projects and equipment our volunteers get to work with.

09/05/2026

Tonight, as part of our Labor Day event, the Shaker Heights 18 will be operating in streetcar service until 9 p.m. We will have a variety of exceptional trains running from the Electric Car Shop this evening, including the Shaker Heights 18, Vera Cruz 19, and Chicago Aurora and Elgin 319! Come join the fun only at the Illinois Railway Museum!

08/28/2026

Sunday was another busy day for the DC Line Department at IRM, with work continuing around Station 1.

Visitors to the museum over the next few weeks will notice that part of the platform along Station Track 1 has been removed as crews work to replace bad ties and make repairs to the platform. As part of this project, one of the existing wooden poles is also being replaced with a new metal pole.

The goal of Sunday’s work was to move the various equipment and connections from the wooden pole so it could eventually be removed. The original collars for the new metal poles were found to be slightly too small, so another set has been painted and prepared for installation.

There were also a couple of interesting moments during the work. Jimmy got the opportunity to learn how to climb a line pole the old-fashioned way, using climbing spikes and a belt to hold himself against the pole while working. Greg also pointed out what was once the original ground level of the museum property. Much of the museum campus has been filled in over the years to raise the property, making it easy to forget just how much the ground level has changed since the museum was established.

There is still more work to be done, but this is another step forward in keeping the DC Line infrastructure in good condition.

08/25/2026

Last weekend was another busy one for volunteers in the Electric Car Shop, with several projects making progress around the shop.

Illinois Terminal Class B 1565 took another step toward returning to service with a rebuilt grid box being reinstalled into the engine. There is still plenty of work ahead, but this brings 1565 one step closer to getting back on the rails.

Indiana Railroad 65 also made a test run to check the bearing temperatures following some recent work. While the test run went well, the car will still need quite a bit more work before it can return to revenue service.

The CTA Green Hornet also made a trip over the pit for some minor adjustments. While the car was over the pit, volunteers discovered that it will need a new set of batteries. Donations to the Electric Car Shop Restoration Fund would help with this project, as well as many of the other ongoing projects in the Electric Car Shop.

While Green Hornet was in the shop, volunteers also took the opportunity to replace one of the car's broken window-opening mechanisms, helping keep this historic car in good operating condition.

There was also plenty of work taking place on the DC line throughout the weekend. We'll have a separate post later this week highlighting some of that work, so stay tuned!

07/23/2026

Metra celebrated its past and future on Thursday.

Details: ( https://wgntv.com/news/traffic/metra-celebrates-100-years-of-electric-rail/ )

05/21/2026

Another busy weekend in the Car Shop is in the books! With the recent arrival of the CTA 2600-series cars, which will have their own post in the coming weeks, and another major switch move completed, there was no shortage of activity around the property.

The day started with CA&E 321 being brought from the South Yard to outside Barn 6. At the same time, Barns 7 and 8 each received half of the newly arrived CTA 2600-series equipment. From there, crews headed back to the South Yard to begin the main goal of the day: moving much of the electric equipment out of Barn 11 and consolidating it into Barn 13.

This large switch move included equipment such as CTA 6461 and 6462, North Shore Line 253, CTA 460, CSL 2846, Knoxville 419, and several others. It was a long day of switching in 80+ degree heat, and a huge thank you goes out to Joel, Brian, Mikey, and Jimmy for helping make it happen.

Join us this Memorial Day Weekend for three full days of operation, including Saturday night’s Trains & Tunes concert featuring Petty Thieves at 7:00 PM followed by a fireworks show around 8:30 PM. We will have trains running all three days, providing plenty of great opportunities to ride, photograph, and enjoy equipment from across the museum grounds throughout the weekend.

05/13/2026

On May 10, 1926, Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad car 714 entered service between Chicago and Milwaukee. On May 10, 2026, the Illinois Railway Museum celebrated the car’s 100th anniversary with a special day of passenger operation. Guests had the opportunity to ride this historic car and were treated to an original North Shore Line ticket as a souvenir of the memorable occasion.

714 was acquired by IRM in 1963 shortly after the North Shore Line ceased operations. In the decades since its acquisition, the car has become a true workhorse of the museum’s operating fleet, carrying generations of visitors while preserving the legacy of the famed North Shore Line for future generations to experience and enjoy.

01/17/2026