A museum tourist train, being led by Wabash Railroad F7A #1189, rests in front of the Nelson's Crossing depot.
Locale	Monticello, Piatt County, Central Illinois
Preserved operations
Reporting mark	MRMZ[1][nb 1] (Temporary equipment transfers/loans)
Length	15 mi (24 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened	1966 (1966)
Preservation history
Headquarters	Monticello, Illinois
Website
www.mrym.org

The Monticello Railway Museum (initialized MRYM, reporting mark MRMZ^{[1][nb 1]}) is a non-profit railroad museum located in Monticello, Illinois, about 18 miles west of Champaign, Illinois. It is home to over 100 pieces of railroad equipment, including several restored diesel locomotives and cars.

The museum offers a tourist railroad which operates excursion trains over a former railroad line that was owned by Illinois Terminal and Illinois Central Gulf. For a donation, guests can operate one of the locomotives during the "Throttle Time" program. Trains run from May through October and on holidays.

The Camp Creek yard was originally built by the museum's volunteers. The Terminal Division is a rebuilt Illinois Terminal right-of-way running from Camp Creek up to Blacker's towards White Heath. The Central Division was purchased by the museum from the Illinois Central. The Central Division purchase allowed the museum to enter downtown Monticello to the historic Wabash Railroad depot, which is the mainline of the museum's heritage railroad. The Central Division is currently being restored up to White Heath to allow occasional operation into that town. Only a short section of the Terminal Division is currently in use from the central switch down past Nelson's Crossing depot into Camp Creek Yard but has been restored to within a few miles of White Heath.

The Monticello Railway Museum is located off Interstate 72 at Market St. Exit 166. Turn at the stoplight onto Iron Horse Place at the Best Western Gateway Inn, and follow the frontage road to the end. Driving time is about 25 minutes from Champaign and Decatur; 50 minutes from Bloomington.

The Monticello Railway Museum, a not-for-profit educational organization, was founded in 1966 as "SPUR, Inc" (Society for the Perpetuation of Unretired Railfans, Inc). Its original goal was to encourage the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to continue operating its steam-powered railfan excursions.^[2] When that effort failed, the organization decided to operate its own steam-powered excursions and began a search for equipment and a suitable location. SPUR contacted the Illinois Central Railroad about operating on the West end of ICRR's lightly used Rantoul District between LeRoy and Sabina, Illinois. For such an operation, ICRR would require SPUR's equipment to be in "ICC condition" and use the railroad's union train crews. SPUR concluded this would be prohibitively expensive for the organization and continued its search. In 1966, SPUR was invited to Monticello, Illinois by a member of the Illinois Pioneer Heritage Center and moved its first piece of equipment, locomotive #1, a 1925 Alco 0-4-0T, to a vacant lot near the Heritage Center in Monticello.^[3] The organization's name was changed in 1970 to the Monticello & Sangamon Valley Railway Historical Society, Inc., and then shortened in 1982 to the present day Monticello Railway Museum.

The first land purchased was about five miles (8 km) of former Illinois Terminal interurban right of way between Monticello and White Heath. This right of way had been abandoned a few years before and the grade had only ballast in place. A former popcorn field was purchased for a railroad yard and maintenance area. The volunteers prepared the yard area for the arrival of locomotive #1 and moved it from the Heritage Center's lot in Monticello. Through the years track was laid on the former Illinois Terminal interurban grade toward White Heath until approximately 2+1⁄2 miles was completed. A run-around was constructed at (Blacker's), about 2 miles from White Heath. No further construction took place on the former interurban grade and Blacker's became the North end of the line. In 1988, after the purchase of some of the adjacent Illinois Central Gulf's Decatur District, the portion of the museum's trackage built on the former Illinois Terminal interurban grade was designated the "Terminal Division.

In 1975, an old-time piano contest by the name of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival was started on the land of the new railway museum as a fundraiser. The contest remained at the museum using a piano on the back of a caboose and the audience in lawn chairs around it for about ten years, until it was moved to the football field of Monticello High School.

