The museum was founded in 1953 by ten people who joined to purchase Indiana Railroad interurban car 65.

IRM is one of only two railway museums in the country that operates both electric and diesel trains, and the only one to offer trolleybus rides on a regular basis.

The Pullman Archive, formerly located in downtown Union, IL moved on campus to the Multi-purpose Building in 2021.

Paper, Inc. Locomotive The Illinois Railway Museum is an IRS Chapter 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation owned and managed by its membership.

Museum management includes a board of directors, elected by the regular membership of about 160 active volunteers.

The board oversees the general manager, a volunteer who in turn has oversight over an array of department heads.

IRM has been used in several films, due to its proximity to Chicago and its extensive collection of historic railroad equipment.

Scenes depicting steam era operations in the late 1920s were shot for the 1993 television series The Untouchables.