Dollar train rides to honor Fourth, museum birthday

The Fox River Trolley Museum is celebrating two birthdays this Independence Day.

Not only is the Fourth of July Independence Day, it is the 43rd anniversary of the day the museum began public operations. All riders on all July 4 trips at the museum will be charged just $1.

The museum is close to home, a slice of history and fun. On July 4, it's more affordable than ever. The museum calls its July 4 event "Red, White and Blue Dollar Day." Riders will make the four-mile round trip on its scenic line bordering the Fox River and running through the Jon Duerr Forest Preserve.

The core of the museum's operations is over historic trackage of the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric line. Museum operations began July 4, 1966, and coexisted with the freight service for six years, said Bruce Moffat, museum member and rail historian. Railroad owner Robert DeYoung operated freight service on weekdays, and the museum operated its trains on weekends, Moffat said. The museum paid its "rent" in the form of trackwork and other maintenance on the railroad.

The railroad is one of the oldest continuously-operating interurban railway lines in the U.S. It began operation between Elgin and Geneva on June 30, 1896. The railroad linked Elgin and Aurora with frequent, inexpensive electric railway service from 1901 until 1935. From 1901 to 1924, it ran between Carpentersville and Yorkville, a distance of more than 40 miles. From 1935 until its purchase by the museum in 1972, the railroad concentrated on freight service linking the Illinois Central Railroad with the Elgin State Hospital and other industries in the South Elgin area.

Although at one time freight customers included a meat packing plant, a tannery, a gravel pit and the village of South Elgin, freight service in later years consisted almost exclusively of coal for use at the State Hospital's power plant, Moffat said. In 1972, when environmental regulators ordered the plant to burn natural gas instead of coal because of pollution, coal shipments ceased and DeYoung sold the railroad to the museum. In 1978, the museum abandoned the trackage between today's Castlemuir depot and the state hospital.

The museum's line was once part of a larger network of electrically-operated railroads that ran throughout the western suburbs. The museum rosters contain more than 25 pieces of historic railroad, streetcar and interurban electric railway equipment, most of it with ties to Chicago.

Other upcoming special events include:

• Trolleyfest, Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16, and the Village of South Elgin's Riverfest Express, Thursday, Aug. 13 to Sunday, Aug. 16. Riverfest Express features food, music, carnival rides, fun and fireworks. The museum's historic trolley cars operate from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. only Sunday, Aug. 16 and Monday, Aug. 17.

• The Pumpkin Trolley, Saturday, Oct. 10, Sunday, Oct. 11, Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18. Get your pumpkin by riding a Fox River Line trolley to the Pumpkin Patch; all kids get a small treat. Pumpkin tickets are $2 extra.

For schedules and details, or to rent a train, call the museum at (847) 697-4676 or visit www.foxtrolley.org.