2023 SCHEDULE
Blackhawk is following local orders and mandates for masking and related COVID-19 protocols.
If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home.
Blackhawk reserves the right to modify our schedule or programming due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home.
Blackhawk reserves the right to modify our schedule or programming due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
2023 Monthly Meetings - First FRIDAY of the Month in Lockport, Illinois
- Our monthly meetings are held at the Gladys Fox Museum in Lockport, Illinois
- Meetings are open to the public
- Refreshments are provided
- Programs feature a live presenter or a video or movie presentation on a railroad subject, often of local interest
- The building opens at 7 PM and meeting runs from 7:30 to no later than 10 PM
- See our Meetings page for more information
JANUARY 6
From the Blackhawk collection: video presentation on the Pennsylvania Railroad in the mid-1950s
FEBRUARY 3
From the Blackhawk collection: video presentation on the Santa Fe's Chillicothe Subdivision in the final months before the BNSF merger
MARCH 3
Long-time Blackhawk member Mark Hoffmann will be presenting a good old-fashioned 35mm slide program on various Midwestern railroads from a collection is recently obtained.
APRIL 14 (*Please note change in date, rescheduled for Good Friday)
Program will be a video on the formative years of the Penn Central.
MAY 5
Program by Mike Lee on "Passenger trains of Spain" with a look at the passenger bullet trains, regional, and commuter trains, trams, subways, stations, and infrastructures of Madrid, Valencia, and Alicante.
JUNE 2
Former Rock Island employee Dave Partak will be sharing his photographs of the "Mighty Fine Line" from the 60s and 70s.
SUMMER BREAK - No meetings in JULY and AUGUST
SEPTEMBER 1
Program is our annual "What I Did This Summer" extravaganza. Members and non-members are invited to bring their pictures from over the summer. Digital format preferred. Please bring photos on USB drive or SD card. Our laptop and projector are a little older and will have trouble handling super high-resolution photos and video. We ask that you select your favorites and decrease the resolution on them. Depending on the number of presenters, each presenter will have 10-15 minutes along with 5 minutes for equipment changes.
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OCTOBER is Chicago Railroad History MonthCelebrating the 175th anniversary of the railroad coming to Chicago by commemorating the history and the future of railroading in Chicago. Support the cause with your purchase of this exclusive poster from renowned artist Mitch Markovitz.
Click here to order your Chicago Railroad History Month Poster by Mitch Markovitz |
OCTOBER 6
Blackhawk celebrates Chicago Railroad History Month with a program by the project's spearhead, Dave Daruszka.
NOVEMBER 3
Program by Joe Petric covering three subjects: 111th anniversary of Joliet Union Station, and photo charters on the Nevada Northern and Cumbres & Toltec.
DECEMBER 1
Annual Business Meeting and Holiday Party
Program will be a video from the Blackhawk Collection
Food and drink will be served. Members are encouraged to bring a food item to share.
Program will be a video from the Blackhawk Collection
Food and drink will be served. Members are encouraged to bring a food item to share.
2024 Friday night meetings in Lockport, IL
January 5, February 2, March 1, April 5, May 3, June 7, September6, October 4, November 1, December 6
2024 Swap Meets in Griffith, Indiana will be held on these Sundays:
January 28, April 21, October 27
- Meets are held at :
American Legion Post 66
132 N Wiggs St, Griffith, IN 46319 - The hall opens around 8 AM for vendor setup and opens to the public at 10 AM.
- Selling runs from 10 AM to 2 or 3 PM (as long as the vendors decide to stay.)
- A $2 donation is requested at the door.
- 8' Vendor tables are $15 each, however the first table is FREE to Blackhawk members. Click here to join us.
- TABLES SELL OUT QUICKLY. The size of the hall is limited, and our floor plan allows for easy movement rather than packing in as many tables as possible. We do maintain a waiting list, but for best results, order and pay for your tables as soon as you can.
- Requests for tables should be directed to:
- Blackhawk Railway Historical Society
2009 Boehme St.
Lockport, IL 60441-4611
- Blackhawk Railway Historical Society
- Please E-mail us for more information about the swap meet
- While in Griffith, stop by the Griffith Historical Society's Railroad Park and museum (201 S Broad St.) at the famous railroad crossing and junction, or stop by the Hi-Rail Modular Train Club at the nearby Franklin Center (201 N. Griffith Blvd.)
About Our Meetings
We hold regular meetings at 7:30 PM on the first Friday of the month (except July and August), at the Gladys Fox Museum on the southwest corner of 9th Street (Illinois Route 7) and Washington Street in the historic downtown district of Lockport, Illinois. Visit our Meetings page for more information.
Doors open at 7:00 PM and there is plenty of free parking on Washington Street. If there is no wake scheduled, additional parking is available in the lot of the adjacent Goodale Memorial Chapel, in the 900 block of Hamilton Street.
Admission to all meetings is FREE and open to the public. Attendees are invited to participate in our monthly raffle of rare and interesting railroad memorabilia and models. Refreshments are also available.
Meetings include a presentation on railroads, past and present, by well-known railfans, authors, photographers, historians, railroad professionals and railroad advocates.
Doors open at 7:00 PM and there is plenty of free parking on Washington Street. If there is no wake scheduled, additional parking is available in the lot of the adjacent Goodale Memorial Chapel, in the 900 block of Hamilton Street.
Admission to all meetings is FREE and open to the public. Attendees are invited to participate in our monthly raffle of rare and interesting railroad memorabilia and models. Refreshments are also available.
Meetings include a presentation on railroads, past and present, by well-known railfans, authors, photographers, historians, railroad professionals and railroad advocates.
Giving A Program/Programs For Your Group
We are always looking for quality programs from railfans, railroad professionals, advocates, scholars and historians. We can supply a large screen, projection equipment (slides, 16mm movies, video or computer) and an appreciative and enthusiastic audience. If you have a program you would like to present, or know of a presenter that has a program to offer, please read about our program requirements on our Meetings page and then E-mail our Program Director.
The Blackhawk can present programs on local railroad history for your organization. There are many possibilities: a discussion of local railroad history, historic railroad movies and photographs, or even a visit from a 19th-century station agent or a real locomotive engineer. Blackhawk members have given presentations to local historical societies, civic groups, government organizations, and lectured at the Chicago History Museum.
For more information, please send us an E-mail or talk to us at one of our monthly meetings.
The Blackhawk can present programs on local railroad history for your organization. There are many possibilities: a discussion of local railroad history, historic railroad movies and photographs, or even a visit from a 19th-century station agent or a real locomotive engineer. Blackhawk members have given presentations to local historical societies, civic groups, government organizations, and lectured at the Chicago History Museum.
For more information, please send us an E-mail or talk to us at one of our monthly meetings.