Monticello Railway Museum Home Page
MONTICELLO, IL
4.8· 475 Google reviews
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About Monticello Railway Museum Home Page
The museum runs heritage excursion trains from its downtown Monticello depot along the restored Central Division, then onto a short segment of the Terminal Division before turning back, offering rides through rolling prairie scenery toward White Heath. Operated May through October and on holidays, the service uses historic Illinois Central coaches, office car #7 and mixed‑freight equipment, while volunteers sometimes let guests handle the throttle.
📍 MONTICELLO, IL 61455
History
The Monticello Railway Museum is incorporated as a not‑for‑profit organization in 1966, originally under the name SPUR, Inc. (Society for the Perpetuation of Unretired Railfans, Inc.), when its members moved locomotive #1, a 1925 Alco 0‑4‑0T, to a vacant lot near the Illinois Pioneer Heritage Center in Monticello. In 1970 the group renamed itself the Monticello & Sangamon Valley Railway Historical Society, Inc., and in 1982 shortened the title to the present‑day Monticello Railway Museum. A 7½‑mile segment of former Illinois Central Gulf Decatur District trackage was purchased in 1987, creating the museum’s Central Division and prompting a “Golden Spike” ceremony for the first run into downtown Monticello; the following year, 1988, the earlier Illinois Terminal interurban segment was designated the Terminal Division. The museum’s Nelson’s Crossing depot, originally built in 1919 and rebuilt in 1942, was donated in 1977, moved to the museum site in 1980, and later transferred to museum ownership in 1993 when the Monticello Depot Association was absorbed. The World Championship Old‑Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival began on museum grounds in 1975, providing a long‑running fundraiser.
The Trains
The museum’s collection includes more than 100 pieces of equipment, among them the original locomotive #1—a 1925 Alco 0‑4‑0T steam engine—and office car #7 used on passenger runs. Trains operate primarily on the Central Division, a 7 ½‑mile stretch of former Illinois Central Gulf track that runs from downtown Monticello to White Heath, while a short 2 ½‑mile segment of the Terminal Division connects the Nelson’s Crossing depot to Camp Creek Yard and extends toward Blacker’s near White Heath.
Nearby
From Monticello, Illinois, a longer day links the Monticello Railway Museum with the Silver Creek & Stephenson Railroad, 35 mi away, then the Fennimore Railroad Historical Society Museum, 40 mi out.
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