The Illinois Railway Museum is managed and staffed entirely by volunteers. For those who do volunteer, the work becomes a labor of love. The reasons for volunteering vary by the individual. Some just love railroads, others want to see history preserved, and there are those that join so that they may learn more about restoration, railroads, or history.

We're honored that Point Communications has chosen the IRM WWW site among the top five percent of WWW sites, based on their criteria of content, presentation, and visitor experience. It is our intent to live up to that honor and continue to bring you a current, interesting, and informative presentation about the IRM.

This group of WWW pages have been created and are supported strictly on a volunteer basis. The museum board is aware that these pages exist, and are quite supportive of this effort. Because of the volunteer nature, it's nearly impossible for one person working in their spare time to cover everything that's happening at the IRM...it's a LARGE place. In an effort to compliment these pages, another volunteer, James Kolanowski has created a set of IRM WWW pages. There, you'll find some information on museum history, how to join up as a volunteer, equipment rosters and what projects are currently underway. In addition, Wes Barris has some more IRM information at his site. I've included both of these links at the end of the "IRM Front Gate" so that you may browse through this site before moving to Wes's or James' sites if you chose.

Funding for IRM projects comes primarily from donations, front gate receipts, and members' pockets. Like so many other organizations of this type, the IRM is always looking for additional funds. One way that we receive needed monies is through memberships. Memberships include season-long access to the museum and grounds and a subscription to our newsletter, "Rail & Wire." Individual memberships are $30 (US) and family memberships are only $40 (US). Although memberships are not tax deductible, any other cash donations are (US) tax deductible. To make donations easier, VISA and MasterCard are now accepted by the musuem, both for memberships and donations. If you'd like to help us out, please send your membership dues and/or dontation to:

CASHIER
Illinois Railway Museum
P.O. Box 427
Union, Illinois 60180
.

Be sure to indicate if you're sending in a membership, and if it's individual or a family membership request. Please indicate that you "saw us on the WWW." If you're paying by credit card, please indicate VISA or MasterCard, the full credit card number, expiration date, and be sure to sign the request (as your name appears on the credit card).

You may also request that your donation (not membership fee) be applied to one of the following funds:

• Museum General Fund
• Burlington Route 4-6-4 Steam Locomotive #3007
• Chicago, Aurora, & Elgin Interurban Coach #309
• The Nebraska Zephyr (streamlined train)
• Rock Island Commuter Coaches
• Business/Observation car Ingle Home
• Freight Car Restoration
• Sand Tower Fund
• Mortgage Retirement Fund

If you have a favorite piece of equipment, you may also indicate that your dontation is to be applied specifically to that unit. There is no guarantee that any one piece of equipment will receive work in a given time frame, even if funds exist (unless, of course, you want to volunteer and come out and work on that piece of equipment!). Because of the volunteer nature of the organization, each dollar goes farther than if the musuem also had to pay for labor, and every penny of each dollar goes directly to the museum. Your support will be greatly appreciated.