History:

The Galesburg Railroad Museum is a not for profit corporation established to promote the research, exploration and discovery of the history of the railroad industry as it applies to Galesburg and Western Illinois. Its object further is to gather and preserve artifacts, historical documents, data, letters, accounts and articles as relates to this history.

It operates a museum under control of a Board of Directors and houses and displays its collection of items, either donated or loaned for such purpose.

In a way the Museum grew informally. In 1970, the Burlington Northern Railroad Company was formed by merger of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad Companies. At that time it formed the largest railroad in the United States in terms of mileage operated.