Illinois Railway Museum Blog

I believe that a wonderful time was had by all who attended.  Certainly I took some friends who had not attended before and they all judged it one of the highlights of their year so far.  The collection of antique music machines is beyond description and you could spend hours watching these alone.

This one plays 4 violins

The fairground organs and carousel are superb pieces.

A mid sized Gavioli organ

And the superb large one

The grand Wurlitzer organ is both spectacular to see and, when played by an organist of the caliber of Dave (Jeff's brother), provides an enthralling performance.  Some of my more musical friends watched in complete fascination.  Dave seems to become one with the instrument with both arms and legs in constant movement around the keyboards, stops and pedals.

Dave at the keyboard

A new addition this year was the showing of a Buster Keaton silent movie.  It was fascinating to see the organ used for its original purpose, providing the sound for the showing.

and on the carousel

Many thanks to the museum volunteers who assisted in running the event.  With the exception of JD who was elsewhere at the time, they are shown here with Jeff and Dave on the locomotive in the carousel house.

Many thanks to all those who helped to make the event such a success

Thanks again to Jeff for organizing the event, to his brother Dave for another outstanding performance and to the Sanfilippo Foundation for the access to their wonderful collection.

Nigel