Naperville: Saying goodbye to TRAINS! at the DuPage Children's Museum

Naperville, IL -- During my family's annual summer visit to the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville, we said goodbye to a beloved exhibit. TRAINS! ends its two-year run at the end of this month. Before the museum closes for it's September hiatus, squeeze in a final visit or two to see the model train, "drive" or "ride" a Metra, be a ticket agent, operate a crane, or enjoy a great selection of books and artwork about railroads. A farewell party is planned for the evening of August 22 beginning at 5 p.m. Kids will be able to enjoy rides on two child-sized trains running in the parking lot during the event. Parents can RSVP for the festivities via the museum's web form. Goodbye, TRAINS! You will be missed. 

Railroad Roadtrip: Trains in Wisconsin's Northwoods

At the Minocqua Museum

Northern Wisconsin -- Ah, the Northwoods: a vacation paradise of forests, lakes and trains.

For families who head Up North on their summer vacation, a day away from the cabin can include a whistle stop at local museums with charming model train layouts and retired railroad cars. More avid railroad fans can even enjoy the rare opportunity to ride an operational steam train. This being a tourist paradise, the non-train lover will be rewarded for coming along for the ride with fun sites to see and things to do at the very same spots.

Main-level layout at Minocqua Museum

Large layout at the Minocqua Museum

MINOCQUA

My family  recently returned from our first Northwoods vacation in several years. We knew our week in the woods would include a few train stops, but the first was a chance discovery. During a morning visit to Minocqua we were in need of rest rooms and turned to the Minocqua Museum in our time of need. Lo and behold, what should we discover upon entering but a delightful model train layout on the main level and an even larger layout in the museum's basement. Both illustrate the area's history as towns grew up around railroad lines thanks to logging and tourism industries in the late 19th century. My boys were captivated by both layouts and appreciated being able to operate some of the trains with the push of a button. As is so often the case at small museums, the  engineer on hand, who had built both layouts, was eager to share his love of history and trains with our family. (For my daughter, who was less entranced with the trains, other exhibits fascinated her, including sitting in the Cameron automobile and playing teacher in the schoolhouse exhibit.)

LAONA

The Lumberjack Steam Train
Laona, Wisconsin

The very next day, our family headed in the opposite direction to little Laona, Wisconsin for a ride on the Lumberjack Steam Train. Despite our many visits to train museums and countless train rides, this day marked our first family experience with a real, running steam engine. In truth, it was the dad of the family who was most excited to finally experience the puff-puff, chug-chug! According to the museum, the "Laona & Northern Railway was incorporated in 1902. ... It is the only logging railroad engine left in Wisconsin operating on its original line." The engine itself, a 2-6-2 for those of you who count wheels, was built in 1916.

Playground at Camp 5 

View from the caboose cupola

On our ride from the Laona station to Camp 5 (a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places) we sat in the Open Car. Thanks to the Plexiglass shielding we were able to enjoy a view of the engine pushing us backwards to the camp without experiencing the grit that would have been a feature of steam travel in days gone by. Two coach passenger cars were an option for riders as well, as two -- yes, two -- bright yellow cabooses. The ride lasted not much more than 10 minutes, but it wound through beautiful woods, across level crossings and a lake-side bridge, finally ending in the picturesque Camp 5. During our two-hour visit, our middle-child was rewarded for her train tolerance with a visit to the Animal Petting Corral where she and her brothers were able to pet kittens, hold bunnies, and get close to goats, pigs, chickens and a calf. Everyone enjoyed also wandering through the forestry museum -- nothing like seeing the real tools of actual loggers to put that Paul Bunyan Cook Shanty breakfast into perspective. Of course, no matter where we go, the kids always like the park the best, so the playground next to the "Choo-Choo Hut" cafe could have entertained them for hours. When it was time say goodbye to Camp 5, the kids skipped over the passenger cars in favor of a caboose seat, willing to wait 20 minutes in the cupola to hold their places up high and mastering the art of small talk with other kids doing the very same thing. After we returned to the station and spent some time gazing at the train from the safety of a conveniently placed swing set, we pulled out of the parking lot with a send-off blow of the train whistle and a wave from the locomotive's engineer.

Cabooses!

After disembarking from the return trip,
 children took turns tooting the steam whistle

RHINELANDER

"Steam Hauler" for pulling sleighs loaded with logs

Our final train trek took us to Pioneer Park in Rhinelander. According to the museum docents who welcomed us, most kids head straight to the same place mine dashed upon entering the grounds: the Rhinelander Railroad Museum and Model Railroad. Its focal point is the circa 1890 Soo Line depot, which features four rooms of railroad memorabilia, including telegraph equipment that my 2-year old found most compelling. The Rhinelander Rail Association operates the model railroad layout on the lower level, providing a glimpse of the community's history as the rail lines and town centers would have appeared in the early twentieth century.   

