DeKALB – History rolled through downtown DeKalb on Monday afternoon when a train assembled exclusively from 1940s and 1950s passenger cars barreled down the Union Pacific railroad.

Residents gathered along Lincoln Highway to witness the retro passenger train travel down what is primarily a freight line. A rare exception for a passenger train was made Monday to allow attendees of the National Railway Historical Society convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to be transported to Chicago.

For Sycamore resident Karen Kuhn, the train brought back memories of a time when railroad transportation was the best way to travel.