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Would
you ever watch a program on the Travel Channel or History Channel with
the audio turned down? Your answer to that question is probably a
resounding "no". So, why would you take a train ride somewhere and not
know anything about all of the interesting people, place, and history
passing by outside your window? It's essentially the same thing
if you think about it. And... that is where the Midwest Rail Rangers
come in. We are an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based
in Barron, Wisconsin that
provides live on-board educational programs on regular departures of
the South Shore Line (on select weekends)... aboard the Sky Parlour Car
at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad... private rail excursions...
Amtrak coach charter trips with the 20th Century Railroad Club of
Chicago... and at various outreach events such as train
shows and local libraries. For those looking for a self-guided
experience, our team of Interpretive Guides have produced a
series of railroad route guide books, e-books, and podcasts covering
Midwest and nation-wide passenger train routes.
Here is a closer look at where you can find the Midwest Rail Rangers:
 THE SOUTH SHORE LINESince 2017, the Midwest Rail Rangers
have partnered with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation
District (NICTD) to provide on-board programs to passengers on select
weekends year-round. Our Guides ride a round-trip between Downtown
Chicago and South Bend, IN two to three weekends per month. Learn about
the south side of Chicago, the steel-mill region of Northwest Indiana,
the Indiana Dunes State and National Parks, and the "bread basket"
region of La Porte and St. Joseph Counties.
 WISCONSIN GREAT NORTHERN SKY PARLOUR CARBesides the South Shore, the other main focus area for the Midwest Rail Rangersis
to present historical programs on select weekends aboard the Sky Parlor
Car at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad in Trego, Wisconsin.
Between 1956 and 1971, the car served as a Hi-Level Lounge on Santa
Fe's famed El Capitan train between Chicago and Los Angeles,
California. It also ran for 47 years under Amtrak... 23 years of those
as a Pacific Parlour Car on the Coast Starlight. Since 2019, the car has been owned by the Wisconsin Great Northern, a proud Rail Rangers partner.
 PRIVATE RAIL EXCURSIONSExperience
what the true "Golden Age of Railroading" was about while riding on a
private rail excursion featuring an observation car from the 1950's.
The Midwest Rail Rangers
partner with a number of different owners/operators of historic train
cars, which operate on the back of regularly-scheduled Amtrak trains.
Enjoy fine meals on a piece of rolling railroad history... all while
enjoying fun and entertaining on-board educational programs provided by
the Midwest Rail Rangers' experienced Interpretive Guides.
 20TH CENTURY RAILROAD CLUB AMTRAK CHARTERSThe Midwest Rail Rangers
partner with certain travel organizations, such as the 20th Century
Railroad Club of Chicago, who organize group coach charters aboard
regularly-scheduled Amtrak trains. Our Interpretive Guides ride along
and provide narration and handouts for passengers who are part of the
group. Our Interpretive Guides have experience doing programs across a
seven-state region across the Upper Midwest, including in Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
 OUTREACH EVENTSFeel free to join the Midwest Rail Rangers
at off-the-train outreach events that are held at various venues
year-round all across the Upper Midwest. Our Interpretive Guides
make appearances at such annual events as Trainfest and MadCity Rail in
Wisconsin. The Midwest Rail Rangers also design custom
presentations and book signings for special organizations and local
libraries. As much as we enjoy being on the train, we feel it is
equally important to encourage those who may never heard of us to come
out and ride!
 GUIDE BOOKS, PDF E-BOOKS & MP3 PODCASTSIf you are planning to take a train ride that is not set to feature our Midwest Rail Rangers
Interpretive Guides... we still have a fun way for you to learn about
everything. After many years of researching the various regional and
long-distance train lines out of Chicago, we have published a detailed
series of railroad route guides. Editions of "Outside the Rails"
are now available in traditional soft-cover book format, as a PDF
e-book, or an MP3 podcast. We also have partnered with another author
to cover nation-wide routes!
