HARRIS AGRICULTURE MUSEUM

ATWOOD, IL

Hanging onto Hayes When M396 had the IC heritage unit 3008 leading it earlier this year, my buddy and I had originally only planned to start our day at Hayes, but we decided to go find it, hence our viewing at Tuscola previously. It was a pretty easy race to Hayes thanks to the speed restrictions in and around Tuscola at the time. Hayes has been my go-to spot on the IC this year it seems like, I think I'm subconsciously making up for missing the old Lodge elevator. At any rate, the classic Hayes elevator makes a wonderful framing device for CN3008 and CN3219 as they lead M396 north towards Champaign. They'll stop there for yard work, though we didn't follow beyond there. Something else caught our attention to the west after we saw them into town...
Hanging onto Hayes Credit: Leo Blackwelder

The Harris Agriculture Museum in Atwood, Illinois is a living history museum dedicated to preserving the history of agriculture in the area. The museum was founded in 1978 by local farmer and collector Bill Harris, who wanted to share his extensive collection of antique tractors and farm equipment with the public.

The museum features a large collection of vintage tractors, including rare models from the 1940s and 1950s, as well as a selection of antique farm implements and tools. Visitors can also explore a recreated 1800s-style farmhouse, which features period furnishings and artifacts, including an old-fashioned kitchen, a one-room schoolhouse, and a blacksmith shop.

The museum offers a variety of educational programs, including tours, lectures, and workshops on the history of agriculture and rural life. Visitors can also take part in seasonal events such as the annual harvest festival and tractor pull, as well as family-friendly activities like hayrides, corn mazes, and pumpkin carving.

The Harris Agriculture Museum is open year-round, with extended hours during the summer months. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated to help support the museum’s educational programs.

HARRIS AGRICULTURE MUSEUM is a Uncategorized or General Museum in ATWOOD IL. US MID #8401700184

The museum is classed as GMU (Uncategorized or General Museums). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin).

