Urbana, IL: Big Four/PE Railyard, Roundhouse, Shops and Depot

Railyard: (see below for satellite)

Depot: (Satellite. 50 photos)

Brehm, Kara, “Peoria & Eastern Railroad, 1866,” ExploreCU, accessed March 30, 2017, http://explorecu.org/items/show/202.

The Big Four opened a yard and shops on the east side of Urbana in April of 1871. This location now houses MTD's garage and offices, but before that there were machine shops, switching yards and a roundhouse capable of servicing 15 steam engines. In 1897 the shops underwent major renovations. A smoke stack for a power plant was erected, becoming a landmark in the Urbana area. The stack was 133½ feet tall and 13 feet square at the base. There was also a water tower with a capacity of 100,000 gallons. [CUMTD]

See Champaign for more discussion of rails in Urbana.

Satellite

Bob Kalal posted
Big Four in Urbana Illinois

Roger Kujawa posted
RPPC Peoria & Eastern Railroad Shops Urbana, Illinois. New York Central Cars circa 1924.
Roger Kujawa shared
Roger Kujawa shared

1940 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

1940 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

University of Illinois Archives, circa 1910- 1935

Marty Bernard posted three photos with the comment: "3 Peoria & Eastern, Urbana, IL. Roger Puta took these 3 on the same role.  The slide mounts are stamped by Kodak as processed in January 1972.  Roger wrote nothing on the slide mounts.  But they are interesting."

1
1. "Road to the Future" Caboose 29417

2
2. GP7 5671 with 2 different logos

3
3. "All Persons Are Warned" Sign

Marty Bernard posted
3 Early NYC Geeps
NYC 6066, 5608, and 5700 (GP9, GP7, and GP7) at Urbana, IL on the Peoria & Eastern, in July 1964. Roger Puta photo
Joseph Tuch Santucci: The 5700 had dynamic brakes but a small fuel tank.
I can recall the 6066 from my days as a kid seeing it go past my house on the Joliet Branch. Always had a thing for numbers and that pattern stuck out in my head. Can even remember it in lightning stripes. Looks pretty fresh new paint on it here.
Kevin McKinney: The units are so clean it looks like a publicity shot!

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Depot

Andy Zukowski posted
New York Central Lines Depot and Train, Urbana, Illinois. 1914

Mike Friedman: That's well before the current brick depot (which has been called The Station Theatre since 1972) was built (1923, I think). And before the Wabash built on the south side of the building.

Grayson Warbritton: Big Four/Peoria Eastern at the time of the postcard. By the 1930s the P&E was a separately owned subsidiary of the New York Central.

Ward Vaughan: Ran through Farmer city, Harris, Mansfield and Mahommit on the way to Urbana. Saw one freight run though Mansfield in the early 1950s

Richard Fiedler shared