Illinois Railroad Map

I knew this map had to exist, it just took me far too long to get around to do the simple Google search to actually locate it! Here it is: the Illinois Railroad Map (2012 edition). Now I will actually be able to answer the simple question from the back seat, "Which train do you think runs on that line, Mom?" Better yet, I do believe I'm going to print this out right now and put it in that back seat. Nothing like a railroad obsession to help develop some geography skills! 

Chicago: Randolph Pulman Porter Museum

To this mom, one of the best reasons to encourage children's interest in trains is how they provide a gateway to great discussions about history and social issues. I was reminded of this fact today when my email inbox contained a Groupon offer for the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum. Visiting Chicago's Pullman neighborhood has long been on my own to-see list, so I took a peek at their website. Under "Union History," we are given an overview of the history that brought African-American men to the Pullman Palace Car Company as porters. By the 1920s, the site reports, railroad workers provided the "the largest category of black labor in the United States and Canada."  A. Philip Randolph was the union president whose efforts led to improved pay and working conditions for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. More of this history is showcased through links to videos and reviews of the museum, including a profile of a former Pullman Porter reflecting on his career. Just browsing the site provides great insights into a notable chapter in Chicago history. Having this museum in Chicago means that when kids' history classes (or observant questions) turn to topics of civil rights and union organization, we have a nearby resource to inform the conversation.

Batavia: Library train art

This vivid train poster appeared in the Batavia Public Library's children's department earlier this year in honor of the summer reading program's transportation theme. I'm happy to see that it is still there, mostly because it's fun for me to see how my toddler has gone from simply pointing at it a few months ago to announcing, "Train!" as we visit this fall. Long live the steamers!

Trains as "icing-on-the-cake"

This is the time of year when the orchards are pulling out all the stops to bring in the crowds (and their dollars). Among the activities at the larger sites, a "train" of some sort that happens to have an apple or pumpkin theme often appears to entice families of little ones. I don't begrudge these places their success in marketing and entertaining, especially when the season is so brief. On the other hand, the grown ups in this household have the opposite goal of finding entertainment that is pleasant but affordable. Plunking down $10-plus dollars per kid for autumnal side show attractions just isn't happening for us. The point? We don't always go places to see the train or ride the train, we consider the train we happen to pass an icing-on-the-cake moment for the kid who always asks, "Do you think we will see a train?" 

At Waterman's Honey Hill Orchard

So this weekend, we headed out to Waterman for a day at Honey Hill Orchard. It was a delighful fall day on all sorts of levels, but for Mr. Train, just getting there was a treat. Our route took us along Route 30, a road that runs parallel to tracks from just west of Aurora Municipal Airport. Even though we didn't happen to pass any actual trains, the view from the van took in enough signals to make the drive fun. So it wasn't really a train day. It was an apple day with a side order of tracks. And that was good. 

Train book love: "By the Shores of Silver Lake"

My old copy of
By the Shores of Silver Lake

Now that we are back to a school schedule, the day trips will be at a minimum for awhile, but not the mental journeys. My kids and I have been reading through Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books. I've always loved historical fiction, so I started the kids with some of the picture book adaptations of her stories. Once they were hooked, we jumped in to the "real" books and they keep asking to continue as we finish each one. I mention this here because we are currently beginning "By the Shores of Silver Lake. " I'm happy to report that my 7-year old boy has enjoyed reading these books about pioneer girls without complaint, and he has been rewarded by chapters in this volume describing the Ingalls family heading from Minnesota to Dakota Territory via their first train ride. This was in the days when trains were new and dangerous, at least to the young passengers, so the descriptions capture a palpable sense of adventure. The look of the stations and train cars, the clamor of the engines and cars connecting, the rumble of the ground as the trains approach and the feel of soot long after the ride ends, all come through in rich detail.

To be honest, I will never love trains as much as my eldest son, but from an educational perspective there are so many reasons to encourage his interest. As this book reminds me, loving railroads gives him -- and by default his siblings -- a chance to learn about history, industry, society and so much more. If a kid is going to have an obsession, railroading is a fine one to have.

Winfield: Hedges Station

Hedges Station Depot in Winfield's Oakwood Park

        Having kids who love trains, I often repeat safety warnings about the dangers of getting too close to real railroad tracks. Fortunately, the noise at most stations keeps them safely away from rail lines. They were delighted to discover a place last week where wandering across the tracks was perfectly safe. Winfield's Hedges Station Depot is a small 1800s depot that has been moved to its current Oakwood Park location. Inside there are a few rooms to explore and some artifacts from town history. It's a quick walk-through for youngsters because getting back to the outside tracks is the priority. A short stretch of reconstructed tracks offers all sorts of opportunities to "play train."  Once that's been done, exploring the rest of the park and its playground make the outing enjoyable enough that, before we even left, my oldest said, "This is a great park. When can we come back here?" 

Winfield is a designated "Train Town"

One of the railroad artifacts inside the depot

Want to know more? Hedges Station is Winfield's oldest standing building. Read more of its story here and here. 

After a visit to the depot
enjoy the playground, too

Chicago: IIT"s McCormick Tribune Campus Center.

I love architecture as much as my oldest loves trains, so it was a treat for all of us to attend an event last month at the downtown campus of Illinois Institute of Technology. The McCormick Tribune Campus Center houses both the student union and a CTA Green Line stop in modernist elegance. Just the act of parking under the el and pondering the trains zipping into the silver tube that is that station was a thrill for the kids. For pictures, you'll have to peruse other corners of the web because we are in the phase of toddlerhood for my youngest in which stopping to take a picture means a photo of a blur about to get into mischief and/or danger. So, we stop, we look and we promise to return another time when we can enjoy the environment at a more relaxed pace.