View allAll Photos Tagged silvis
For the first time, UP 4-6-6-4 No. 3985 enters the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America ex-Rock Island shop in Silvis, Ill. RRHMA crews had spent a lot of time cleaning up the shop and it really showed. The place is more than large enough to handle rebuilding 3985, and has an overhead crane that can lift the boiler off the frame, which needs to be done as 3985 has some issues on the bottom of the boiler. Here's hoping she's back under steam soon!
IAIS 501 slow rolls through Silvis, Illinois as it enters the yard with train CBBI.
IAIS 501
IAIS 500
IAIS 153
IAIS 152
July 9, 2016
It's open house day at the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America Shop in Silvis, Illinois, and the "Big Jack" DDA40X is out on the "Fast Track" pulling a 3 car train full of excited guests back and forth across the museum grounds looking for all the world like a baby inspection train of years past. CP 2816 was also in attendance for thousands of people to enjoy, and run back and forth while on a "day off" from their ongoing "Final Spike Tour". Fitting that it met up pilot to pilot with an engine from a class nicknamed the "Centennial" after UP's own Golden Spike Ceremony 100th anniversary in 1969.
This former Rock Island site was once home to a 45 stall roundhouse, backshop, office building, power house, water treatment plant, and storehouse. Construction started in 1903, and the site was the Rock's primary shop until the 1980 shutdown. Afterwards the site was sold to Chrome Crankshaft, which later passed to National Railway Equipment. In 2022, RRHMA purchased the complex from NRE. It is now home to UP 5511, UP 3985, UP 6936, IAIS 6988, ATSF 537, and numerous rolling stock, all in various stages of restoration.
RRHMA is a non-profit organization associated with the Friends of Milwaukee Road 261, and is always interested in new volunteers and donations.
Locomotive: UP 6936
6-29-24
Silvis, IL
Union Pacific 6936 is poised outside of RRHMA's shop in Silvis, IL with the Quad City Rocket fundraising consist ready to go to Wilton and South Amana on the next day. IAIS 513 would be added to the consist following several test runs on the RRHMA property.
September 19, 2025
After leading the previous night's Iowa Interstate BICB from Blue Island, NS 1066 and CN 2898 were cut off and tied down at the west end of Silvis Yard. The pair will be heading back to Chicago on Tuesday night.
This is the New York Central heritage's second visit to the IAIS.
April 2, 2018.
During my quick visit to NRE, the switch crew using NREX "1GS7B" 700 repositioned several works-in-progress in the southern most bay while a pair of ex-SP EMD's languish nearby.
October 8, 2015.
The east end of Silvis yard was busy on Friday afternoon when I passed by, although the slug set was the only thing moving. SISW was working the lead while CBBI with 714 waited for the regular afternoon crew to depart. 514 was set over to be used later.
February 23, 2018.
IAIS 6988 arrives into Silvis, IL with the westbound deadhead. Had some car trouble on Route 84 prior to this, which mysteriously went away after I got the shot.
The regular eastbound CBBI arrived at Silvis combined with the NSDMPE loaded grain train for Peoria. The first order of business for the switch crew was to split the train and power. With that done, the switcher goes about making the outbound CBBI.
September 22, 2017.
As part of Railroading Heritage of Midwest America's Train Day and Car Show at Silvis, Illinois, a night photo session was held featuring Santa Fe B40-8W 537, UP DDA40X 6936, and Jeddo Highland Coal Company 0-4-0T No. 85. Lighting by Dave Zeman
Eldon Depot Museum's Rock Island 1275 was outside the shop at NRE in the sun today getting a little more work done to prepare for it's movement on the BNSF. An employee is cutting down the exhaust stacks to be even with the roofline.
I've been wanting to shoot the 1275 on the east side of the former Rock Island shop ever since it was painted to compare with John Dziobko's views of the Rock Island back in the 70's. Even though 1275 is on a flatcar, I'll still take it!
A former Loram caboose from a railgrinder awaits disposition on the right (the railgrinder was scrapped).
October 8, 2015.
The deadline of engines sits at NRE Silvis in Silvis, IL. It was announced a few days ago NRE will be closing this facility, so what happens to all of these units is unclear. Sadly I have a feeling the scrapper is going to be very busy in the coming months.
