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Date: 2009-04
STAYCATION
MAKE THE FOX RIVER TOLLEY MUSEUM PART OF YOUR 2009 'STAYCATION!'
MUSEUM PLANS 17 SPECIAL EVENT DAYS
Plan that picnic lunch and set your sights this summer on an attraction that won't break the bank - the Fox River Trolley Museum!
The museum, conveniently located on Illinois 31 in South Elgin, opens for the 2009 season on Mother's Day, May 10, with free rides for mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers and even great-grandmothers with a paid child's fare. Fares for Dad and the others will be the same unbeatable price as last year, $3.50, and $2 for senior citizens and for children 3-11. Children under age 3 ride free.
The Fox River Line is a monument to the Fox Valley's history that has roots 113 years old. In full flower, it was a 40-mile railroad that was built over a seven-year period by three different companies, linked Carpentersville with Yorkville, including a direct link between Elgin and Aurora. It opened the Fox Valley to public transportation. Service began between Elgin and Geneva, including the stretch preserved today, on June 30, 1896.
The museum's demonstration rail line links the Castlemuir station in South Elgin with Blackhawk station at the Jon Duerr Forest Preserve in St. Charles Township, on the site of the historic Coleman Grove picnic ground.
In the early 20th century, before roads were paved and cheap auto transportation became common, crowds road Fox River Line trolley cars and Illinois Central passenger trains to Coleman Grove. It featured a dance platform, horseshoe pits, athletic fields and even a pier on the Fox River, from which canoes could be rented. Many visitors would bring pails and shovels, and dig in the Fox for fresh-water clams. Today, the forest preserve picnic area sits at the southern end of the Fox River Line, awaiting picnickers not unlike 100 years ago. Riders may board at either end of the line.
The Fox River Line is not a re-creation, even though the last passenger runs between Elgin and Aurora took place March 31, 1935. Three miles of the line remained to haul freight to a handful of customers, most notable the Elgin State Hospital. That service continued until 1972, by which time the museum was a tenant. It then purchased the line.
Today's Fox River Line offers a four-mile round trip, gives visitors the atmosphere of an old-time trolley ride and features the only surviving car from the opening day of its sister line, the Aurora Elgin & Chicago (AE&C) R.R. Car 20 is the oldest operating example of an interurban trolley car in North America and a favorite of many visitors each year.
Mother's Day is just the first of a series of special events scheduled this year at the museum. Others include:
Father's Day, June 21. It's Dad, Stepdad, Grandpa and even Great-Grandpa's turn to ride free, this day only, with a paid child's fare.
CA&E Day, July 3. The museum marks the anniversary of one of the most chaotic days in west suburban commuting history - July 3, 1957, the day the old Chicago Aurora & Elgin Ry. took 6,000 people to work and no one home, permanently “suspending” passenger operations without advance notice to employees or riders at 12:10 p.m. Riders will get to participate in a re-enactment - but everyone will get home! CA&E and CTA cars will be used.
Red, White and Blue Dollar Day, July 4. All riders pay just $1 as the museum marks America's birthday, and the 43rd anniversary of the museum's first public operation.
Trolleyfest, Aug. 15-16, and the Village of South Elgin's Riverfest Express, Aug. 13-16. It's two great celebrations, and one great time! Riverfest Express features food, music, carnival rides, fun and fireworks; the museum's historic trolley cars operate from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Aug. 15 and 16 only.
The Pumpkin Trolley, Oct. 10, 11, 17 and 18. The frost is on the pumpkin and the corn is in the shock! Indian Summer reigns supreme at the museum, as riders get the chance to ride a Fox River Line trolley to the Pumpkin Patch at Coleman Yard and take a pumpkin home; all kids get a small treat! Pumpkin tickets are $2 extra.
In addition to those special events, there are two that require advance reservations. Reserve two seats or bring a group, but seats go on sale in late June and sell out weeks in advance, so mark your calendars place your reservation early.
The "Halloween Hiawatha" - the ghost story train, Oct. 17, 18, 24 and 25. Each evening, the reserved-seating, extra-fare, Ghost Story trains entertain children, their daddies, mummies and even grandmummies! Those who dare can experience a campfire, hot chocolate and s'mores along the shores of the Fox, will hear ghoulishly delightful ghost tales.
The Polar Express, Dec. 5, 6, 12, 19 and 20. Chris Van Allsburg's best-selling book, “The Polar Express,” comes alive for a sixth consecutive holiday season aboard the museum's trolley cars. Board the extra-fare, all-reserved Polar Express at Blackhawk station in the Jon Duerr Forest Preserve, on Illinois 31 in St. Charles Township, for a ride north to meet Santa and experience the magic of the season. Chris Van Allsburg's book will be available for $18. Reservations sold out last year on some trains as early as July.
Tickets for Halloween Hiawatha and Polar Express trains can be ordered online, beginning in late June, at the museum's Web site, http://www.foxtrolley.org. Regular tickets and passes are not honored aboard Halloween Hiawatha and Polar Express trains.
No tickets for Halloween Hiawatha and Polar Express trains will be sold day-of-event, and there will be no refunds or exchanges unless a train is canceled.
The Fox River Trolley Museum is inexpensive, close to home, a real slice of history - and it's fun.
The museum is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to perpetuating the memories of Chicago's once-burgeoning electric railroad industry. Cars in operation or on display represent all three of the major Chicago interurban (inter-city) electric railways as well as Chicago's “L” and streetcar lines. All museum workers are volunteers dedicated to recreating a bygone era in mass transportation.
The museum, at 361 S. LaFox St., on Route 31 in South Elgin, is open on operating days 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., except as noted. For additional information, or to charter a train, call (847) 697-4676.
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