Grand Excursion 2004
In late June and early July, Milwaukee Road 261 participated in the Grand Excursion, a celebration of the first train's arrival to Rock Island. The original GE took place in 1854 in which a special train
ran from Chicago to Rock Island. At Rock Island the passengers boarded steam boats for a journey up the Mississippi River to Minneapolis/St. Paul. 150 years later in 2004, recreators wanted to do what was done in 1854 which was
to bring people from Chicago on a steam train to steam boats at Rock Island. After MILW 261's arrival on June 25, it spent the weekend in the QC running a couple round trip excursions. Here are some pictures and details of each trip:
6-25-2004
On Friday the 25th, MILW 261 ran out of Chicago on the BNSF to Galesburg where the train was wyed and brought to Rock Island via BNSF's Barstow Sub. The train arrived in Rock Island to large crowds and a band celebrating.
[TrainWeb Editor's Note: All photos were missing from this page.]
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All photos are property of Erik Rasmussen. All photos when clicked are 800 x 600.
Copyright 2004, Erik Rasmussen
Revised: 9/8/04
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