Tag: illinois

The J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator and Agriculture Museum, Atlanta, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Before the Interstate Highway System, people drove across the United States of America by way of the United States Route simply called the U.S. Route.  The first route ever established was U.S. Route 1 which has its north end at the Canadian Border in the town of Fort Kent in the U.S. state of Maine and its south end in the city of Key West in the U.S. state of Florida passing through the major cities of Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts,  New York City in the U.S. State of New York, Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, Baltimore in the U.S. state of Maryland, Washington D.C., Richmond in the U.S. state of Virginia, and the cities of Jacksonville and Miami in the U.S. state of Florida plus many smaller cities in between.  Other U.S. Routes were later laid out.  One of those routes is the famous route U.S. Route 66 which had a television series named for it as well as a gasoline station.  The route went from the city of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois to the city of Santa Monica in the U.S. state of California.  Today, much of the route was replaced by Interstate Routes, but much of the roads that U.S. Route 66 ran have been preserved.  It passed through major cities and small towns.  One of those small towns is the town of Atlanta, Illinois.  No.  You will not find the Coca-Cola Company here nor did the town ever host the Olympics, and it does not have one of the busiest airports in the world.  Being a small town, it has numerous sites like the American Giants Museum housed in an old Texaco gas station, the Bunyan Giant, and it is the home of the J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator and Agriculture Museum.  It is a museum that was erected in the only fully restored wooden grain elevator in the state of Illinois.  When you visit the museum, you will be seeing history.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  A fully restored grain elevator.  This is very nice.  There is a big problem.  This is a museum about a grain elevator and not a railroad museum.  Therefore, I am not elevating myself to visit this museum.”

Yes.  You are right.  This is not a railroad museum.  Why should you visit the J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator and Agriculture Museum?

As you drive from U.S. Route 66, you cross a railroad line.  Atlanta, Illinois was never a railroad town, but the railroad does pass through here and it owned by the Union Pacific Railroad.

Some of you are saying, “It is nice that the railroad passes through the town, but what does the railroad have to do with the museum?”

Before it was the J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator and Agriculture Museum, it was… a working grain elevator that was built in 1903.  When you arrive at the museum, the first thing that you will notice is the old grain elevator.  Then you notice something that is next to the old grain elevator.  What is next to the old grain elevator?  You will see an old railroad boxcar from the Wabash Railroad.  As farmers brought their grain to the old grain elevator, it was then put on boxcars and shipped across the nation.

It there another reason to visit the museum?  Yes, there is.

One of the exhibits here is the Atlanta Coal Mining Company Historical Mine.  The town had its own coal mine, but before the town had its own mine, coal was brought to the town by the railroad.

The J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator and Agriculture Museum is on the National Register of Historical Places.  It is located 301 SW Second Street in Atlanta, Illinois.  Parking is on site.  Tours are self-guided and can but done at any time, but you can get a guided tour of the museum by going to https://www.destinationlogancountyil.com/grain-elevator-museum.

Visit Atlanta, Illinois.  You will not see the Coca-Cola Company or the Olympics, but you will see the J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator and Agriculture Museum.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

When it comes to the President of the United States of America and the railroad, many of them have used the railroad.  If you were asked which president is most associated with the railroad, most people would probably think about Abraham Lincoln.  He would have been the first President to have a Presidential Railroad Car, kind of like the Air Force One of the railroad, but that car became his funeral car after he was assassinated carrying his remains from Washington D.C. to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.  Even though he was born in the U.S. state of Kentucky, Springfield, the state capital of the U.S. state of Illinois was where he was launched into the political spotlight.  It is here where the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located.  A visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a place that you must see if you wish to see the entire story of Abraham Lincoln.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  Abraham Lincoln was a great man.  In matter of fact, he is known to be one of the greatest Americans of all time and one of the greatest men in history.  I always enjoyed the fact that he is associated with the railroad more than any other American president, but as for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, this is not a railroad museum, a railroad site, or has anything to do with the railroad, I will not be booking a visit to this place.”

As mentioned, Abraham Lincoln was associated with the railroad more than any other U.S. President.  You are right when you say that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is not a railroad museum, and you are right when you say that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is not a railroad site, but you are wrong when you say that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has nothing to do with the railroad.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum consists of the library.  It is called the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.  It also consists of the museum.  The museum has different exhibits, but two of the main exhibits are about his life before his presidency and the other is about his time in the White House, not the white house that is in your neighborhood but the one in Washington D.C. that is the home of the sitting President of the United States of America.

