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Water Winter Wonderland LbNA #24114 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Puppybreath
Plant date:Jul 25, 2006
Location:
City:Union
County:McHenry
State:Illinois
Boxes:1
Found by: getn froggy
Last found:Sep 19, 2011
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFr
Last edited:Jul 25, 2006
The letterbox is hidden in the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois – a small town about 40 miles Northwest of Chicago.

My son loves trains, and this museum is Train Nirvana to him. If you like trains, you likely already know about this place.

There is a $6 fee to get into the museum. This includes unlimited rides on the equipment operating that day.

The museum is partially outdoor, partially indoor, and contains over 375 pieces of steam, diesel, and electric powered antique transportation equipment. Many of the locomotives and cars are outside, and many are inside large “barns”. During the weekdays you can ride an electric powered streetcar. On the weekend you can also ride behind a steam or diesel locomotive, or an electric interurban.

The museum is closed during the winter months, so call ahead for hours (1-800-BIG-RAIL) or visit their web site (www.irm.org).



To find the letterbox:

When you buy your ticket, grab a map.

Walk past the train depot, and turn South on Depot St.

Pause to look at the Yellow “Speeder” on your left. This is the “Indiana Harbor Belt number 1181”.

Now look directly South down Depot St. About 1/8 mile away you will see what looks like a small black water tower (a tree’s leaves might obscure your view). This “water tower” is actually a sanding tower that is about 40 ft. tall. Walk South on Depot. St. toward the sanding tower.

The sanding tower is near the beginning of three parallel rail lines that run to the South East.

Each rail line contains several locomotives and rail cars.

Walk along the rail lines to the South East.

At the end of the lines, on the middle track, you will find a rotary snowplow.

Face the front of the rotary snowplow.

Now, walk down the right side (the North East side) of the snowplow.

You will see a sign that says:


Union Pacific 900075

1949 Steam-Powered Leslie Rotary Snowplow


To the left of the sign, mounted on the snowplow, is a large silver cylinder. The cylinder is about 1 ft long and 1 ft in diamter, and is mounted horizontally on the snowplow.

The cylinder is mounted to a bracket.

Get down on one knee and look up at the left side of the bracket.

You will see two large holes that are perfect for hiding things.

Reach into the hole that is a perfect circle, 8 inches in diameter.

You will feel a box that is painted flat black, and so is invisible in the shadow of the hole.


This is the prize you seek.