the monon connection museum

A friend & I were going to Lake Shafer for the 1st time and I said we have to stop here on the way back home. We did & there was so much to look at outside. Very creative.. Great place to visit for all ages. I took pictures, the Gift Shop was closed, we didn't go inside or the restaurant. I have a family hair salon in Mokena, Illinois HAIR STATION EXPRESS The decor I have is a train theme inside the salon. The clients love the atmosphere. Your place caught my eye & I just had to stop to take a look. I will be back again to check out inside & restaurant. Very Unique!!! :)

This collection is large and beautifully displayed. Our tour guide / docent was friendly and knowledgeable. The adjacent restaurant was a bit overwhelmed by what appeared to be a larger than normal rainy day crowd, but the service was friendly and the food was good.

Rail Camp #8, a group of railfans from around the United States, visited the Museum and had a great lunch on Thursday, March 28th.The food is great and also the Museum has a great collection of items about trains. While we were there, the CSX Railroad local way freight to Medaryville, IN, passed the restaurant on the old Monon Railroad line that used to go to Michigan City, IN.I know that Stephen B. comment that it is not on an interstate highway, but if you going from Chicago south, it is short distance off I 65 by taking Indiana Highway 114 east from Exit 215 on I 65 to US 421. Go south to the Restaurant and Museum. After you are finished, continue south on US 421 to Reynolds and go straight on Indiana Highway 43 to I 65. You will lose about 20 minutes of travel time.Well worth visiting.Rick Burn

Harvey gave us a tour and he was very knowledgeable and educating. Museum was full of interesting items, mostly train related but numerous other oddities and trinkets. Terrific collection and worth the time to stop by and see for yourself.

Monon isn't close to an interstate, but this museum is worth driving out of your way to visit. The building holds both a restaurant (the "Whistle Stop") and the museum. Surrounding the building is a series of outdoor exhibits of both rolling stock and maintenance equipment, including a restored caboose that is open to visitors. The museum inside has a series of well-done exhibits, from signals to signs, uniforms to timetables, tools to handcars, photos to paintings, and watches to china. I spent a leisurely hour enjoying the displays, but didn't see everything. We live about 45 minutes away from this gem; I'll be bringing my wife next time to enjoy the restaurant and the museum. If you have children, I think they'll enjoy the model trains (G gauge?) the circle the dining room, pass through the kitchen, and continue through the front of the museum. This is clearly a labor of love of the owner!

This place deserves a stop whether you like trains or not! Their restaurant is great--always lots of stuff on their salad bar and big menu and specials--don't miss out on dessert either--homemade pies and ice cream Yum! The museum is a train lovers paradise. They have things there I've never seen before--many one of a kind items! The amount of railroad lanterns is staggering. You can easily spend an hour or more there to really get to see and read everything.

Clean environment, high quality food, great ambience, especially if you like trains. Worth the stop.

For $5.00 (kids free) you can spend a great hour looking at memorabilia from an era gone by. My dad and granddad were both railroad men during that time so this was very interesting to me as I remembered lots of conversation about this great industry. Lots of hands on displays, a real caboose and lots of displays in perfect condition. Movies about the steam locomotives are well worth the admission. One of the top ten places to see before you die...or move to Florida!

This is an excellent quality collection of railroad items. It is considered to be one of the very best collections in the USA. Everything is original and most is in mint condition. From the tea set used on first transcontinental railroad trip to the crane out front, you will find this interesting.