Historic red, white and blue locomotive to debut during Diesel Days at Illinois Railway Museum
Illinois Railway Museum Diesel Department volunteers have repainted the museum's oldest diesel locomotive, Ingersoll-Rand 91, in the red, white, and blue color scheme it wore for the 1976 United States bicentennial. The 100-year-old locomotive will make its public debut this weekend, Aug. 7-9, during the annual Diesel Days event. I-R 91 will be on static display for museum visitors.
A pioneering example of internal-combustion technology, I-R 91 was the eighth production diesel locomotive ever built for a U.S. railroad. It was constructed in 1926 by a consortium consisting of American Locomotive Company (Alco), General Electric (GE), and Ingersoll-Rand (I-R). The Alco/GE/IR design integrated electric locomotive features with a 300-horsepower diesel engine to create a low-speed switching locomotive that was nevertheless simple to maintain and cleaner than steam engines.
This locomotive's original identity was Delaware Lackawanna & Western 3001, and the DL&W used it at their harborside railroad yard in Brooklyn, New York. In 1951, the locomotive was sold to I-R, one of the companies that had designed and built it 25 years earlier. It was renumbered 91 and used as a switcher at the I-R facility in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, until retirement and donation to IRM in 1984. In 1976, I-R gave it a red, white, and blue livery in honor of the bicentennial.
As the only locomotive at IRM to have been given a special patriotic livery for the bicentennial, I-R 91 was selected by Diesel Department volunteers for cosmetic restoration during the nation's semiquincentennial year. The locomotive is complete and largely in good condition. Restoration work in recent years has seen the trucks rebuilt and air tanks and piping replaced, but significant funding is still necessary to rebuild the locomotive's electric traction motors. It is the museum's intention to eventually restore I-R 91 to operation, which would make it the oldest operational diesel-electric locomotive in the country. The 100-year-old engine is the oldest diesel locomotive at the Illinois Railway Museum.
About Diesel Days 2026
IRM is home to the largest collection of historic diesels in the country, and Friday through Sunday, Aug. 7-9, more than 30 of them will be in operation for the public on the museum's five-mile-long demonstration railroad. Featured attractions for 2026 include the first public operation of the museum's two most recently acquired diesel locomotives, BNSF SD70MAC 9400 and WCCH SD20 1802; an unmatched assortment of “cowl” units in service, including FP45, SDP40F, F40PHR, and F40C locomotives; operation of the famed Nebraska Zephyr streamlined train; and multiple opportunities for visitors to ride in or operate diesel locomotives. For information and a train schedule, visit the Diesel Days event page on the IRM website.
About the Illinois Railway Museum
The Illinois Railway Museum, a “Museum in Motion,” is the largest museum of its kind in the United States. The museum was founded in 1953 and is 35 miles northwest of O’Hare in Union, McHenry County. It encompasses all aspects of railway history including steam and diesel locomotives, electric streetcars and elevated cars, and historic passenger and freight cars which are operated on the museum’s 150-acre site and 4.5-milelong railroad. The museum, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit educational organization, is owned and operated by volunteers and relies entirely on visitors and donors to fund its preservation efforts. For information on the museum, visit www.irm.org.