2016 Events
We have several special events planned for 2016 at the Monticello Railway Museum. Regular train service also operates Saturdays and Sundays from May through October – see the schedule for details. Different fares may apply to special events.
- Throttle Time
- You can be the engineer of our train!
- Dates: Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24, 2016; Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6, 2016; and many Saturdays from April 30 through October 29, 2016.
- 401 in Steam
- Ride behind our restored 1907-vintage steam locomotive!
- Dates: Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22; Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12; Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17; Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21; Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16, 2016.
- School Days – Wednesday, May 11, 2016.
- An opportunity for school children to ride a full-sized diesel-powered train.
- Mother's Day Weekend – Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, 2016.
- Make this Mother's Day special by treating Mom to a relaxing ride with her family on our vintage train. Moms ride FREE when accompanied by their children!
- Father's Day Weekend – Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19, 2016.
- Dads ride FREE when accompanied by their children!
- Fireworks Special – Sunday, July 3, 2016.
- See the Monticello fireworks without worrying about traffic.
- Railroad Days – Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18, 2016.
- Come enjoy UNLIMITED rides on our vintage passenger and freight trains and motor cars running on our former Illinois Central and Illinois Terminal trackage, enjoy kids' games and more!
- The Polar Express™
- Read along with the story as the train makes its round-trip journey to the North Pole.
- Dates: Friday, November 18; Saturday, November 19; Sunday, November 20; Friday, November 25; Saturday, November 26; Sunday, November 27; Friday, December 2; Saturday, December 3; Sunday, December 4; Friday, December 9; Saturday, December 10, 2016.
- Lunch with Santa on the Train – Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4, 2016
- Enjoy a visit with Santa Claus while eating a kid-friendly sack lunch. This event is hosted by the Monticello Chamber of Commerce.
NOTE: Due to the need for more capacity for the overwhelmingly popular Polar Express, Ghost Train will not be held for the foreseeable future.