Alhambra, IL: NKP (Clover Leaf) and IC Junction Tower

Gary Sams -> Toledo St Louis and Western "Clover Leaf"
Alhambra, Illinois NKP and IC Tower

(Satellite, the Clover Leaf is now a trail)

Both railroads are now gone. The predecessor of the NKP was the Clover Leaf --- Toledo, St. Louis & Western.

Jacob Hortenstine posted
NKP IC Alhambra Illinois

The tower was northeast of town. The NKP is now the Madison County Transit Nickel Plate Trail. The IC crossed the NKP just west of Daudeman Road.

1941 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Jacob Hortenstine posted
Alhambra Illinois Illinois Central is abandoned and the diamond removed NW straight railed.
Rosemary Gary Sturgeon Kampmann: That was me in the white hard hat.
Jack Sartoris: This happened after the IC-GM&O merger. The Illinois Terminal had trackage rights over this IC line and offered to buy it, but the IT's owner-RR's refused to allow it. The road in the background is IL-140, and IIRC, both lines are bicycle trails now.

Jim Yasinski posted three photos with the comment: ""Illinois Central, Nickel Plate Crossing Tower at Alhambra, Illinois 05/09/1980."

1
Removing IC rails from NKP crossing 05/09/1980

2
Tim Schoen: Do u know if that’s the ICG crew and who’s in the picture. My grandfather was a section foreman on this line. I remember as kid when the took the line out through Mt Olive.
Robert Leonhardt: Tim Schoen That’s the ICG crew taking the diamond out at Alhambra tower. I was with Jim when he took the photo. Your grandpa Dick Loescher is in the picture. He is standing to the right and back of the group, tallest man with white helmet.

3
Ron Hull: If that tower is near Chicago, there’s a real good chance that the truck came from the former Kole Pontiac GMC in Oak Lawn IL. In the mid seventies when the IC received a grant/loan, they bought a huge group of GMC trucks. At the time I was the GMC truck manager at Kole, so I used to place the orders to their specifications to the factory including the special “IC Orange” color. We, me and Paul Hoffman our Fleet Manager who put the deal together with IC, used to deliver them to Markham Yard, where the lettering and decals were added. Thanks to an amenable VP, I still have used ties in my landscaping that I bought when new ties were installed on the Galena Division line, after I paid $1.00 per tie as long as I hauled them away. Man, were they ever heavy!
Jim Ripley: Ron Hull Alhambra is over 200 miles from Chicago.
Ron Hull: We did deliver four pickups to Champaign IL. So maybe . . . . .

Gary Forshaw commented on photo #3
Another view from I.T. #200 northbound detour on the I.C.