Illinois Railway Museum Blog

MUG  -  A  -  PALOOZA

If any of you have not tumbled to the fact that IRM is working hard to build another Barn, you must be living on another planet.  There is great excitement on campus and this is THE topic of conversation.  No less in my Freight Car Department, than the other equipment departments.

A little background on me.  I never campaigned or sought the position as Collection Curator for these cars.  The previous head of this department  worked for a railroad, and was in a tragic accident that cost him his life.  I was asked to step in.  How hard could it be?  The answer of course it is that is very hard, much more work than ever imagined, and something that has consumed much of my time at IRM and in my life.

Since I took over we have found many dedicated and willing volunteers who are not only hard working but share the vision of preserving history.  In my short history as Curator of these cars, we have completed TWENTY FIVE restorations and done work on countless others to keep them movable, operational, able to be displayed in operating trains.  None of this is my work alone, it is a team effort and we try to focus on attainable results in an organized and timely basis.

It can be difficult and yet rewarding.  The sad part of the story is even as we have our successes, we see some cars remaining outdoors, stored in the weather, continuing to deteriorate, making the work in the future harder and more costly, and in some cases threatening the very future of these cars.  Some are becoming in such desperate condition that they may not be around in another five years.  That is why we have the universal excitement that another Barn is to be built.  We will have another opportunity to protect the equipment in the collection, a facet that is core to the very fabric of IRM.

Here is the deal.  We have received a donated collection of coffee mugs, each unique, and with a railroad theme.  Two are examples from international preservation efforts, the rest from Amtrak and US railroads.  Many commemorate the Operation Lifesaver safety program or other anniversaries and events.  We need to raise more money to protect the cars and are offering one of these mugs as a small thank you for your donation.

Mugs 1 to 7

1.Amtrak Rail Safety - May 1996 - Colorado

2.Amtrak Midwest Passenger Service

3.BNSF Operation Lifesaver

4.The Coffee Pot - Steam Motor Coach.  Pichi Richi Railway, Quorn, South Australia

5.Blennerville Tralee, Ireland

6. Operation Lifesaver Mug with saucer

7. Amtrak Safety - Chicago Terminal - with 'sippy lid' cover

Mugs 8 to 14

8. BNSF Operation Lifesaver carafe with lid

9. Amtrak Great Trains of the West

10. Amtrak Operation Redblock

11. Amtrak

12. Amtrak - Capitol Limited

13. Burlington Route 150th anniversary - 1849-1999

14. BNSF Operation Lifesaver

The rules are simple.  Submit a donation of $100 (OR MORE) to save this equipment in our department.  Donations from this date forward will qualify.  If by mail send to

Illinois Railway Museum

Box 427

Union, IL 60180

Designate your donation to restricted fund RISWFC.  That is - to be applied to saving cars in the Freight Car Department.  Indicate your choices for a mug to be sent back to you; first second, and third choices would be best, in case some are already gone.  You will have our thanks, our appreciation, and a commemorative mug.

You may also donate on line from this website, and please select the indoor storage option for the Freight Car Department.  Also please send an e mail to the office to Jan Nunez at jnunez@irm.org    Indicate you wish to take advantage of this THANK YOU offer, ask Jan to print out your email and leave a copy in my IRM mailbox.  And do not forget to indicate your choice of the thank you premium.

It is unlikely that each needy car will gain enough money fast enough to meet the subscription cost of space in this new Barn.  So some or many may be left out and the money waiting for the next Barn project.  By selecting the above fund, you defer the tough choice to me and my department.  This money will be used to fill up or top off a fund balance for a car needing protection on a priority basis.  It will stretch your donation farther, and assure it will be gainfully employed to protect our equipment in Barn 14.

I hope the mugs will soon be all gone, so act fast.  First come first served, while supplies last.  Of course you may donate without claiming a mug, so this offer will last longer and raise more protection money faster for more cars.  HMMM.  The phrase 'protection money' may be more appropriate than I thought considering our location near Chicago.

THANK YOU

Bob Kutella, Collection Curator