Midwest Rail Rangers

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.[2]

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]

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. Programs takes place on various train departures year-round.[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]

• Midwest Rail Rangers, the official website of the Midwest Rail Rangers.
• Midwest Rail Rangers Store, the official store of the Midwest Rail Rangers.
• TrainPodcast.com, download informational train route guide podcasts from the Midwest Rail Rangers.
• Midwest Rail Rangers @ Trainweb, the Midwest Rail Rangers @ TrainWeb Page.
• Pacific Parlour Car, information from the Midwest Rail Rangers about Pacific Parlour Cars.
• Amtrak Dome Car #10031, information from the Midwest Rail Rangers about Amtrak's Last Dome Car.
• Railroad Lounge Cars, information from the Midwest Rail Rangers about Railroad Lounge Cars.
• Park Badges, information about the Junior Midwest Rail Rangers Program for Kids

• October 7, 2015, Mendota Reporter, "Learn BNSF Rail History at Rail Rangers Program"
• November 7, 2015, Galesburg Register-Mail, "Latest 'Outside the Rails' Book Includes Glimpse of Galesburg'"
• March 1, 2016, Alton Telegraph, "Historic Rail Tour Includes Stop in Alton"
• March 7, 2016, Springfield State Journal-Register, "Piece of Railroad History Will Rumble Through Springfield"
• July 5, 2017, TrainWeb News Article, "APRHF Rail Rangers on the South Shore Line"
• July 10, 2017, Trains Magazine Online, "New Educational Talks Planned for South Shore Line Trains"
• July 11, 2017, Lakeshore Public Radio, "Rail Rangers To Join South Shore Line Passengers For The Ride"
• April 5, 2018, New Carlisle Gazette, "Rail Rangers Return to the South Shore Line"
• August 5, 2019, The Chicago Daily Herald, "Get tickets for historic train rides aboard 1950s observation car"
• September 30, 2019, The Spooner Advocate, "Historic car, book, and film debut in WGN’s fleet"