Your purchase of a route guide book, e-book, or podcast helps support the 501(c)(3) non-profit Midwest Rail Rangers and our mission of educating passengers about the people, places, and history passing by outside their train window. "Outside the Rails" Route Guides written by the Midwest Rail Rangers include:
 Chicago to St. Louis --- Chicago to Carbondale --- Chicago to Milwaukee --- Chicago to Detroit/Pontiac
 Indianapolis to Chicago --- Chicago to Kansas City --- Chicago to St. Paul --- Junior Rail Rangers
Chicago to South Bend, IN (South Shore) --- Chicago to Quincy, IL ---
Wisconsin Great Northern Sky Parlour
 MIDWEST RAIL RANGERS ON TRAINWEB.COMOf course you can find the Midwest Rail Rangers
right here on TrainWeb.com, too! Robert and Kandace Tabern, who
co-founded the Midwest Rail Rangers program, are close friends with
TrainWeb.com creators Steve Grande and Barbara Cepinko. Steve and
Barbara have been staunch supporters of the Midwest Rail Rangers since
its founding on July 20, 2015... and also believe that one's journey on
the train is enhanced with fun and informative educational programs.
TrainWeb has made the Taberns "featured authors".
If you scroll down a bit, you will find Robert & Kandace Tabern's collection of TrainWeb.com articles over the years. Some have to do with the Midwest Rail Rangers program... others are trip reports from personal rail-related travel that the two have completed. The Midwest Rail Rangers tries to average about one new article/trip report every month!  |
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It
is really no surprise that Robert Tabern developed an enthusiasm for
passenger train travel. After all, his father, Thomas, grew up in
Bowling Green, Ohio along the New York Central main line; his
mother, Rita, grew
up along the busy Evanston Expr
 ess CTA line in the northern suburbs
of Chicago.Robert was born in August 1979 in Skokie, Illinois, a suburb located about ten miles north of Chicago. He spent his early years living in the Chicagoland area, including Morton Grove and Northbrook. While growing up, every summer included at least one long-distance Amtrak train trip for the Tabern family; some of Robert's fondest memories include getting his own small slumber coach sleeping car room when going to Florida or Washington, D.C. Often times, young Robert would stay up half the night looking out his window at the small towns passing by in the darkness.  While attending Glenbrook North High School, Robert decided to pursue a career in the broadcasting industry. In August 1997, Robert moved 500 miles south, becoming a freshman at Arkansas State University. While there, he worked on-air and behind-the-scenes at a few small radio stations, including KASU-FM (Jonesboro, AR), KDRS-FM (Paragould, AR), and KLQZ-FM (Paragould, AR). Robert also worked as a television news producer, including three years at KAIT-TV, the ABC station in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Shortly after moving to Arkansas, Robert and Kandace met one another; the two dated for about a year and shared an apartment directly across from the Walnut Ridge, AR Amtrak station.  After
graduating from Arkansas State University in December 2001,
Robert moved to Indiana and served as the morning news producer
at WKJG-TV, the then-NBC affiliate in Fort Wayne. Hoping to move even closer
to
his family in the Chicagoland area, Robert picked up stakes again in
February 2003 and headed for Southeast Wisconsin. It was there he
continued working
in the broadcasting and communications field for over a decade,
including time at WDJT-TV, the CBS station in Milwaukee, the City
of
Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and WTMJ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee. In
2011, after not speaking for more than 13 years, Robert and
Kandace
came back into each others lives. Sometimes love is just meant to
be! After proposing in the dining car on Amtrak's Empire
Builder on January 1, 2012, Robert and Kandace got married later that year; their "rolling"
wedding reception was held aboard the Milwaukee Road Super Dome between St.
Paul and Chicago.Today, Robert and Kandace both call Northwest Wisconsin home. Robert works full-time as Director of Passenger Development for the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad... one of the last family-run tourist railroads left in the United States. It's also the only organization running a former Santa Fe Hi-Level Lounge Car/Amtrak Pacific Parlour Car on a regular basis. It's definitely worth the trip up... WGNRR is about two hours from the Twin Cities, five hours from Milwaukee, or about six hours from Chicago. Both Robert and Kandace also spend a significant amount of time managing the Midwest Rail Rangers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which provides onboard educational programs. Robert currently serves as President of Midwest Rail Rangers, while Kandace is the group's Educational Officer. To learn how you can ride along with the Taberns or one of the other Rail Rangers' Interpretive Guides, check out the Midwest Rail Rangers website at www.railrangers.org. Robert and Kandace are also published authors... having researched, written, and published a series of 11 different railroad route guidebooks, plus e-books, and podcasts. More on that below! When not on the rails, the duo loves to take road trips, explore state parks and caves, and spend time in the great outdoors. Robert and Kandace really enjoy visiting units of the National Park Service -- Robert has been to almost all of the 418 units of the NPS and Kandace isn't too far behind. They also love country music and attending the Grand Ole Opry whenever possible. |
