Date: June 29, 2017
The National Park Service and East Troy Railroad Museum, in East Troy, Wisconsin, are hosting a joint interpretative program featuring historic South Shore Railroad Car #33 on Saturday, July 8, during the museum’s annual “Chicago Day” event.
Car #33 is one of 19 historic South Shore Railroad Cars which had been conveyed to the National Park Service in 1984 after they had been decommissioned by the Chicago, South Shore, & South Bend Railroad. Since 1984 the National Park Service worked with numerous organizations in an effort to preserve the historic cars, and finally succeeded in securing their preservation in 2010 by transferring them to seven railroad museums which specialize in telling the stories of our nation’s transportation history.
East Troy Railroad Museum was chosen as the recipient of eight of the 19 historic cars, because they demonstrated the ability to preserve, maintain, and operate the cars through a large contingent of dedicated volunteers.
Four restored historic South Shore Railroad Cars will be in operation during the museum’s annual “Chicago Day” on Saturday, July 8, which also includes an evening Dinner Train (advanced reservations required). This year will be the second joint Interpretative program hosted by the museum and the National Park Service.
The historic South Shore Railroad Cars will depart the museum hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT. National Park Service Rangers will be at the museum, and volunteers will ride in each car, to answer questions about the National Park Service, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and the history of the South Shore Railroad.
East Troy Electric Railroad operates on 8 miles of electric rail line that has been in continuous operation for over 100 years. The museum has been in operation since 1972. It is the only museum in the country that regularly operates historic South Shore Railroad Cars on an electric interurban line. Their operating season extends from May through October with special holiday events in December. To learn more about the museum go to: easttroyrr.org
