If you zoom out on the satellite image, you see enough treelines that it is obvious the IC ran northwest/southeast.
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| Street View, Jul 2023 |
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| VisitNorthwestIllinois "This locomotive is a steam engine built in 1929 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and used as a switcher for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in the Detroit area. Retired from service in 1958, the engine was sold as scrap. Luckily, P.W. Dillon, owner of Northwestern Steel & Wire in Sterling, Illinois, came to the rescue of several of these treasures. Instead of melting down the locomotives, he ordered them renovated to replace the aging locomotives internally switching in his sprawling steel mill. This particular locomotive was brought out of storage, restored, and officially re-commissioned in 1976, as NS&W #76, making it the last steam engine commissioned for regular freight service in America. This renovated switcher then worked in daily service until P.W died in 1980. Ultimately, the locomotive was obtained by the Amboy Depot Commission and moved to a place of honor in front of the depot where it stands today." |
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| Roger Meridith posted |
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| Andy Zukowski posted Illinois Central Railroad Depot in Amboy, Illinois. 1909 |
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| Larry Foht posted Illinois Central Railroad Division Headquarters and Depot AMBOY Illinois This was the Charter line of the early ICRR .. It had a nickname later " The Gruber Line" although the meaning of this is lost in History . A beautiful structure that still stands in the center of Amboy and holds a museum. Larry Foht collection : |
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| Larry Foht posted Illinois Central Railroad Depot and Train Wreck 1914 Amboy Illinois Larry Foht collection: |
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| Raymond Tutaj Jr. posted Amboy Depot and Yard tracks. |
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| Gilbert Sebenste posted
It's been nearly 35 years since an IC/ICG thundered through Amboy, IL. Or any train, for that matter. And yet, a classic IC depot comes into view as I drive through the west end of downtown. As I set up my flashes, the only open bar in town across the street, with several young adult customers smoking outside, begin to laugh and snort as I set up my flashes. But as soon as I fire off a test shot, a collective "holy s***!" is heard, piercing the otherwise silence of the town. They drop their cigarettes as a couple run back into the bar; another hops into a car and takes off. It made for a satisfactory moment of amusement.
It then leaves me with my camera, flashes, and this magnificent depot that seems out of place for such a small town: but such was the Illinois Central, and nothing but the biggest and the best depots would apparently do. But on this night, the only train the former right-of-way will ever see again sits quietly on 75' of track. The last smoke has puffed out of switcher ex-GTW 8376, the last steam engine used for regular commercial service until the owner's death in 1980. Saved from the scrap mill, it now rests next to the museum, rescued from an era that was, is not now, and will never be again.
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| Andy Zukowski posted Bird's Eye View of Train Station in Amboy, Illinois. 1911 Richard Fiedler: Classic Depot, a small yard, wooden freight station, and a 7 stall roundhouse. Classic scene. Gary Klockenga: Interesting to see passenger cars at the depot. Later service was reduced to a mixed train only. Anyone know when regular passenger service ended? And the mixed train? Thanks. |
IC did have several classification tracks plus engine servicing facilities. Note what is probably a coaling tower near the lower right corner.
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| 1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
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| safe_image for Amboy Depot Museum | When rail was king Rob Conway: I was the engineer on the BN train that brought the 8376 to Amboy from Sterling. |
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| VisitNorthwestIllinois |
On the left is the IC freight house. It was originally about a block north of here.
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| Street View |
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| Street View |
In addition to the steam locomotive, they have preserved a caboose.
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| Street View |
Yes, that was a coal tower
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