Numerous national, state, and local parks across the country have a junior ranger program to get children and teens interested in learning about a particular area. With the same goal in mind, except on a moving train, the Midwest Rail Rangers launched its own Junior Rail Rangers program. We feel it's important that younger ones on a rail excursion put down their electronics and appreciate what they are seeing out the window.
Earning your gold-colored Junior Rail Rangers badge is now easy as 1-2-3!
(1) Plan to join the Midwest Rail Rangers for an onboard educational program while riding the South Shore Line... a 90-mile-long railroad line that operates from Downtown Chicago to South Bend, Indiana.
(2) Before riding with our Interpretive Guides aboard the South Shore Line, always remember to download and print out your own Junior Rail Rangers booklet to use aboard the train. Our supply of booklets on the train is sometimes very limited and can be all given out in the first few stops. Just use the link below to download your own copy now... so that you can participate even if we end up running out.
(3) While riding with us, complete the appropriate number of activities and/or questions required by the instructions (this varies by participant's age). If you get stumped, just ask one of our Midwest Rail Rangers Guides for help... that's what we are there for! When you are finished, turn your booklet into one of the Guides aboard the train for a badge.
For additional information about Junior Rail Rangers, check out: www.ParkBadges.com, which contains more details. On this site, you can even check out the Midwest Rail Rangers' collection of hundreds of other junior ranger badges from across the country that we have collected and display at some of our outreach events. Plus... you'll get to meet Junior Ranger Aida who is a teen supporter of the Midwest Rail Rangers and has visited hundreds of national park units to promote the junior ranger program.
General inquiries about our Junior Rail Rangers program should be directed to Midwest Rail Rangers President Robert Tabern at rtabern@railrangers.org.
I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor Ice Age National Scenic Trail Indiana Dunes National Park Kankakee River National Water Trail Midwest Rail Rangers Midwest Rail Rangers Mississippi NRRA Mormon Pioneer Nat'l Historic Trail Pullman National Monument St. Croix NSR Texas A&M University
General inquiries about our Passport Stamp program should be directed to Midwest Rail Rangers President Robert Tabern. E-mail rtabern@railrangers.org, or call (847) 271-1979.
Many travelers enjoy collecting passport cancellation stamps whenever they visit a park... and we think there is really no better way to experience some of the most popular Midwestern parks than by taking the train with the Midwest Rail Rangers. We offer unique cancellation stamps for some of the park units located along the South Shore Line and our private rail trips across the Upper Midwest.
To figure out when we will be offering our next Junior Rail Rangers opportunity... click on the "Upcoming Programs" tab on the left and scroll down to "Upcoming Educational Porgrams on the South Shore Line".
(8 page PDF)
If you need more time to finish, you can also mail your completed booklet to: Midwest Rail Rangers P.O. Box 615 Luck, WI 54853. Please be sure to include your return address and a minimum $10 donation check to our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to cover our costs of mailing a badge back to you.
And there you go... you're an official Junior Rail Ranger! Welcome to the club!
PARK PASSPORT STAMPS
Midwest Rail Rangers currently have 11 different passport stamps available to collectors. Each stamp is for a park unit in the Midwest that we either go through on our regular South Shore Line program... or on various private rail excursions.
Any of the 11 passport stamps that you wish to make an impression of can be obtained by riding one of our programs on the South Shore Line. Please provide a minimum 72 hours notice if you plan to ride to obtain passport stamps. This way the guide will know to bring our stamps along on a South Shore trip. E-mail: rtabern@railrangers.org
You can also write to us for any of the stamps you wish to obtain at:
Midwest Rail Rangers / P.O. Box 615 / Luck, WI 54853.
South Shore Line
Our onboard educational programs aboard the South Shore Line travel through a portion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor between Millennium Station in Downtown Chicago and 47th Street on Chicago's South Side. The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era.
Empire Builder
The Midwest Rail Rangers occasionally present onboard educational programs aboard private rail car excursions. These talks are often given in historic 1950's and 1960's observation cars, owned by private individuals but attached to the rear of regular Amtrak trains, that passengers pay a special fare to ride in. Check the "Upcoming Programs" tab on the left to see when our next private rail car programs will be. Sometimes our private rail trips take place on the Empire Builder train, between Chicago, IL... Milwaukee, WI... and St. Paul, MN. The train route crosses the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (an affiliated unit of the National Park Service) twice --- once near Hartland, Wisconsin (Waukesha County) and again near Portage, Wisconsin (Columbia County). The nearly 1,200 mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail, established in 1980, traces the glacier's edge from 15,000 years ago.
South Shore Line
Our onboard educational programs aboard the South Shore Line pass through the Indiana Dunes National Park between Miller and Michigan City. Indiana Dunes National Park hugs 15 miles of the southern shore of Lake Michigan and has much to offer. Whether you enjoy scouting for rare species of birds or flying kites on the sandy beach, the national park's 15,000 acres will continually enchant you. Hikers will enjoy 50 miles of trails over rugged dunes, mysterious wetlands, sunny prairies, meandering rivers and peaceful forests.
