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Along the Rails

Enjoy our Chapter Newsletter

             Summer 2025

Home page

Geneva Metra Passengers

 

                                   

                         Don't Miss Your Train!

 

                      Trains sometimes arrive on                                       South Tracks (Platform 2)​

                   

  

Expect Train 

To Arrive on 

Platform 1

UNLESS

  Announcement says

      PLATFORM 2

        7 minutes before

      scheduled arrival

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Virtual Rail Tour

       Read in Metra News about                        about possible service cuts

Yesterday & Today

RECENT REQUESTS 

Your page will be available  for 2 weeks.

If you wish to access after that time,

please email me:  GAstorybook@gmail.com

Stories You’ll Love

    Chocolate

    Walt Disney

    Animals

    Amazing Women

    They Impacted History

    Lincoln Family

    Frontier Arizona    

   

Local Area

JJ Keigley, Mike Best, and Roger Wilhelmi, W. Chicago, Batavia, and Geneva residents, share their stories and experiences from their combined 135 years of working on the railroad.  Be ready for an entertaining and informative session and for Mark Llanuza's photos.

 

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FEATURED VIDEO

At the end of video, JJ Keigley, an immensely popular Metra conductor for 17 years, is shown being honored in a very moving ceremony on ABC 7 , Windy City Live, “Chicagoans you need to Know”.  Metra honors JJ by naming the UP West Corridor the “JJ Keigley Corridor” - .

During my day in Geneva, IL,  I engage with people and share a story or two.  Most often this happens at Geneva's Metra station, on 3rd Street and/or while walking in the parks.

I then give them my card with an invitation to 

visit my website for access to more stories .

                   INVITATION

​

  I invite you for a "sidewalk" conversation (5 -10 minutes)  over the telephone as the first step to gain access to our stories

        

       You can email to schedule

a call or you can call me directly. 

I look forward to talking with you.

​

      GAstorybook@gmail.com

        

                224 449 1420

​        (10am - 8pm Mon-Sat)

No obligation.  Free, complimentary community service ... because history matters

Gilded Age & Railroad Historian

DG 'Rusty' Alderson

 

Master Story Teller

   Amtrak Tour Guide & Tour Organizer 

           

     Robert Todd Lincoln reenactor

   

  Former 20 year Arizona resident

      

                  

Growing up adjacent to train tracks started my love for trains. Over the years I have gathered rail stories, organized 60 train excursions (involving thousands of riders), served as an Amtrak tour guide and train museum docent in Arizona and Illinois.

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President & Editor

224 449 1420.

STORIES BY REQUEST

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               Series 2    
            History Slices

 History Makers 1830 - 1930

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He wanted to paint but his dad wanted him to be an engineer ... his painting today is worth millions, his invention was revolutionary.

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Lincoln Family   1830 -1930

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Why did Robert Todd Lincoln wished he never played golf on that January 1906 day in Wheaton, IL

Gilded Age Living   1830 -1930

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​​This doctor's method and prescription for dealing with stress ... well, let's say were interesting  

Early Railroads    1830 -1930

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This railroad baron took on a mistress, who he eventually married.  Upon his death, he subsequently married his nephew (also a RR Baron) and together they  established a renowned museum.

Frontier Arizona 1830 -1930

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 Going beyond the TV Westerns

    
      Series  1
Stories by Theme   

                  Early Railroads &

       Gilded Age History Makers

 

How RR Barons Met Their Wives

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Hist Makers Who Died Broke

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They Impacted History

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 Sons of Legendary Fathers

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California Rail Barons 

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Disgraced Powerful Men

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Creative Frauds

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Game Changers

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Interesting Railroad Men

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How They Found Their 'Gold'

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Sons Who Were Duds

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Unusual Events

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     Rusty's Best Stories  

Podcast         Text   

​ .

    
           Series 3
      Monthly Stories
               

  1. He painted the Masters in the Louvre, but failed to sell his painting in America, thus having to turn to Plan B;  his invention changed communication.                                      .      

2.   The new railroad would put its future on

      the line when it accepted a dare to race

      a horse.

       

3.   Louise's father told George, an immigrant,        he wasn't good enough for his daughter.  

      George set out to prove him wrong.  

      

4.   What was so valuable 1000 years ago that        led cacao traders from Central America to

      trade with Native Americans  in the Four

       Corners Region (AZ, UT, CO, NM)?

     

5.   A president's assassination helped 

      create a railroad company that would

      lead to the president's son becoming 

      CEO some 30 years later.  He would serve        as CEO for 11 years & Chairman of the              Board for 14 years before retiring 

      at age 79.

        

6.   The question of the day in 1877:  does a

      galloping horse's hooves leave the ground

      at the same time?  Solving this led to an

      invention we enjoy today.

        â€‹

7.   No one realized that this new invention

       would some day 'shrink' the nation.

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8..  Beautiful, sophisticated women along with

      traveling on railroads were the leading

      cause of  stress, resulting in the disease 

      termed 'Americanitis'.

       Information and/or to 

    schedule your call with Rusty 

​

                     Email

       GAstorybook@gmail.com

​

         or call Rusty directly

              224 449 1420

​             (10am - 8pm Mon-Sat)

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  ​​IRON HORSE

TRAIN

TALKS & TOURS 

​

  Yesterday/Today

        

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