Model train display by the Rhinelander Rail Association

Part of a mural outside the Firebarn. 

Outside the depot, visitors may inspect the 1925 narrow gauge steam engine and a passenger car from the Thunder Lake Lumber Company, a caboose from the Soo Line Railroad, a signal tower, and many other equipment pieces. Kids can walk through the caboose, but at this time the passenger car is being restored and is not open for inside visits. Due to the age of the equipment, climbing on the locomotive is also forbidden, however, a museum brochure points to the cow catcher on the front of the engine as a fine place for posed photos. (While there, take note of the narrowness of the narrow-gauge tracks: just 36 inches apart, compared to the 56 inches between the rails of standard trains.) 

"Number 5," a narrow-gauge locomotive

This museum also features several additional exhibits depicting the varied history of the region and diverse interests of guests. Other sites include a sawmill, one-room school house, Civilian Conservation Corps camp building, restored fire engines, blacksmith shop, boating museum, logging displays, and a gift shop. Aside from the trains, my kids were most engaged by the school house with its sand table and collection of rubber stamps -- apparently children across the generations enjoy spending their free time at school in similar ways. 

After visiting the Hodag in the gift shop -- Babe the Blue Ox isn't the only mysterious creature of the northwoods -- we were begged yet again to head for the playground next to the museum for some running, climbing, and sliding. It was the end of the line our train adventures. We needed a day of playing in the woods and the lake before saying "All aboard" to the family van and heading home.  

Soo Line Caboose from the 1880s

Geneva: Trackless Train at Famfest 2014

Geneva -- Check out the schedule for Famfest 2014 at Faith Baptist Church in Geneva for an afternoon of kid-pleasing activities, including rides on a trackless train. The event happens this Saturday, August 2 starting at noon. Activities are free, but registration is required via the church's online form. 

Glen Ellyn: Free Cupcakes at 2 Toots!

Psst, there are free cupcakes to be had at 2 Toots this weekend! Here's the email we received: 

"Get a FREE cupcake delivered to you by train!
     
Just a friendly reminder.*  When you sit down to eat for the Illinois Wounded Warrior's Weekend - June 28-29 2014 - at the Glen Ellyn, 2 Toots Train Whistle Grill, mention that you "WANT TO MEET SHAUN." He is the new owner/operator.  And, as a show of thanks for your patronage, you will receive a FREE cupcake. 

Offer Expires: June 29, 2014 at 8:00PM Central Time"

Read more about the new owner of 2 Toots Train Whistle Grill in the Daily Herald. 

Warrenville: St. James' Farm Caboose

Warrenville, Illinois -- A few weekends ago, my family was introduced to the gem that is St. James Farm. The property, now part of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, originally served as a private retreat for the McCormick family of International Harvester fame. They left behind remarkable dairy and equestrian facilities, as well as an impressive collection of sculpture. Visitors can now enjoy the preserve's more than 600 acres by trail, or by simply enjoying fishing or picnicking.

Of special interest to my group, of course, was the 1906 Burlington & Quincy Caboose. This railcar first came to St. James Farm during the McCormick family's days here to entertain children and it still fulfills its mission. Kids rush to board the caboose and see the equipment still featured from its' days as working rail stock. On the day we visited, a hay-ride guide told us a push button sets the caboose to rocking to emulate the feel of a train really rolling down the track. (We could only find plenty of kids to wiggle it on the rails in their own way.)

Love this vintage
Burlington dish towel!

To learn more about what really went on in the caboose during its operational days and why it ended up at St. James Farm, make a trip to the farm Saturday, June 14 between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Visitors will hear about the jobs of the brakeman and conductor and the CA & E Railroad. The program is free for kids under 5, $2 for kids 5-12 and $5 for adults. 

Enter St James Farm at Winfield Road. The preserve is just north of Butterfield Road (Illinois 56). For a map, click here. 

Inside the caboose

West Chicago: Caboose at Reed-Keppler Park

West Chicago, Illinois -- Thanks to a gift from the Canadian National Railway, visitors to the Turtle Splash water park at Reed-Keppler Park are treated to the sight of an E, J & E caboose at the western edge of the parking lot. (Old and new technology meet these days as heavy equipment is currently busy constructing the community's new ARC recreation center, also just west of the splash park.) The caboose previously resided in Joliet, according to "Around and About in West Chicago." The caboose arrived in West Chicago via truck in April 2013. More information about West Chicago's railroad history is available on the City Museum blog.  

Reed-Keppler Park is located at 129 W. National St., West Chicago. 

Batavia: Summer Hours for Depot Museum

Batavia, Illinois -- Batavia's Depot Museum has posted "new summer hours." The depot will now be open longer on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from noon until 4 p.m. The depot is located next to the Fox River Trail at the northeast corner of Houston and Water streets in downtown Batavia.

Information about the museum is available at it's website.