Hanging onto Hayes When M396 had the IC heritage unit 3008 leading it earlier this year, my buddy and I had originally only planned to start our day at Hayes, but we decided to go find it, hence our viewing at Tuscola previously. It was a pretty easy race to Hayes thanks to the speed restrictions in and around Tuscola at the time. Hayes has been my go-to spot on the IC this year it seems like, I think I'm subconsciously making up for missing the old Lodge elevator. At any rate, the classic Hayes elevator makes a wonderful framing device for CN3008 and CN3219 as they lead M396 north towards Champaign. They'll stop there for yard work, though we didn't follow beyond there. Something else caught our attention to the west after we saw them into town...
Lost Connection CN A407 is still very consistently handled by the former IC SD70s, and that was no exception when I happened upon them in Tolono. I was on the search for roadrailers that day, in actual fact, but I couldn't resist another opportunity to snatch some more Illinois Central power. IC1038 and IC1036 have the honours today. Our sightline here is from the now cut CN-NS connector at Tolono. NS still stuffs cars on these tracks sometimes, but no longer can either company transfer cars or power using this connection. It's been like this for a while now, but it's always a shame to see infrastructure get torn up. Even though traffic doesn't necessitate the connector now, maybe one day in the future it will. Who knows.
Second Choice Hayes old grain elevator makes for an interesting sight beside the CN 8952, the Grand Trunk heritage unit. This elevator hasn't been used in many decades, but still manages to stand proudly in the fields. It's a treat to still be able to shoot it. Originally, our plan with 8952 and E271 was to shoot it at Pesotum, however thanks to its work in Champaign, long shadows were eclipsing our shot. Not ideal, so we bailed on that and decided to go for Hayes. I toyed with various angles at the elevator, but finding something I was happy with was a struggle, though I've got ideas for future shots here for sure. The tight frame may not be the best for this spot, but I decided to give it a go anyway. Good learning experience here anyways.
Real or Fake? In the span of one week, two fakebonnets lead the elusive roadrailers through central Illinois. I was on the other side of the world when the first one happened, but the day after landing back in America after a very nice week abroad with the wife and some great live music, I got the heads up we had a very special 256 headed our way. Suffice to say, even though I was severely jetlagged still, I was interested. Just west of Sadorus, NS256 comes flying by, led by BNSF751. Though a little grimy and a bit faded, this fakebonnet still looks pretty sharp - not as sharp as a real warbonnet, but still pretty slick. I've also never shot either a fake nor warbonnet so this was a nice first - and to get it on roadrailers? A very handy thing. While I was overseas, the rumour of the imminent end of roadrailers once again sprouted, though this one suggested they would end literally days later, on Easter. Turns out it was a traffic lull for the holiday. Now others say it'll be the end in a few weeks from now, or a few months, or... Who the hell knows. Fakebonnet leader is still cool though!
Always On The Move CN E271 came through the area recently with a surprise - CN 8952, the Grand Trunk heritage unit leading. Probably the nicest of the CN heritage units in all honesty. I got word of its imminent arrival, picked up a friend, and headed up to Rantoul to meet the thing just in the nick of time. Naturally, we wound up chasing the thing for a while, though it did spend a good while in Champaign. We had some shots lined up, but a fast moving train and lighting changing quick, our plans were changing a fair bit too. Looking back, we had some other opportunities we could have taken, but you work with what you've got in the moment. Although we'd expected E271 to head straight through Mattoon, RTC had a different plan and wound up sticking him in the hole at Humboldt. We learned of this when we got to Humboldt and checked the signals out. Amtrak was coming north, so they were sticking him in the siding prematurely. We didn't have enough time to get back to Arcola for a shot, but midway along the Humboldt siding we just nabbed something quick. Golden hour was nearing, but so were long, low shadows that made us have to change plans yet again afterwards. You win some, you lose some, you learn some. Something neat worth noting is the 5-pack of 48ft intermodal well-cars that headed up the train. 48 footers are becoming rarer and rarer, making this just a little more neat than it already was.
Dusk at Dawn Sometimes things line up nicely. After coming off yet another venture to the Bloomington District, I found myself wandering over to Tolono just to see what was going on. D91 was working industry near CP Dawn, and some stuff was moving around on CN and NS alike, so I had a little look around. I initially thought to just sort of watch and wait, put down the camera and just see some things move. We, as photographers, end up watching trains move primarily through our camera viewfinders, or rearview mirrors as we speed away to the next spot for a photo. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and watch. Yet, when I turned up at CP Dawn, there was no way I could put down my camera. The sunset was blossoming into a brilliant orange fireball, and with NS sending a westbound train my direction, it was shaping up to be a wonderful view. Timing really is the crux of it all. NS 181, chock full of classic big 86ft autoparts boxcars and led by one of the new UP repaints, heads off into the sunset at CP Dawn on the NS Lafayette District. Many of these boxcars are reaching their 50 service life date, so many may not last all that much longer in operation. But then who knows? Either way, they're a cool sight for now, as is a classic sunset. A very nice way to end a very nice day out.
