2020 Events

We have several special events planned for 2020 at the Monticello Railway Museum. Regular train service also operates Saturdays and Sundays from May through September – 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 25; Saturday, October 10; ; and many Saturdays from May 2 through September 27, 2020.

401 in Steam

Ride behind our restored 1907-vintage steam locomotive!

Dates: Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17; Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14; Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19; Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16; Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4, 2020.

School Days – Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 13, 2020.

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

Mother's Day Weekend – Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10, 2020.

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 20 and Sunday, June 21, 2020.

Dads ride FREE when accompanied by their children!

Fireworks Special – Friday, July 3, 2020.

See the Monticello fireworks without worrying about traffic.

Railroad Days – Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20, 2020.

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: To be announced by the end of April.

Lunch with Santa on the Train – Dates 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.