In 1987, the museum purchased 7+1⁄2 miles of Illinois Central Gulf Decatur District trackage between Monticello and White Heath which parallels the Illinois Terminal right-of-way. The Nelson Crossing display track lead was extended to a new connecting turnout in the former ICG trackage, joining the museum's track with the newly purchased line. The connection was built by Museum volunteers in just two weekends. After a short "Golden Spike" ceremony, the museum's first run into Monticello was made. The former Illinois Central Gulf trackage to Monticello and White Heath was designated the museum's "Central Division."

Today the train ride primarily traverses the Central Division, using the Terminal Division only when pulling into the depot at Nelson's Crossing. The station names used on both the Central and Terminal Divisions were used by the original railroads.

Locomotive details^[4][5][6]

Number	Type	Image	Wheel arrangement	Built	Builder	Status
401	Steam		2-8-0	1907	Baldwin Locomotive Works	Operational
1189	F7A		(B-B)	1953	General Motors Diesel	Operational
6789	FPA4		(B-B)	1959	Montreal Locomotive Works	Operational
1649	NW2		(B-B)	1947	Electro-Motive Division	Display
8733	GP11		(B-B)	1958	Electro-Motive Division	Operational
6071	SD40		(C-C)	1964	Electro-Motive Division	Display
1407	EMD SW14		(B-B)	1950	Electro-Motive Division	Stored, awaiting restoration
1559	RS-3		(B-B)	1955	American Locomotive Works	Stored, awaiting repairs
44	GE 44-ton switcher		(B-B)	1940	Davenport Locomotive Works	Display
5764	E8A		(B-B)	1952	Electro-Motive Division	Under restoration
1	Steam		0-4-0	1929	American Locomotive Works	Display
191	Steam		0-6-0	1916	American Locomotive Works	Display
333	Steam		4-6-0	1916	Baldwin Locomotive Works	Stored, awaiting restoration
6862	FPB4		(B-B)	1958	Montreal Locomotive Works	Operational
31	EMD RS1325		(B-B)	1960	Electro-Motive Division	Operational
784	EMD SW1200		(B-B)	1955	Electro-Motive Division	Stored, awaiting restoration
9940	EMD E9A		(B-B)	1950	Electro-Motive Division	Display

Rolling stock details^[7][8][9]

