Midwest Rail Rangers

Midwest Rail Rangers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to present on-board educational programs to railroad passengers in the Midwestern United States regarding such topics as history, ecology, and geology.

Midwest Rail Rangers Logo
Motto"More Than a Train Ride"
FormationJuly 20, 2015
TypeNon-Profit 501(c)(3)
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersBarron, Wisconsin
Location
  • P.O. Box 184, Barron, WI 54812
Region
Midwestern United States
ServicesPassenger rail interpretive programs
President
Robert Tabern
AffiliationsWisconsin Great Northern Railroad
Volunteers
12
Websitehttp://www.RailRangers.org
Formerly called
APRHF Rail Rangers, Trails & Rails

Guides with Midwest Rail Rangers provide interpretive programs on-board the South Shore Line between Chicago, Illinois and South Bend, Indiana.[1] The Midwest Rail Rangers partner with the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad.[2]

The organization based in Barron, Wisconsin.

History

The Midwest Rail Rangers was officially chartered on July 20, 2015. The organization is modeled after Trails & Rails, a formal partnership between Amtrak and the National Park Service.

In 1999, The National Park Service established the Trails & Rails program. Docents associated with the park service travel aboard select Amtrak long-distance passenger trains to provide educational commentary.[3] Docents would point out interesting landmarks along the way to passengers, including the history of various towns the train was passing through, ecology, and geology of the landscape. A Chicago-based Trails & Rails program was established in 2000. The Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor sponsored a Trails & Rails program on Amtrak's Texas Eagle between Chicago and Saint Louis, Missouri that ran through 2004. The following year, Trails & Rails decided to move volunteers to the Empire Builder [4] Between 2005 and 2010, volunteers presented programs in the lounge car between Chicago Union Station and either Winona, Minnesota or St. Paul, Minnesota. In September 2010, Trails & Rails ended all Chicago based programs.

In late 2012, the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation (APRHF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit rail history organization, approached Amtrak and the National Park Service about establishing a new Trails & Rails program on the Southwest Chief between Chicago and La Plata, Missouri. Since there were no National Park Service units along the route at the time, it was agreed that the APRHF would manage the day-to-day operations of the program, with additional oversight provided by Trails & Rails National Coordinator James Miculka, who was based in College Station, Texas. A group of 30 Chicago-based Trails & Rails volunteers were chosen, and the first program took place on May 18, 2013. During its two-and-a-half year run, the APRHF-sponsored Trails & Rails program through Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri reached out to over 50,000 Amtrak passengers, with more than 200 programs given.[5][6][7] In June 2015, Trails & Rails National Coordinator Jim Miculka informed the APRHF Board of Directors that he wished the end the partnership agreement. The final Trails & Rails program on the Southwest Chief between Chicago and La Plata took place on July 19, 2015.

After the elimination of Trails & Rails program on the Southwest Chief, the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation announced the creation of the APRHF Rail Rangers. Trails & Rails holds an exclusive agreement to provide narration services on Amtrak trains, the APRHF Rail Rangers decided to focus its efforts on providing interpretive programs on non-Amtrak passenger trains, group charters, and at railroad museums. The name Rail Rangers pays homage to the organization's roots with Trails & Rails, as Rail Rangers was slated to be the original name of Trails & Rails before a last-minute change by Amtrak.

In December 2018, it was announced that the Rail Rangers would be splitting off from the APRHF in order to form an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The name was officially changed to the Midwest Rail Rangers [8] on December 14, 2018. On-board educational programs on both the South Shore Line and private rail excursions continue to operate.[9]

South Shore Line

Midwest Rail Rangers provides on-board educational programs on select departures of the South Shore Line between Chicago's Millennium Station and South Bend Airport station. Programs feature live narration in a designated car, free route guide sheets, route guidebooks (for purchase), and a junior ranger program for kids and teens aboard. Eastbound programs take place on Train #503, which departs Chicago-Millennium Station at 8:40 am CT and arrives at South Bend Airport Station at 12:10 pm ET. Guides present a program for westbound passengers on Train #506, which departs South Bend Airport at 1:05 pm ET and arrives into Downtown Chicago at 2:39 pm CT.[10][11][12]

In partnership with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, the Midwest Rail Rangers have published a 120-page route guidebook for the South Shore Line.[13][14]

Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad

The Midwest Rail Rangers have a partnership agreement with the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, located near Trego, Wisconsin. On select weekends in the spring, summer, and fall months, volunteers with the Midwest Rail Rangers present on-board educational programs aboard the Sky Parlour Car and the Mark Twain Zephyr. The Rail Rangers program for passengers includes viewing displays and historic artifacts relating to the railcars.[15]

The Sky Parlour Car is a former Hi-Level lounge car on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (1956-1971), See-Level lounge car on Amtrak (1971-1995), and Pacific Parlour Car on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train.[16]

The Mark Twain Zephyr is a historic passenger train that once operated on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (1935-1958). After being owned by several private individuals and groups (1960-2020), the train was purchased by the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad in 2020, where it is currently undergoing extensive renovations.[17]

References
  1. "HISTORY RIDES WITH RAIL RANGERS - UPCOMING DATES". Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. November 22, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  2. "Upcoming Events". MIDWEST RAIL RANGERS. 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  3. National Park Service. "Partnering to Connect People with Places"
  4. PR Newswire, July 12, 2005. "Amtrak Builds on a Good Thing: Empire Builder to Get Fresh New Look"
  5. Miculka, James E., National Park Service Volunteer-in-Parks Report. "FY 14 Trails & Rails Statistics Final"
  6. Morris, Bonnie. Mendota Reporter, June 18, 2013, "Mendota on line for Trails & Rails program on Amtrak Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine"
  7. Bruner, Monica. KTVO-TV, July 11, 2013, "All aboard for Trails and Rails"
  8. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, December 14, 2018 Web Post. "‘Midwest Rail Rangers’ Certificate of Non-Profit Status"
  9. Exciting News About the Future of Rail Rangers for 2019 and Beyond, December 2018 TrainWeb Post. ""
  10. Trainweb Report, July 5, 2017. ""
  11. Trains Magazine, July 10, 2017. ""
  12. Lakeshore Public Radio, July 11, 2017. ""
  13. Outside the Rails Book. ""
  14. "Rail Rangers Return to the South Shore Line" New Carlisle Gazette. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  15. "Historic car, book, and film debut in WGN’s fleet" Spooner Advocate. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  16. "Midwest Rail Rangers - Sky Parlour "Open House" Event" Trainweb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  17. "Midwest Rail Rangers - Mark Twain Zephyr "Open House" Event" MidwestRailRangers.org. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
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