Tag: locomotives

The Reading Railroad Heritage Museum, Hamburg, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

What was the Reading Railroad?

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh!  It was a railroad where people read books while riding the railroad.”

Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the correct answer.

Some of you are saying, “Oh!  I see. It was a railroad that had the ability to read so they called it the Reading Railroad.”

Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the correct answer either.

What was the Reading Railroad?  (In case you are wondering, it is pronounced red-ing as in the color red as opposed to reading as in reading a book.)  It was originally called the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Road running mainly along the Schuylkill River between the city of Philadelphia and the city of Reading in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, and it was one of the earliest in the United States of America.  It was later renamed the Reading Company but was commonly known as the Reading Railroad or the Reading Lines even though the headquarters remained in Philadelphia.  The Reading Company served the eastern region of Pennsylvania connecting the coal mines to the ports in Philadelphia until they were overtaken by Conrail in 1976.  Many of the surviving railroad lines are now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum.  The museum is completely dedicated to the Reading Company.

The journey begins at the entrance.  The museum occupies a structure originally owned by the Pennsylvania Electric Steel Casting Company.  You enter the gift shop and then the museum.  You see models of trains.  You see model train displays.  You see a replica of a station master’s office.  You see tools and artifacts used by the Reading Company.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice that they built a museum that remembers the Reading Railroad, but it would be nice to see some real trains.”

That is where we come to the best part of the museum.  What is the best part?

Welcome to the yard.  This is a railroad yard made up mostly of railroad cars used on the Reading Railroad with a few exceptions.  You have boxcars, passenger cars, locomotives, cabooses, and so much more.  There is also a replica railroad tower.

The Reading Railroad Heritage Museum is located at 500 S. Third Street in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.  It is a short drive from Interstate 78, U.S. Route 22, and Pennsylvania Route 61.  The museum is only open from March to December on Saturdays from 10:00am to 4:00pm and Sundays from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.  Admission required to enter the museum.  Parking is street parking.  The museum is self-guided, but only guided tours for the yard.  The museum is wheelchair accessible, but the yard tour requires walking on terrain that is not paved and may be difficult for wheelchairs.  You can get more information at https://www.readingrailroad.org/.

Come to the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.  Learn more about the Reading Railroad, a railroad worth reading about.

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.