South Shore Line passengers looking to explore Indiana Dunes State and National Park should use the Dune Park Station; numerous hiking trails begin just north of the depot.
South Shore Line
Our onboard educational programs on the South Shore Line travels through portions of La Porte County and St. Joseph County, Indiana... relatively close to the Kankakee River National Water Trail, an affiliated unit of the National Park Service. Experience ancient wetlands, cliffs and canyons, wooded islands and the gentle farmlands of Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois along the 133-mile Kankakee River, one of the cleanest rivers in the Midwest. The Kankakee River runs from its origin near South Bend Indiana to the confluence with the Des Plaines River near Channahon, Illinois.
Chicago, IL to South Bend, IN
Between Chicago, Illinois and South Bend, Indiana, our onboard educational programs aboard the South Shore Line pass through or near two units of the National Park Service (Pullman NM and Indiana Dunes NP), two affiliated units of the National Park Service (I&M Canal NHC and Kankakee River NWT), and four state parks sites (Stephen A. Douglas Tomb SHS, WIlliam W. Powers SRA, Indiana Dunes SP, and Potato Creek SP). This is all in just a 90 mile stretch of track! Come out and ride with us and experience the interesting landmarks seen along this railroad line in Illinois and Indiana.
IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, WI
The Midwest Rail Rangers present educational programs aboard trains through seven states in the Upper Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Come out and ride with us to learn more about the people, places, and history passing by outside your window. Our main focus is providing onboard educational programs on the South Shore Line, a 90-mile-long train route between Chicago and Indiana... and history talks aboard the Sky Parlour Car at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad in Trego, WI. You can also find us on private rail excursions -- these feature historic 1950's and 1960's observation cars. We also partner with the 20th Century Railroad Club to provide narration on Amtrak coach charters.
St. Paul, MN
The Midwest Rail Rangers occasionally present onboard educational programs aboard private rail car excursions. These talks are often given in historic 1950's and 1960's observation cars, owned by private individuals but attached to the rear of regular Amtrak trains, that passengers pay a special fare to ride in. Check the "Upcoming Programs" tab on the left to see when our next private rail car programs will be. Sometimes our private rail trips take place on the Empire Builder train, between Chicago, IL... Milwaukee, WI... and St. Paul, MN. The train route passes through a portion of the Mississippi National River & Recreation Area between Hasting and St. Paul, MN.
IL, IA, NE, WY, UT
The Midwest Rail Rangers occasionally present onboard educational programs aboard private rail car excursions. These talks are often given in historic 1950's and 1960's observation cars, owned by private individuals but attached to the rear of regular Amtrak trains, that passengers pay a special fare to ride in. Check the "Upcoming Programs" tab on the left to see when our next private rail car programs will be. Sometimes our private rail trips take place on the Southwest Chief train, between Chicago, IL... Fort Madison, IA... and Kansas City, MO. Near Fort Madison, the train crosses the route of the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail. The Mormon Trail is the 1,300-mile route from Illinois to Utah that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868. On a clear day... Nauvoo, Illinois, the start of the Mormon Pioneer Trail is visible from the train.
South Shore Line
Our onboard educational programs aboard the South Shore Line travel adjacent to the Pullman National Monument between 103rd Street and 115th Street on Chicago's South Side. In a growing Chicago neighborhood, diverse people and stories intertwine. All were seeking opportunity. Some succeeded. Others were limited -- by race, gender, or economic status. Their stories came together in Pullman, a planned community famed for its urban design and architecture. From the the South Shore, you can see the historic administration building/clock tower and several other buildings on the site. Our Interpretive Guides explain the story further to travelers.
Wisconsin Great Northern RR
Between July 2019 and July 2022, the Midwest Rail Rangers were partners with the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, a tourist railroad line in Northwest Wisconsin. A portion of the train line passes adjacent to the Veazie Springs area of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Due to this... the Midwest Rail Rangers received a special St. Croix National Scenic Riverways passport stamp for travelers on the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad. Even though this partnership agreement has expired, Interpretive Guides still have the stamp and will make it available upon advance notice at outreach events.
Southwest Chief - Trails & Rails
Before the Midwest Rail Rangers was founded as its own independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in July 2015, our onboard educational programs were part of Trails & Rails (a partnership program overseen by Amtrak, the National Park Service, and Texas A&M University). Trails & Rails operated numerous onboard educational programs across the country in the lounge car of Amtrak passenger trains. Between December 2012 and July 2015, our Interpretive Guides gave talks on the Southwest Chief train through Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri to over 50,000 passengers. This stamp officially became "retired" when we transitioned to the Midwest Rail Rangers in July 2015, however we still make it available for those collecting old cancellations.
Travelers who enjoy the Midwest Rail Rangers' Park Passport Program may wish to consider joining the National Park Travelers Club. For more information about their organization, click the logo below.