The Boy Who Cried Roadrailer Well, I naturally had to join the frenzy with the Illinois Terminal heritage-led NS 256. Geez, that whole thing about my quota the other day suddenly feels moderately outdated. I guess if I start doing this regularly this means roadrailers will disappear within the next year or something. There is a rumour of that sort out again, funnily enough, but you know... rumours. This comes after the big one last year, and probably about a decades worth of "this is the end!" rumours on these things at this point. Makes it hard to believe them anymore... Oh well. Anyway, at Ivesdale, NS 1072 was really moving as it blasted past the old and new elevators alike. The old wood box elevator is a treat, and one I've been shooting a few times recently. Thanks to the heads up the night prior, I was up reasonably early enough to head on down to Ivesdale and wait for our roadrailer. Not a long wait either, 40 minutes or so. Not too bad! I would learn I really should have been at Sloan to see it meet the 255, but you win some you lose some. Anyway, heritage roadrailer at old elevator. I dig it.
Making the Quota I was chatting with a friend about roadrailers, sharing photos and the like, when I realized I almost never actually photograph the things. I had a look through my folders and have consistently only shot them once a year. This is frankly absurd considering the the things run within spitting distance of home. What have I been doing the last five years? For once, I actually went out and sought the elusive Triple Crowns out. After already meeting my yearly quota back in January, it seemed like snatching a roadrailer would be a good way to spend a day. I got more than I bargained for when the day was said and done, but more importantly, I did find the 255. At Milmine, NS 255 makes haste on its westward journey to Kansas City. NS7676 had quite a lengthy train of trailers on it today, and pairing that with warm temps, clear skies, and even a friendly wave from the conductor, I don't think I could complain about anything here if I wanted to. Nice day out!
Intensity Racing a train in snowy and slippery conditions is a bad idea at the best of times. Luckily for me, plows had been out plowing and salting the roads as I was waiting for D36 back at Osman, and the farther south I chased the train, the less snowfall there was. Eventually, just north of Monticello, it all but stopped entirely. Unfortunately for me, D36 had gone from a speed restricted 20mph back north to clipping 50mph as it blasted through Mansfield and Galesville. I had already decided to skip Lodge and Mills, but I wasn't optimistic about my odds. Fortunately, on my way to the Monticello intermediate behind the Foster Inn, my scanner came to life. The crew on D36 called out that they had a speed restriction starting just north of Lodge and ending at CP Mills, taking them back down to 24mph. Talk about relief, now I had a fighting chance to actually get to the intermediate in time. I spent hardly a minute working my way down the snowy embankment - trying not to get my foot stuck in branches or in the drainage creek that runs alongside the tracks - when I looked back to see NS3362s lights pop up around the corner. Oh, boy. They were moving damn fast and had whipped up a storm of snow around their train as they raced towards Bement. What a feeling it was to get whacked by that snow being kicked up - it's a good thing I had no more shots planned for the day, because both me and my camera looked as if I'd fallen right into the snow on the ground! Hell of a day to say the least. A good one, at that.
Marginal Improvements You know how they say 'if you got nothing nice to say, don't say it at all?' Well, yeah, that's pretty reasonable for pretty much any context. Anyway, I have a lot of negative things to say about CNs take on the Illinois Central heritage unit. But then don't we all? However, I will say one nice thing this time. I completely missed it until my buddy pointed it out the other day, but CN evidently removed the IPO25 sticker on the sides of the nose like a year ago. It certainly makes the unit look a little better than it did previously. Promise I won't complain about the... issues this time around. We started our chase of the CN 3008 down in Tuscola. Starting at about South Tuscola, something is putting on a speed restriction of just 35mph between that end of the siding and CP Champaign. It's been like this for over a week, I dunno what's up with that. Anyway, it made chasing this fella down that much easier. Can't complain about that, hey? CN3008 (IC Heritage) / CN3219 (CN100), CN M396 @ Tuscola, IL
Return of the Faux Illinois Central Imagine my surprise to hear M396 had the CN3008 Illinois Central heritage unit leading it. I woke up - pretty late - to that message and I pretty quickly got on the road. Picked up a friend and off we went south to track it down. We caught it at Tuscola and followed it back up to Champaign. Tolono was an obvious choice for shooting it. Unfortunately, what remains of the IC-NS connector is very little, only stub ends. Still, there's enough track to make a nice curve to frame with. Despite the many problems with the 3008 - blatantly wrong fonts, number placement, even the IC logo itself isn't right - it does still fit the bill and looks okay for the most part. At least they actually did the whole unit... ahem. Fairly clean still, too! Nice to see that. CN3008 (IC Heritage) / CN3219 (CN100) on M396 @ Tolono, IL.
Triple Greys NS255, led by the NS8025 Monongahela heritage unit, passes by the old wood grain elevator in Ivesdale, IL. Though this elevator is inactive today, a modern elevator still operates in the village today. The rare Triple Crown roadrailer train has had to slow on its way through town as some maintenance of way work is carried out by the bridge over the creek just behind the elevator.

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HARRIS AGRICULTURE MUSEUM
202 W LOCUST AVE
ATWOOD
IL
61913

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HARRIS AGRICULTURE MUSEUM Information

MID # 8401700184
Name HARRIS AGRICULTURE MUSEUM
Alternate Name
Classification Uncategorized or General Museums, , Midwest
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)
NTEECC
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM)
INCOME 0
REVENUE 0
LAT/LONG 39.800306, -88.462295
CODES FIPS State Code: 17
FIPS County Code: 147
US Census Tract: 954700
US Census Block: 4105