IRM Strahorn Library

IRM Strahorn Library Open to the public on Wednesday's 10:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Please check back prior to your visit for any weather-related announcements or holiday closures.

Conway Scenic Railroad's Number 15, a 44 ton diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric, on the turntable at N...
09/08/2026

Conway Scenic Railroad's Number 15, a 44 ton diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric, on the turntable at North Conway, New Hampshire. Number 15 was built in 1945 for the Maine Central.

Photo Courtesy: Mary Jayne Rowe

William Henry Jr Postcard Collection - Illinois Railway Museum Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of the United States.

The Strahorn Library is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois. It is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).

All materials are available for non-commercial purposes, and according to the “fair use” provision of the U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

D & H Units Number 16, 17, 18 and 19, the sole survivors of the famed "PA" Units are viewed along Lake Champlain near Po...
09/07/2026

D & H Units Number 16, 17, 18 and 19, the sole survivors of the famed "PA" Units are viewed along Lake Champlain near Port Henry, New York with Freight SC-20. These Units were built by Alco in 1948 for the Santa Fe Railway Company.

Photo Courtesy: Jim Shaughnessy

William Henry Jr Postcard Collection - Illinois Railway Museum Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of the United States.

The Strahorn Library is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois. It is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).

All materials are available for non-commercial purposes, and according to the “fair use” provision of the U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

Monon locomotive 606 is a class L-1 2-10-2 built by Alco/Brooks on November 1916. She is shown here at Lafayette, India...
09/06/2026

Monon locomotive 606 is a class L-1 2-10-2 built by Alco/Brooks on November 1916. She is shown here at Lafayette, Indiana in September 1940. The name of the photographer is written on the back of this photo but, unfortunately, the handwriting makes it illegible. The photo comes to us from the William Raia collection via the Dillon Collection at the Illinois Railway Museum’s Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of North America. It is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois, is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).\

All materials are provided only for non-commercial purposes according to the “fair use” provision of U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

[Source: Dillon 2103, Strahorn Library, Illinois Railway Museum.]

Chicago North Western 8519 is a C40-8 pictured somewhere in the greater Chicago area leading Union Pacific 6277 in Decem...
09/04/2026

Chicago North Western 8519 is a C40-8 pictured somewhere in the greater Chicago area leading Union Pacific 6277 in December 1996. The photograph is now part of the Kroeger collection at the Illinois Railway Museum’s Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of North America. It is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois, is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).\

All materials are provided only for non-commercial purposes according to the “fair use” provision of U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

[Source: Kroeger 025-144, Strahorn Library, Illinois Railway Museum.]

Monon 604 is an example of a relatively uncommon wheel arrangement, the 2-10-2. She was built by Alco/Schenectady in 19...
09/03/2026

Monon 604 is an example of a relatively uncommon wheel arrangement, the 2-10-2. She was built by Alco/Schenectady in 1914 and carried 190 lbs. of steam pressure on 57-inch drivers. With 28x30-inch cylinders, she could exert 66,700 pounds of tractive effort. 604 was ultimately scrapped in October 1946. The photograph is now part of the Dillon Collection at the Illinois Railway Museum’s Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of North America. It is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois, is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).\

All materials are provided only for non-commercial purposes according to the “fair use” provision of U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

[Source: Dillon 2102, Strahorn Library, Illinois Railway Museum.]

Sand Springs Railway's Number 102, an E.M.D.SW-900, is viewed while switching local industry at Sand Springs, Oklahoma.P...
09/02/2026

Sand Springs Railway's Number 102, an E.M.D.
SW-900, is viewed while switching local industry at Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

Photo Courtesy: Mary Jayne Rowe

William Henry Jr Postcard Collection - Illinois Railway Museum Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of the United States.

The Strahorn Library is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois. It is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).

All materials are available for non-commercial purposes, and according to the “fair use” provision of the U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

September 2, 1850: The first passenger train on the Aurora Branch Railroad—the earliest corporate predecessor of the Chi...
09/02/2026

September 2, 1850: The first passenger train on the Aurora Branch Railroad—the earliest corporate predecessor of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad—departed Batavia, Illinois, for West Chicago (then Turner Junction). The train operated using the 4-2-0 locomotive Pioneer and a single coach, both temporarily leased from the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad.

Citation: Aurora Branch Railroad Company First Annual Report (1851); detailed in Burlington Route: A History of the Burlington Lines by Richard C. Overton (1965).

Former Boston & Maine Railroad's F-7 Diesel Locomotive Number 4266, built in 1949 and now owned by the 470 Rallroad Club...
09/01/2026

Former Boston & Maine Railroad's F-7 Diesel Locomotive Number 4266, built in 1949 and now owned by the 470 Rallroad Club of Portland, Maine, pauses at the 1874 Railroad Station of Conway Scenic Railroad in North Conway, New Hampshire.

Photo Courtesy: Mary Jayne Rowe

William Henry Jr Postcard Collection - Illinois Railway Museum Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of the United States.

The Strahorn Library is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois. It is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).

All materials are available for non-commercial purposes, and according to the “fair use” provision of the U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

September 1, 1859: Pullman Sleeper No. 9, the first sleeping car designed by George M. Pullman, made its inaugural overn...
09/01/2026

September 1, 1859: Pullman Sleeper No. 9, the first sleeping car designed by George M. Pullman, made its inaugural overnight run from Bloomington, Illinois, to Chicago, operating on the Chicago, Alton and St. Louis Railroad.

Citation: The Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), September 1859, and corroborated by Pullman Company corporate records archived in The Story of the Pullman Car by Joseph Husband (1917).

ERIE - LACKAWANNA RAILROAD'S "Units Number 3301, 3302 and 3303"Three of the Erie - Lackawanna's U-33-Cs being used in Po...
08/31/2026

ERIE - LACKAWANNA RAILROAD'S "Units Number 3301, 3302 and 3303"
Three of the Erie - Lackawanna's U-33-Cs being used in Pool Service in April of 1971 on the Delaware & Hudson as they crest Richmondville Hill near East Worchester, New York.

Photo Credit: Jim Shaughnessy

Photo Courtesy: Mary Jayne Rowe

William Henry Jr Postcard Collection - Illinois Railway Museum Strahorn Library.

The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of the United States.

The Strahorn Library is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois. It is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail ([email protected]), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary).

All materials are available for non-commercial purposes, and according to the “fair use” provision of the U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

Address

118 E Washington Street
Marengo, IL
60152

Opening Hours

10am - 2:30pm

Telephone

+18155681060

Website

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