Burlington Route Historical Society Meetings

BRHS 2026 Spring Meet - Ottawa, IL
Saturday May 2, 2026
Registration is Now Open!

  
Meet Hotel: Holiday Inn Express & Suites
2850 Columbus Street
Ottawa, IL 61350
Room rate is $140 per night plus tax
Call 815-320-2230 to make reservations
Use code: Burlington Route when reserving
Hotel Registration Link - Burlington Route Historical Society

Be sure to adjust the arrival and departure dates on the
hotel's website to access the complete choice of rooms



Reservations due on or before Friday April 10, 2026 to guarantee Group room rate.



Late Meeting Registration Notice:

Lunch Choice:

To insure your meal choice, registration must be received by Friday, April 17. Therefore, if you are registering on or after that Friday, you will be served one of the limited number and variety of extra lunches prepared. While extra lunches may not run out, it does means that the type of lunch you choose when registering may run out and not be available.
Refunds: Meeting cancellation refunds will not be availabe after April 17, 2026

 

 


Schedule of Events

Friday - May 1
  • 6pm – 7pm - Hotel Lobby
         Talk to the BRHS Webmaster, Q&A, Live demos.
Saturday - May 2

Morning:
  • 06:30a - 12:00a - Registration Open
  • 06:30a - 08:30a - Swap meet set up
  • 08:30a - Doors open (Coffee, Orange Juice & Donuts available - donations requested)
  • 08:30a - 11:30a - Swap Meet (Swap Meet Only: Admission $10 at the door)
  • 11:30a - Noon - Lunch setup

Afternoon:

  • Noon - 12:45p - Lunch provided. Ham Turkey, or Tuna box lunch
  • 1:00 pm - 1:45 ◊ Leo Phillipp
          "A Typical Day of Train operations on the Fox         River Branchl"
  • 2:00 pm - 2:45 ◊ Jon Habegger -
           "Mail and Express on the Fox River Branch         Moter Cars"
  • 3:00 pm - 3:45 ◊ Bob Herrick
           “Less Than Carload Freight on the Fox River         Branch”
  • 4:00 pm - 4:45 ◊ Bill Hayward
           “Burlington Depots on the Fox River Branch &         the I.V&N to La Salle”
  • 5:30p - 6:30p - Social Hour and Raffle Sales

Evening:

  • 6:30p - 7:30p - Dinner Buffet (Tossed Salad w/dressing, Roast Sirloin of Beef, Baked Chicken, Roll w/butter, Mashed Potatos w/gravy, Escalloped Corn, Green Bean Casserole)
  • 7:30p - 8:30p - Evening presentation - TBD

 

   Moving Forward, Celebrating and Preserving the Past