Contemporary Steam Locomotives

As noted previously, Milwaukee Road 261 is a well-traveled locomotive. This is illustrated by the fact that I photographed her in Minnesota and Illinois in the same year! Here, the 261 visits the annual Galesburg Railroad Days celebration in June 2002. Railroad Days is an annual celebration in the western Illinois town of Galesburg, held on the fourth weekend of June. Usually railroad-related exhibits fill the Amtrak depot grounds, a model train show is held nearby, and the town has a huge celebration downtown. I myself attend every year. As you can see, wherever the 261 travels, she always draws a crowd.