Eureka, IL: Hooping Up Orders

Roger Holmes posted
The TP&W agent at Eureka, IL hands up orders to a crew member on the Santa Fe's local freight en route to Pekin, IL on an afternoon around 1970. ATSF's Pekin branch came off the main at Ancona with trackage rights over the TP&W from Eureka to Washington and then on their own rails into Morton and then into Pekin. © Roger A. Holmes.
Harold J. Krewer We had this discussion a while back, but for the newer members the TP&W had a short stretch of "station signaling" (similar to ABS) from the AT&SF connection at Streator Jct. east of Eureka to west of the Eureka depot.
John Stell pointed out this was to allow Santa Fe trains to open the switch and enter the TP&W on signal indication at Streator Jct. and advance to Eureka where they would pick up their TP&W orders and clearance, which is likely what you're seeing in the photo.
Harold J. Krewer Eastbound the operator at Washington (later Eureka after Washington closed) would drive to Pekin Jct. (at the east edge of Washington) to deliver the orders to the Santa Fe train out of Pekin, so it wasn't necessary to have signaling all the way west to Pekin Jct. as it was at Streator Jct.
John Stell Washington agent used a motor car to take orders to Pekin Jct