Nathan Dietz, 13, of Camp Grove, gets a hands on experience with the control stand from an old training simulator at the Galesburg Railroad Museum Saturday morning. It comes from a SD30 locomotive which was in service from the late 1960's through the mid 1070's.
Rail museum drawing tourists from afar
Grand opening was Saturday
Sunday, May 1, 2005
GALESBURG - Kenneth and Mardell Dietz loaded up the grandkids and drove nearly 50 miles to see Galesburg's railroad history."It's very interesting," said Kenneth, who was just getting started into the room of displays at the grand opening of the new Galesburg Railroad Museum.
The museum opened Saturday and still smelled of fresh paint at its new location just yards north of the Amtrak Depot at Seminary and Mulberry streets in Galesburg. The new site has been in the works for years. The contents of the building, which resembles a train station, celebrates railroaders and the 150-year history of railroads in Galesburg, which today is the largest employer in the community.
BNSF Railway has its second busiest classification yard in Galesburg, where seven lines run through the city, including one along side the museum.
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The new site replaces the Pullman car, which has served as the museum since 1982. Annual attendance there was 6,000 and is hoped to increase with the new site. The Pullman Car will be moved across the street next to the museum, where an engine and other rail cars are on display.
Galesburg Railroad Museum
Directions: The museum is 1 1/2 blocks south of Main Street at Seminary and Mulberry streets near the Amtrak Depot.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Weekday hours will be added after Memorial Day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Closed Mondays.
Admission: $4 adults, $1 ages 8-16; free for 7 and younger.
Info: (309) 342-9400 or www.galesburgrailroadmuseum.org
What to see
Pre-computer controls: Massive chalkboards on the wall mimic the process of scheduling train crews and departure times from 1905 to 1981, when computers became prominent. In the old days, the board was changed every eight hours. Likewise, a CTC, or Central Traffic Control board, shows the way trains used to be monitored as they went down the main line before computers became prominent. Nearby is an old telephone operating board, where orders were taken for what commodities would be shipped.
Telegraph office: A desk and equipment that was used from 1865 to 1982 makes up the telegraph office display. The desk is situated in a bay area of four windows like the old days, when the telegrapher watched left, right and straight ahead for trains. Glass display cases hold a telegrapher's uniform, a teletype and more. A comptometer there, known as a calculator today, is what the CB&Q accounting department used in the 1930s.
Model trains: This section is under construction, but soon will have a model train display of the Galesburg rail yard from 1940 to 1953.
Archived books: Books from the pre 1940s can be viewed through glass, including teaching materials from when the railroad decided to go to Galesburg classrooms and teach about railroads, which in those days employed 3,300 local people.
Reading room: Books after the 1940s are shelved for visitor viewing. Take a seat and look at operator manuals, training booklets, train magazines, Burlington Bulletins and books written by rail fans in the Marilyn Jo Fagan Reading Room. Fagan died in 2003 and left $150,000 in her will for museum construction.
Memory Lane: Former railroad workers donated memorabilia, including uniforms, pins and keys, to display in this section of the museum.
Outdoor train display: A restored engine and three cars built in the 1920s and 1930s sit near the museum.
Souvenirs: T-shirts, mugs, stuffed animals, hats and books are available for purchase. A DVD of Galesburg and its train routs is available for $24.95.
Source: Museum attendant Karen Patrick