As you walk through the White House exhibit, you see displays of his time during the American Civil War, the life in the White House, the cabinet meetings, and the assassination at Ford’s Theater.  The exhibit ends with a display of the route of his Funeral Train.  The route started in Washington D.C.  It continued to Baltimore in the U.S. state of Maryland and to Harrisburg, the capital of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.  The train then went east to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then went up to New York City in the U.S. state of New York.  It went north to Albany, the state capital of New York and then went west to Buffalo, New York.  It continued to Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio and then went to the Ohio state capital of Columbus.  It went west to Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana, and then it went north to the city of Chicago, Illinois before going to the last stop in Springfield.  The Funeral Train went in the reverse route of the way he went to Washington D.C. to serve as the sixteenth President of the United States of America.

Yes, Abraham Lincoln had great ties with the railroad, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum commemorates that tie.  Along with his ties to the railroad, there are many more reasons to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located at 212 North Sixth Street at the intersection of Jefferson Street (Illinois Route 97).  Please note that the museum does not have its own parking.  It is either street parking or parking at a parking facility.  The great news is that the museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can get information on the hours and admission at https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/.

In the U.S. state of Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, in the state capital of Springfield, you will find a museum that tells the story of the sixteenth President of the United States of America.  You will be disappointed if you do not visit.

Miller Park, Bloomington, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Cities big and small throughout the United States have their landmarks and city parks.  Among these city parks is Miller Park in the city of Bloomington in the U.S. state of Illinois.  The park has trees, a playground, a small zoo, a manmade lake, a miniature golf course, a memorial to firemen and a war veterans memorial.  Located in the southwestern area of the city on the Historic U.S. Route 66, it is a park within the city that is an oasis from the urbanization.

Some of you are saying, “It is nice that these cities have parks.  These parks are great.  However, there is a problem.  Since this park has no railroad history, I will not be taking a walk in this park.”

Oh, you will want to take a walk in this park.  Why?  One of the big features of this park is Nickel Plate Road Steam Locomotive Number 639 and its tender.  Another feature is Caboose Number 4770 from the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Other feature include a whistle that was on top of the shops of the Chicago and Alton Railroad and pays tribute to the workers of those shops.  (The shops are now gone.)  Another feature is an old semaphore.  (Semaphores have been replaced by the railroad signals today.)

The locomotive was built by the Lima Locomotive Works and was used by the Nickel Plate Road.  When the Nickel Plate Road decommissioned the locomotive, they donated it to the park.  Today, it is on display with the Southern Pacific Railroad Caboose.

Miller Park is located at 1020 S. Morris Avenue in Bloomington, Illinois along the Historic U.S. Route 66.  (It is west of U.S. Route 51 by way of Wood Street.)  Parking is on side.  The park is open sunrise to sunset, and the park is wheelchair accessible.

When in Bloomington, Illinois, visit Miller Park.  See a locomotive that once ran on the rails of the United States of America.

The Lincoln Depot, Springfield, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Illinois is commonly known as the ‘Land of Lincoln’.  Even though Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States of America, was not born in the state, (born in Kentucky) he spent much of his public life here as a lawyer and a politician.  In Springfield, the state capital of Illinois, you can visit and tour his home that is owned and operated by the National Park Service.  It is also where he is buried along with his wife and son in a tomb in a cemetery on the northwestern area of the city.  He is one of the most honored politicians in U.S. history, but when it comes to the railroad, most people would associate him with the railroad more than any other president.  Without Air Force One, the railroad was the fastest mode of travel in his day.

This brings us to an old train station in the capital city that is known as the Lincoln Depot.  Originally called the Great Western Depot, it was originally built in 1852, and it was repaired in 1857 after a fire destroyed parts of the station.  It was here on February 11, 1861, where Abraham Lincoln made what would be his final speech in the capital city before he departed on a train for another capital city, Washington D.C., to begin his life as the President of the United States of America.

Around 1900, passenger and freight service ceased.  The depot when through many ownerships before it was bought by a local group in 1960 to preserve the depot, and it was eventually made into a museum.  There was another fire in 1968.  (Arson was suspected but not proven.)  The museum was closed in 1977, but it was reopened as a museum in 1980 when a new owner took over.  The museum was closed in 2011, and it was sold again to be a law office, but the lawyer was a descendant of Abraham Lincoln’s law partner.  In 2014, it was a museum again, and it remains a museum today.