Union Pacific has donated several historic locomotives, including DDA40X “Centennial” 6936, 2-10-2 5511, and 4-6-6-4 “Challenger” 3985, to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America. On November 19th the equipment arrived in Silvis, Illinois; it will be housed in the former Rock Island Silvis shop complex now owned by RRHMA.
Upon arrival into Silvis, the equipment was moved into the shop by the RRHMA crew. First inside was Centennial 6936, followed shortly thereafter by 5511.
A brief ceremony was held for invited guests during which Union Pacific’s Senior Manager of Heritage Operations Ed Dickens officially handed over the locomotives and cars to RRHMA President Steve Sandberg.
UP "Challenger" 3985 was moved in a short time later in the company of UP business car "Selma" and other donated passenger equipment.
Thanks to the Union Pacific Steam Crew and the RRHMA volunteers for making it all happen!
Model: www.flickr.com/photos/silvi_reussner/
Strobist: Bare SB-800 far camera left, zoomed to 85mm (I think). Shoot through immediate camera left for some soft fill.
Iowa Interstate's CBBI is starting to take the diverging route while BICB waits for them to clear and a flock of birds dart across the yard. Silvis, IL 12/29/2021
No visit to the Quad Cities is complete without a morning run-and-gun at NRE's Silvis facility. The sad state of the stored castaways is both fascinating and infuriating, but the nature of the railroad locomotive market is such that the old stuff sits unwanted.
Railroading Heritage of Midwest American (RRHMA) hosted Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 2816 on June 28-29, 2024, at the massive former Rock Island shop in Silvis, Illinois. The group has Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 3985 and 2-10-2 5511 under restoration on the shop floor. DDA40X 6936 pulling a 3-car passenger train.
Various motive power sits at NRE in Silvis, IL. Unlike Dixmoor, most power hasn't been scrapped yet.
West from Chicago to Omaha US Highway 6 is never far from the old Rock Island Railroad main line. This route is currently operated by the Iowa Interstate. A timely tip from CWW on my way back from his place in Iowa to my hometown of Rock Falls, ILL, resulted in a detour to intercept this Peoria to Silvis job. The code line pole is a holdover from when this portion of the route across Illinois was double track CTC/ABS.
I can't find any info on this old boxcar. It's used for storage at a place named Track Master in Silvis, IL.
NREX 2658, RI 1275 and SRN 1501 congregate at the east side of the former Rock Island shops at Silvis, IL now operated by NRE.
October 8, 2015.
For one day this autumn, I got to witness something not many people in the modern era can say they have seen run a revenue train. The largest diesel engine ever built, the DDA40X, running on point of a special RRHMA passenger excursion across rural Illinois, with IAIS 513 (the Rock Island HU) added as backup in case of failure. As an added bonus, 6936 boasted a killer RS3L horn to set the stage for an amazing chase.
Our next stop brought us to Mineral, IL next to this grain elevator, passing at all but track speed of 40 mph.
It's open house day at the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America Shop in Silvis, Illinois, and the "Big Jack" DDA40X is out on the "Fast Track" pulling a 3 car train full of excited guests back and forth across the museum grounds looking for all the world like a baby inspection train of years past. CP 2816 was also in attendance for thousands of people to enjoy, and run back and forth while on a "day off" from their ongoing "Final Spike Tour". Fitting that it met up pilot to pilot with an engine from a class nicknamed the "Centennial" after UP's own Golden Spike Ceremony 100th anniversary in 1969.
This former Rock Island site was once home to a 45 stall roundhouse, backshop, office building, power house, water treatment plant, and storehouse. Construction started in 1903, and the site was the Rock's primary shop until the 1980 shutdown. Afterwards the site was sold to Chrome Crankshaft, which later passed to National Railway Equipment. In 2022, RRHMA purchased the complex from NRE. It is now home to UP 5511, UP 3985, UP 6936, IAIS 6988, ATSF 537, and numerous rolling stock, all in various stages of restoration.
RRHMA is a non-profit organization associated with the Friends of Milwaukee Road 261, and is always interested in new volunteers and donations.
Locomotives: CP 2816, UP 6936
6-29-24
Silvis, IL