Number / Name	Type	Image	Built	Builder	Status
892	Combine car		1918	Pullman Company	Operational
2541	Passenger car		1925	Pullman Company	Operational
2855	Passenger coach		1918	Pullman Company	Stored, awaiting restoration
7	Observation car		1917	Pullman Company	Operational
3531	Passenger car		1950	Pullman Company	Display
Nautilus	Aquarium car		1949	Pullman Company	Display
405	Baggage car		1957	American Car and Foundry	Display
Pleasant Valley	Sleeper car		1942	Pullman Company	Display
3312	Sleeper car		1942	Unknown	Operational
2612	Passenger car		1947	Pullman Company	Operational
2920	Passenger car		1925	Pullman Company	Operational
1238	Passenger car		1927	American Car and Foundry	Under restoration
6	Office car		1911	American Car and Foundry	Display
903	Railway Post Office car		1903	American Car and Foundry	Stored, awaiting restoration
4112	Dining car		1946	Pullman Company	Operational
4110	Dining car		1946	Pullman Company	Operational
1907	Open Air Flatcar		1929	Nickel Plate Road	Operational
827	Baggage car		1892	Pullman Company	Stored, awaiting restoration
758	Railway Post Office car		1882	Chicago and Alton Railroad	Stored, awaiting restoration
Timothy B. Blackstone	Sleeper car		1950	American Car and Foundry	Stored, awaiting restoration
9012	Sleeper car		1950	American Car and Foundry Company	Stored
City of Decatur	Parlor car		1927	Pullman Company	Stored, awaiting restoration
1827	Passenger car		1947	Pullman Company	Operational
Gulfport	Observation car		1942	Pullman Company	Stored, awaiting restoration
105	Tanker car		1928	General American Transportation Co.	Operational
7297	Tanker car		1925	General American Transportation Co.	Operational
80129	Hopper car		1953	American Car and Foundry Company	Operational
47947	Boxcar		1927	Unknown	Under restoration
82697	Boxcar		1941	Wabash Railroad	Out of service, awaiting repairs
41390	Boxcar		1937	General American Transportation Co.	Operational
567595	Boxcar		Unknown	Unknown	Display
65018	Hopper car		1955	Illinois Central Railroad	Operational
7990	Hopper car		1961	Magor Car Company	Operational
1145	Tanker car		1972	Union Tank Car Company	Stored
509	Tanker car		1965	General American Transportation Co.	Operational
3161	Tanker car		Unknown	Unknown	Stored, awaiting restoration
127	Boxcar		1964	Unknown	Stored
26012	Boxcar		1950s	General American Transportation Co.	Under restoration
3516	Boxcar		1906	Chicago & Alton Railroad	Stored, awaiting restoration
70528	Flatcar		1951	General American Transportation Co.	Operational
70557	Flatcar		1951	General American Transportation Co.	Operational
5571	Boxcar		1966	Chicago Freight Car Company	Stored
9831	Side Door Cupola Caboose		1941	Illinois Central Railroad	Operational
9926	Side Door Cupola Caboose		1950	Illinois Central Railroad	Operational
806	Transfer Caboose		1924	Illinois Terminal Railroad	Operational
2824	Cupola Caboose		1949	Wabash Railroad	Display
2834	Cupola Caboose		1949	Wabash Railroad	Stored
C1735	Bobber Caboose		1910	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad	Display
500836	Cupola Caboose		1943	Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway	Display
555047	Cupola Caboose		1976	International Car Company	Operational
557530	Bay Window Caboose		1960	Nickel Plate Road	Stored
1879	Cupola Caboose		1909	Uninown	Operational
14042	Cupola Caboose		1891	Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad	Under restoration
477692	Cupola Caboose		1909	Unknown	Stored
9365	Wide Vision Cupola Caboose		1972	Illinois Central Railroad	Display
9570	Wide Vision Cupola Caboose Cupola Caboose		1969	Illinois Central Railroad	Display
2954	Wide Vision Cupola Caboose		1968	International Car Company	Display
99100	Cupola Caboose		1910	American Car & Foundry Company	Stored
2834	Cupola Caboose		1949	Wabash Railroad	Out of service
C2210	Cupola Caboose		1929	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad	Stored

Nelson's Crossing Depot was donated in 1977. This Illinois Central Railroad depot was formerly located in Deland, Illinois. The depot was built in 1919 and rebuilt in 1942. The depot was moved to the museum in 1980 and is the ticket office and gift shop of the museum.

The Wabash Depot was built in 1899 to replace a smaller depot that had burned earlier that year. At the time the Wabash mainline went through Monticello between what is now the grain elevator and McDonald's. The line was moved west onto a fill, straightened, and a new steel bridge was built over what was the Illinois Central Railroad (now Monticello Railway Museum trackage). On April 20, 1904, the depot was moved to higher ground beside the new mainline. The depot was moved to its present location on May 29, 1987, and was restored by the Monticello Depot Association. January 1. 1993, that organization, its members and its assets were absorbed into the Monticello Railway Museum.

Among the special events at the museum, Railroad Days are held each year on the third weekend of September. One daily ticket allows riders to experience the ultimate railroad experience in the Midwest. A regular passenger train using former Illinois Central coaches and office car #7, a mixed-freight train, along with motor cars going into White Heath.

A fireworks special train, pulled by two locomotives, leaves at 8:00 pm and travels north to the museum grounds to view fireworks. Air-conditioned coaches, an open-air car, and open-window coaches are used.

• List of United States railroads
  • List of Illinois railroads
• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• List of railway museums
• This 1980 documentary film of Engine #1 was shot at this location. It provides an excellent overview of steam engine physics and nomenclature, and how to operate one. [1]

• Official website