"Ride a spooky trolley down to the haunted forest preserve, where ghost stories come alive under the glow of the campfire." That line from the Fox River Trolley Museum's 2026 calendar describes its Ghost Train, the first of the events that start as the museum's regular season ends.
The museum's ordinary weekend riding ends October 25. The village calendar doesn't slow down after that. Over the next eight weeks it includes a park that reopened in September, a 25th anniversary and four weekends of Santa trains. Each one starts somewhere different. The hard part of fall in South Elgin is keeping track of where to show up and when to buy tickets.
Three weekends left on the regular schedule
On Saturdays and Sundays through October 25, the museum's visit page lists hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last train leaves between 4:00 and 4:15 p.m. The same page lists admission at $10 for adults and $5 for children 3 to 11. Children 2 and under ride free. Seniors 65 and older, first responders, active military and veterans pay $8. That page was first posted a few years ago, so check the price at the depot window.
The museum turned 60 this year and celebrated on July 4. It runs historic cars on what remains of the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company line. The collection includes car 304, built in 1924 as one of the last cars made for the Fox River Line. It also includes car 20, a wooden car built in 1902 that the museum calls the oldest operating interurban car in North America. Tickets are sold at Castlemuir Depot on Route 31, about three blocks south of the State Street traffic light. Two 450-year-old bur oaks stand on either side of the depot.
From October 26 through the end of the year, the museum is closed except for special events. The rest of this calendar is made up of those special events.
The Ghost Train keeps the Castlemuir start
The Ghost Train runs three Saturday nights: October 10, 17 and 24. Departures are at 5:00, 6:15 and 7:30 p.m. The museum says trains "will board at Castlemuir (the main museum location)." This is the last event of the year that starts at the main depot.
Explore Elgin Area's 2026 listing puts tickets at $20 per person. They're sold online, and anything left is sold at the event that night. The museum's calendar describes two options once riders reach the forest preserve. One is a gathering with family-friendly ghost stories and treats. The other is an interactive session with paranormal investigators that explores "the mysteries of the Fox River." Both include s'mores and hot chocolate.
All three Ghost Train dates fall on Saturdays during the last three regular weekends. On those days the museum runs daytime rides and then night rides from the same depot. For a family that wants both a daytime ride and the evening event, those three Saturdays are the only chance to do both from Castlemuir in one day.
A deadline that comes before the trains do
The Santa's Trolley Express ticket price is $45 per person through October 31. It rises to $50 on November 1. For a family of four, that's a $20 difference for buying in October instead of November, a month before the first Santa train leaves.
The museum's ticket table already shows the December 20 departure at 6:40 p.m. as sold out. Other dates still had open seats when we checked. Every rider needs a ticket. Seats are also limited, so the latest and most popular times are likely to go first. The museum's own page has the current prices. One 2026 event listing elsewhere shows $38, which doesn't match what the museum is charging.
Tredup Park reopened a month before the trolley's regular season ends
On September 21, South Elgin held a ribbon cutting for Ralph E. Tredup Park after $1.2 million in renovations. The village covered half the cost with a $600,000 state Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant. The other $600,000 came from the Parks and Recreation Department budget.
The upgrade added:
- A zip line
- Playground equipment for ages 5 to 12 on ADA-accessible surfacing, with swings, climbing features, spinners and a game table
- A picnic shelter and a concrete ping-pong table
- Garden plots, a communication board and new landscaping
- A trail connection to Arlington Lane
The park covers nearly 17 acres on both sides of the 900 block of South Lancaster Circle, just south of Valley Forge Avenue. Its playground history follows the neighborhood around it. The developer put in a small playground in 2001, and the village replaced it in two phases in 2006 and 2010, according to village spokesperson Craig Pierce. The new equipment doesn't take over the whole site. "A large percentage of the park remains open with maintained green space that's ideal for flying kites, after-school ballgames, tossing a Frisbee, kicking a soccer ball and other recreation," Pierce said in the Daily Herald.
The timing matters for the weeks ahead. After October 25, the trolley runs only on event dates. That leaves Tredup Park as the newly rebuilt outdoor option with no event date attached. The park is named for Ralph Tredup, who documented South Elgin's history. He wrote three books, among them a history marking 150 years of South Elgin heritage, along with hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.
November 21 crosses the street twice
The village's event page announces the 25th anniversary of An Almost Winter Day for Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 5 p.m. at SEBA Park. Santa arrives at 2 p.m. and stays for photos until 4:45. The village lists two new additions for the anniversary: Highland Cows and a demonstration by Huskies of the Valley. Returning activities include s'mores, cookie decorating, a craft station, balloon animals, an ice sculptor, a tree decorating contest and snowball slingshots. Kids can also drop off a letter to Santa and get a reply from the North Pole.
At 5 p.m., the event moves across the street to Panton Mill Park for the Village Tree Lighting. The State Street Bridge is close by. The village finished resurfacing it on July 31 under a $686,912 contract paid for through TIF improvements, so this year's holiday weekend is the first one with the new bridge surface.
Santa leaves from a different station
A week later, Santa's Trolley Express starts at a different place. These trains board at Blackhawk Station in the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, not at the main museum depot on Route 31. If you rode the Ghost Train in October, don't head back to Castlemuir in December.
The calendar describes a 40-minute ride along the Fox River Line on decorated vintage trolleys. Santa boards at the "North Pole" stop and greets each family. Blackhawk Station also connects to the forest preserve's hiking and bike paths, boat ramp and fishing areas.
The 2026 Santa dates, as listed by the museum, are:
- Saturday and Sunday, November 28 and 29
- Friday through Sunday, December 4 to 6
- Friday through Sunday, December 11 to 13
- Friday through Sunday, December 18 to 20
The season by starting point
Here's the full schedule from now through December 20, with each event's location.
| Dates | Event | Where to show up |
|---|---|---|
| Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 25 | Regular trolley rides, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Castlemuir Depot, Route 31 |
| Oct. 10, 17, 24 | Ghost Train, 5:00, 6:15, 7:30 p.m. | Castlemuir Depot, Route 31 |
| Through Oct. 31 | Santa tickets at $45 | Online, before the Nov. 1 increase |
| Open daily | Rebuilt playground, zip line, open fields | Tredup Park, South Lancaster Circle |
| Nov. 21, 2 to 5 p.m. | An Almost Winter Day, 25th year | SEBA Park |
| Nov. 21, 5 p.m. | Village Tree Lighting | Panton Mill Park |
| Nov. 28 to Dec. 20 | Santa's Trolley Express | Blackhawk Station, Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve |
Of everything here, the only date that costs money if you miss it is October 31. After that, Santa tickets are $50 per person.
If one of these Saturdays at Tredup Park or on the trolley has you thinking about how your street compares with the rest of South Elgin, I'm happy to walk through it with you. I'm Marzena Castillo, and I'll bring local sales data and a clear explanation of what it means for your home. Schedule your free consultation.