Today, the Lincoln Depot in Springfield, Illinois in on the National Register of Historical Places.  The trains that pass by the station are freight trains from the Norfolk Southern Railway.  (Amtrak service is in the center of the city just blocks from the State Capitol.)  It is open Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm.  Please note that only the first floor is open to the public, and admission is free.  It is also wheelchair accessible.  The museum does not have its own parking.  There is metered parking on the street or you can park at a parking garage.  You can get more information on the depot at https://www.lincolndepot.org/.  On the website, you read Abraham Lincoln’s farewell speech, read more into the history of the train depot including a timeline, and see photos of the depot.

When in Illinois, visit the capital city of Springfield.  Visit an old train depot where the journey of a man on his way to a house called the White House, began.

Wildlife Prairie Park, Hanna City, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Illinois is commonly called ‘The Land of Lincoln’ became it was this state where Abraham Lincoln’s rise to fame took place.  The state is also famous for the city of Chicago, but it is also a state with much farmland and open space.  West of the city of Peoria is an open space where you can watch animals roam free.  Well, there are in enclosed spaces, but they are not stuck in a case.  The Wildlife Prairie Park is a place where you can feel like you are on an open plain, but you really are in a wildlife park.  You can ride a hay ride with benches known as Adventure Trek where you can ride through the bison and elk pasture.  If that is not enough, you can even spend the night here.  Ladies and gentlemen, they do not call this place a jewel of the North American Midwest for nothing.  When you visit here, you will truly see how the park gets that name.  If you enjoy seeing wildlife in large and natural habitats, you will enjoy a day, and a night, at Wildlife Prairie Park.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  This place sounds like it is a jewel.  I love animals, and I enjoy seeing them at the zoo.  There is a big problem.  As you can see.  This is a wildlife park.  This park is about wildlife.  This is not a railroad park.  Therefore, I will not be paying a visit to this place.”

Well, Wildlife Prairie Park is a park that specializes in wildlife and not trains.  Why visit this place?  Yes, it is a jewel of a park and a place worth your time.  As you enter the park, you will see why you want to visit.

As soon as you pay your admission, the very first thing that you will see is a railroad crossing.

Some of you are saying, “I have been to many places where you have to cross train tracks to get to the attraction.  Many railroads run alongside of parks and historic sites.”

This is true, but if you are fortunate enough, you may be stopped by a train, it is not an ordinary train.  The train is the Prairie Zephyr.  You have read correctly.  This is the Prairie Zephyr, and the train station is to your right.  Well, one of the stations is to your right.  There are three stops on this line.  What are you going to do?  Well, of course, you are going to ride the train.

You enter the station, and you board the train.  The train leaves the station.  You pass by trees and see animals along the way, and then you stop at the Pioneer Homestead.  From here, you return on the same track, and you arrive back at the station.  It is the end of the ride, but it is not.  Remember.  There are three stops, and you only have been to two of them.  The passengers board and deboard, and the train continues on.  You pass by the train yard and pass through a tunnel.  You pass by more animals, and you arrive at a playground, and you have an opportunity to go down a big slide known as the Gollywhopper Slide.  After a short stop, you return to the station, and you get off the train.  By the way, your train ticket allows you to ride the train all day long.

Some of you are saying, “Well, that is it.  No more trains at the wildlife park.”

Ladies and gentlemen, you are wrong.  While at the main train station, you can visit the railroad museum.  Yes, there is a railroad museum here.  The museum has a collection of toy trains.  How often do you get to visit a wildlife park that is about wildlife that has a railroad museum?

Some of you are saying, “Well, you have a point.  I do not know of any wildlife park or zoo that has a railroad museum.  Anyway, I guess that is all of the railroads that we will see at this park.”

Not exactly.

As mentioned.  You can spend a night, or many nights, at this park.  Yes.  There are other wildlife parks that allow you to spend a night there, but how many wildlife parks let you spend a night… in a caboose.  Yes.  You have the option to spend a night in a Santa Fe Railroad Caboose.

If you think that you do not have a reason to visit Wildlife Prairie Park, you now have many.  Along with the train, the railroad museum, and the cabooses, you have a variety of wildlife you see.  There is also laser tag, hiking and biking trails, fishing, disc golf, kayaking, and events throughout the year.

Wildlife Prairie Park is located at 3826 N. Taylor Road in Hanna City, Illinois south of Illinois Route 8, Interstate 74, and U.S. Route 150.  Although the park is open year-round (open 361 days and closed only four days of the year) from 9:00am to 4:30pm (9:00am to 6:30pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day), the Prairie Zephyr runs only at certain times of the year.  Although much of the park is wheelchair accessible to include the Prairie Zephyr, there are some steep paths.  You can information about admission, lodging, activities, the history of the park, to look at the map of the park, and read more into their conservation efforts at https://wildlifeprairiepark.org/.

