2018 Events

We have several special events planned for 2018 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 28 and Sunday, April 29, 2018; and many Saturdays from May 5 through October 28, 2018.

401 in Steam

Ride behind our restored 1907-vintage steam locomotive!

Dates: Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20; Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10; Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22; Saturday, August 18 and Sunday, August 19; Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21, 2018.

School Days – Tuesday, May 1 and Wednesday, May 9, 2018.

An opportunity for school children to ride a full-sized diesel-powered train.

Mother's Day Weekend – Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13, 2018.

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 16 and Sunday, June 17, 2018.

Dads ride FREE when accompanied by their children!

Fireworks Special – Tuesday, July 3, 2018.

See the Monticello fireworks without worrying about traffic.

Railroad Days – Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, September 16, 2018.

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 16; Saturday, November 17; Sunday, November 18; Friday, November 23; Saturday, November 24; Sunday, November 25; Friday, November 30; Saturday, December 1; Sunday, December 2; Friday, December 7; Saturday, December 8; Sunday, December 9, 2018.

Lunch with Santa on the Train – To Be Determined

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™, the Ghost Train will not be held for the foreseeable future.