The Blackhawk Railway Historical Society

06/26/2026

A BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL OUR MEMBERS:

The July-August edition of the "Spike & Tie" member newsletter will be a little later than usual, like about mid-July.

Remember that we will not be meeting in July or August. Our next meeting will be at the Gladys Fox Museum in Lockport, IL on Friday, September 11, 2026. (Due to the Labor Day weekend, we are moving our meeting to the SECOND Friday in September.)

Use the summer break to go out and railfan, visit a railroad museum, or take a ride on a tourist railroad.

Follow this page or check our website -- https://www.blackhawkrailwayhistoricalsociety.org/ -- to keep up to date with our latest news and announcements.

06/26/2026

Today, 6/25/2026, CTA ran a special train (using 4000-series cars from their Heritage Fleet) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Pink Line.

The Pink Line traces its history back to the Douglas Branch of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated.

Back in 2006, to mark the start of service, CTA wrapped at least two 3000-series cars in a "soothing" Pepto-Bismol-like pink color, seen here at the Clinton station sometime later that summer. (Mike Riha photo)

06/25/2026

Heavy thunderstorms on Wednesday night, June 24, 2026, may have had a part in the derailment of a train of NIPSCO coal cars that carry coal to the power plant in Michigan City, Indiana.

The derailment occurred on the stretch of the South Shore that runs along the Indiana Toll Road between East Chicago and Gary. Due to the derailment and damage to the electrical infrastructure, NICTD has had to cancel service on both the original main line and the new Monon extension to Dyer.

06/24/2026

Want to see our layout first hand and Live? This Thursday, 06/25, WGN-TV will be at the Chicagoland Lionel Train Club in New Lenox, IL, for their "Around Town" segment throughout the morning, starting after 7 AM CDT (8 AM EDT, 6 AM MDT, 5 AM PDT) and lasting about 3 - 4 hours. You can find WGN locally in Chicago, on most cable lineups, and even live on their website: wgntv.com. You should also be able to see the segment after Thursday on the Around Town page of their website. You can check out the Chicagoland Lionel Train Club at their website: clrctrains.com. Or see all of their videos at http://www.youtube.com/.

06/24/2026

06/22/2026

Inspect and ride two fine examples of railroad-owned business/private cars...

06/18/2026

Although you wouldn't know it today, the "plain" boxcar was the workhorse of North American freight railroading for the 20th century.

So when a shortage of available "plain" boxcars occurred in the 1970s, a couple of different solutions rose to meet the need. One of those was a lease fleet from a company already experienced in pooling freight cars to the railroads that needed them - Trailer Train Corporation.

Branded "Rail Box," the bright yellow box cars quickly became a frequent sight in freight trains.

Now, an example of this historically significant car has been saved...

One of the most iconic freight cars of the 1970s-1990s has come to IRM! We gratefully extend our thanks to TTX Company for donating first-generation Railbox boxcar RBOX 21491, which was built in 1975 by Pullman-Standard. Learn more about the history of, and plans for, this car at https://www.irm.org/in-the-news/irm-acquires-railbox-car

06/16/2026

An old Chicago yard gets an upgrade...

Hey everyone and thanks for checking out another video.Today, we'r...

06/16/2026