IGRS In the Beginning 

Using the life work skills of its members the Illiana Garden Railway Society began moving ground on a corner of the Samuelson Greenhouse property in spring of 2004. With an eager group of gandy dancers the open grass area was terra formed into a raised railroad right-of-way by late June and a mill pond with a water fall was installed. At end of the second week in July all of the main lines, including by-pass tracks, turnouts, bridges and trestles were in place and operational. On the fourth Wednesday of July 2004 at 7:00 P.M. the IGRS inaugurated the Society's Garden Railroad with the driving of a gold spike at the terminal of each of the four main lines. The Illiana Road was christened with a champaign toast to its first public run as the whistles of the model locomotives blended with the whistle of a Canadian National freight passing by. And to the applause of the assembled IGRS members, a series of G-Scale trains moved out onto the main line from the depot staging platform under the watchful guidance of the evenings designated engineer. "The Bull Moose Line" was fully operational.