) on Labor Day Weekend Since 2003, the Fox River Trolley Museum has operated the current 1.9 mile long mainline along the banks of the
Fox River. This mainline, which is one of the few railroads in the country that operates within a forest preserve, has two termini. The northern terminus is located in
South Elgin, IL, and it is the museum's main campus. This terminus is called "Castlemuir" by the museum (see photo below and to the right), and it houses two platforms, a large train yard, and the museum's maintenance facility and car barn. The southern terminus of the railroad is called "Blackhawk" (see photo below and to the right), and this station lies within the heart of the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve. The station is named for the Blackhawk Forest Preserve, which is what the forest preserve used to be named. The museum's mainline also includes one major
flagstop, which is named "Woodcliff." Woodcliff is a private residence that is located approximately 0.2 miles south of Castlemuir, and the home is located along the museum's mainline and the
Fox River riverfront. Woodcliff, owned by museum member Ralph Treddup until his passing, was bought by the current head of the museum car department. There is a path down from the Woodcliff house to get to the museum's mainline and the adjacent
Fox River Trail which is adorned with railroad switch stands and memorabilia, and a small flagstop structure on the mainline (see photos below and on the right). While the stations and many of the buildings along the line are new, the line that the museum now operates over has been in non-stop operation since 1896. The railroad line was built for the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric interurban railroad in 1896, and it transported passengers up and down the
Fox River until 1935. In 1935, passenger service along the line was abandoned, and almost all of the line was torn up, with the exception of 3.5 mile of track in South Elgin, IL. The sole purpose of this line was to transport coal to the nearby Elgin State Mental Hospital, and the railroad was powered by two ancient home-built electric locomotives. The coal for the mental hospital was brought in by the
Illinois Central Railroad via Coleman Siding on the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric line, which is now a point on the museum's mainline. The
Illinois Central Railroad would bring three hoppers of coal to Coleman Siding every three days, and these hoppers would be brought up to the mental hospital. This system of interchanging car between the
Illinois Central Railroad and the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric took place from when passenger service shut down in 1935 until the railroad itself shut down due to the lack of a need for coal by the mental hospital. Until 1946, the railroad was powered by electric trolley wire. In 1946, the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric purchased a
45-ton General Electric diesel switcher for use on the line, and that diesel switcher was the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric #5 that is now in the collection of the museum (see photo below and on the right). The locomotive handled all of the freight on the line until 1973, when the last freight train on the line ran. In 1961, the Railway Equipment Leasing and Investment Company (RELIC) has founded using a small plot of land in the
South Elgin, IL adjacent to the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric line that was graciously lent to the museum by the then owner of the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric, Bob DeYoung. In 1966, the museum began operating under a new name: RELIC Trolley Museum. In 1973, when freight service finally shut down on the
Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric, the last owner of the railroad Bob DeYoung sold the remaining line to the Fox River Trolley Museum. The last big development to the museum's mainline occurred in 2003 when the line was extended into the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve. Before 2003, the end of track on the mainline was at Coleman Grove, about 1.7 miles from Castlemuir. The addition in 2003 added 0.2 miles to the track length. == 2018 Vandalism ==