Union and Victory!

We left Galena and General Grant behind and headed east on Highway 20. It a scenic, hilly and winding 2-lane road between Galena and Rockford. It was too hilly and winding for Bobby, and we had to take a couple of breaks to let his stomach catch up with the rest of him.

We made our way across Northern Illinois to the flatlands and then to Union in McHenry County, home of the Illinois Railway Museum. It was late in the day when we got there, and the parking lot was empty. It was like the Griswold's arrival at Wally World - but with a much better ending. The sign said that the trains weren't running, so admission was free. A free visit to a train musueum? All right!

There were big pieces...



...and little ones.



Steam locomotives...



...sleek early diesels...



...and more modern locomotives.




There were relics of the old North Shore Line, the "interurban" electric railroad that ran between Chicago and Milwaukee until 1960. My parents rode it often in their younger days, before they had cars.




We had the place to ourselves, and there was as much cool train equipment as we could climb on. Eventually we reached the end...



So it was on to Gurnee!