Union Pacific Northwest Train Hits a Tree on Tracks
Ok, maybe the title shouldn't be so breaking-news-like and maybe now this doesn't look like a big deal but it was much more exciting sitting in the first car right after the engine when a loud bang pierced the relative quietness (most of the loud people usually get off the train a couple of stops earlier). Judging by the noise, the amount of leaves and wood chips that shot past the windows of the car - what you see stuck to the cowcatcher* is only a small part of what we hit.
* Cowcatcher ( the pilot, cattle catcher) - is the front part of a train that supposed to deflect foreign objects on the track and prevent derailing.
Nebraska Zephyr - EMD E5 Locomotive
One can take a ride on the Nebraska Zephyr, which operated from 1947 to 1971 and now the only surviving EMD E5, an A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive. Illinois Railway Museum, Union, Illinois. #illinoisrailwaymuseum
Around the IRM on a Streetcar
Or hop on a tram (or streetcar or trolley car) and go around the campus of the Illinois Railway Museum. Union, Illinois. #illinoisrailwaymuseum
Rotary Snowplow at the IRM
Among the exhibits of the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) is railroad snow removal equipment. There are giant wedge plows and oddly looking rotary snowplows, like this one. #illinoisrailwaymuseum
Hangars of Illinois Railway Museum II
There are rows of locomotives, cars, and streetcars in the train-sheds of the Illinois Railway Museum. One of them is the Milwaukee Road 265 - a 4-8-4 "Northern"-Type steam locomotive. #illinoisrailwaymuseum
Hangars of Illinois Railway Museum I
The Illinois Railway Museum is the largest railroad museum in the United States. Its hangars shelter numerous displays of old railroad equipment. Union, Illinois. #illinoisrailwaymuseum