Wildlife Prairie Park in Hanna City, Illinois is a great place to visit.  When you visit, you will see why.  You will see why they call this place a jewel.

A special thanks to Cody Miyler, Lelonie Luft, and Calli Dicks of Wildlife Prairie Park for the pictures of the recently painted cabooses.

Wheels O’ Time Museum, Dunlap, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Illinois is a state known for many things.  It is commonly called ‘The Land of Lincoln’ as it is the state that made Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States of America, famous.  Although he was born in the U.S. state of Kentucky and spent part of his childhood in the U.S. state of Indiana, it was in Illinois, particularly in the capital city of Springfield, where his rise to fame began, and it is where he is buried.  U.S. President Ronald Reagan was also born in this state.  It is famous for its largest city, Chicago, the Hub City of the continent of North America that is famous for its professional sports teams and it food like pizza and hot dogs.  One of the nation’s famous routes, U.S. Route 66 began in Chicago, and you can drive this route today across the state and see some of its iconic sites.  The John Deere Tractor Company is based in this state, and tractors are also designed here.  Beyond the Chicago Metropolitan Area, much of this state is rural with farms, but there are also other cities like Peoria, and it is in Peoria where you will find the Wheels O’ Time Museum.

What is the Wheels O’ Time Museum?  Well, the name pretty much says what the museum is about.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  The Wheels O’ Time Museum is about wheels through time.  The problem is that this is not a railroad museum.  Therefore, I will not be bringing my wheels to this museum.”

You are right.  It is not a railroad museum, but the very first thing you will see as you arrive at this museum is Rock Island Railroad Locomotive Number 886.  What is the locomotive doing?  It is pulling a train that consists of a combine car number 2617 from the Milwaukee Road, a caboose from the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad, and two Pullman Cars.

In case you are wondering, there is more to see as far as the railroad fan is concerned.

The Wheels O’ Time Museum is a museum about wheels mainly from the twentieth century.  It is housed in five structures.  The first building is a building with a very specific name.  What is the building’s name?  It is called the Main Building.  The first thing you see in the Main Building is the gift shop.  It is a small gift shop, but it is here where you pay your admission.  Then you enter the main hall.  It is here on the first floor where you will see many classic cars.  Hence the name ‘Wheels O’ Time Museum’.  With all of these classic cars on display, this is just a small part of the museum.  Yes, it is just a small part of the museum.

As you see the classic cars, the first floor also have different display rooms.  One of them is called ‘Rivers and Rails of Peoria’.  In this room, you will see the history of the railroad and the riverboats of the region.  A model of Locomotive Number 80 from the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad is on display.

Is that all as far as the Main Building?  No.  There are more rooms on the upper level.  One of the rooms has two model train displays.  There is also a mural featuring a steam train and a race car.

The next building is ‘The Firehouse’.  It is built to look like an old firehouse.  What is the main feature of the Firehouse?  It has two fire trucks and more classic cars.  It has classic bikes, a replica of the ‘Spirit of St. Louis’, the first plane to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, and a replica of a local Peoria radio station.  It also has model trains, railroad dishes, and other railroad memorabilia encased in glass.

Then you have the ‘Generations Building’.  It is the newest building on the property, and the name comes from the World War II generation which is commonly called ‘The Greatest Generation’.  It features tractors, jeeps, and a U.S. Air Force plane from that era, but it also features two model train displays.  The display on the lower level shows a train at a construction site.  The upper level has a LEGO train display.

Then you have the Farm Building.  Yes, it features farm equipment, but it also features railroad maintenance equipment to include a hand car.

The other structures at the museum is the Ford Building which displays cars from the Ford Motor Company and the LeTourneau Steel House, a small single family home.

The Wheels O’ Time Museum is located at 1710 W. Woodside Drive in Dunlap, Illinois just off of Illinois Route 40 north of Peoria.  It is open from May to October from Wednesday to Sunday from 12:00pm to 5:00pm Central Standard Time.  Parking is on site, and most of the museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can learn more about the museum to include admission and to lean about the displays at https://wheelsotime.org/.

The state of Illinois is much more that Chicago and Abraham Lincoln and John Deere.  It is the home of the Wheels O’ Time Museum.  When you arrive, it may take you back in time.