To the best of my knowledge, there is no traction or transit forum on Trainboard but this is a railfanning discussion forum, So..... Yesterday was "Members Day" at the Fox River Trolley Museum. I have had a family membership for several years now.Unfortunately I haven't been able to volunteer any of my time of any significance but I hope to change that soon. Enehay... I went there with my youngest daughter and her 9 y/o son. My grandson came with us last year too and he enjoyed it then and he had just as good,if not better,time this year. The operating staff had several cars out and running, #20, the C.A.& E. wood interurban car built by Stephenson in 1902- making it the oldest running interurban car in the country- was out there just as spry as she was in revenue service. #715, the North Shore Line steel interurban car was another one providing yeoman service;my grandson got a shot at being a motorman trainee on that one, he was thoroughly impressed! What I consider to be the emotional "heart" of our collection, #304, the A.E. & F.R. lightweight was up and running. This is a car that was built for the railroad she is currently running on,by some quirk of fate she was sold several times after the A.E. & F.R. quit the passenger business and wound up in a collection in Cleveland. That collection was liquidated by the Brookins family heirs, our museum bid on it and won the bid. #304 is now happily "back home" to stay! We also had #45 the CTA PCC single unit elevated car ready for service and we also had #458, the 1945 St. Louis Car Co. steel interurban car running but not with passengers. #458 is in the process of restoration although it is operable. #458 was acquired in the deal with #304 along with some parts and tools. We also had #5 the A.E.& F.R. diesel loco running and pulling a former Illinois Central caboose. My grandson rode a round trip in that car, sitting up in the cupola. He described the experience as "awesome". Our museum is operated on a segment of the former A.E. & F.R. and has been in continuous service since the line was built. The founders of the museum bought the property from the private owner who was operating a small freight operation on the portion of the line we use. If you ever get out to S.Elgin IL, the museum is along the west side of the Fox River and on IL Rte 31. You can't miss it cuz you will see some of the cars in the collection staring out onto Rte. 31. We operate most every weekend during spring and summer. the "Pumpkin Trolley" will be operating on 0ct 13-14 and Oct.20-21,come, ride the trolley,pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch,take a stroll along the beautiful Fox river,see the fall colors and maybe have a picnic in the lovely John Duerr Woods. We will have Hallowe'en trolleys operating on Oct.20 and 27 with ghost stories and spooks and Hallowe'en treats. We are a licensee of "Polar Express" and will be operating "Polar Express" trains on Nov.24, Dec 1-2, 8-9, and 15-16. Reservations are STRONGLY suggested for all the special event operations as they are usually sell-outs! You don't want to be disappointed. You can make reservations and/or view the museum's website at www.foxtrolley.org Charlie
