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| Mel Patrick posted
From the Time Machine, Part 11.
Mendota, IL, summer or fall of 1971. A westbound BN freight with a CB&Q Chinese Red GP30 on the front crosses the Illinois Central with the tower operator keeping a keen eye on the passing train. I can find no notes for the exact date or diagram of flash unit placement, but I probably had all 10 remote boxes at work with at least 16 flash bulbs
I remember Mike Schafer was with me for this one and I think there were others, but my memory has lost the names. Those were good days.
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| Jose Vicente Sendin posted Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's O-5A No.5634 crossing the Illinois Central diamonds at Mendota, Ill west of Chicago in November 1956 - from Classic Trains, Fall 2012, photo by Jim Shaughnessy |
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| 1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
If you look at Sanborn Sheet 1 in the Milwaukee Depot posting, you can see the Milwaukee route entered the south part of town parallel to, and west of, the IC. Just before they reached the CB&Q, the Milwaukee curved east and joined the IC track. In the 1939 photo, the IC is the white line going straight north/south near the right edge. The CB&Q enters about a third of the way up on the left and exists north in the upper right-hand corner. The Milwaukee enters the bottom near the left and curves over to join the IC.
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| A Roger Puta Photo Craig Willett This looking south on the IC Amboy District. |
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| A Roger Puta Photo Craig Willett IC home signals. |
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| A Roger Puta Photo |
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| A Roger Puta Photo Craig Willett Looking south on the IC Amboy District. |
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| A Roger Puta Photo |
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| A Roger Puta Photo Craig Willett Looking west on the BNSF (CB&Q) main line. Davis Shroomberg That's the MILW depot in the background, just to the right of the tower. The MILW depot still stands, but had been converted into a bank with a large overhang for the drive-thru. Harold J. Krewer After the tower went away and the IC was abandoned BN eased the curve here. Main 2 (on the left in photo) now is located right over where the tower stood and Main 1 (on the right) now swings out to just about where Main 2 is in this photo. |
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| A Roger Puta Photo Craig Willett Looking north on the IC Amboy District. The IC freight depot is on the left, the Q freight depot is on the right. Davis Shroomberg Just beyond the Q freight depot is what remains of the gigantic IC/CB&Q station, now home to the Union Depot Museum. It also looks like the old hotel is still standing behind the IC frieght depot, albeit a little worse for wear. It has since been demolished (fire?). The IC freight depot still stands, and is a restaurant. |
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| Marty Bernard posted Every once in awhile you come upon a really good railroad photograph with no train in it. I did scanning Roger Puta's slides last night. I hope you agree. And the dwarf signal says "Hi".Mendota, Illinois in January 1979 Davis Shroomberg Looking north on the Illinois Central. The CB&Q diamonds are at the tower. Route 34 crosses just beyond. The IC frieght house is the red building next to the snow-covered tracks in the center-left. What remains of the once-grand depot can barely be seen behind the tower. Both the freight house and station remain today. The freight house is a restaurant, and the station is home to the Union Depot Museum. Marty Bernard shared Marty Bernard posted Marty Bernard shared David P. Reaves III Really nice photo. It's so fascinating how the glow of the blue sky fills the shadows, while the light of the sun illuminates the snow with pure white. Marty Bernard Yep. Keith Meacham Looking down the BN, with the IC's "Gruber" Line crossing left to right? Marty Bernard shared Jeff Lewis This is looking south along the IC? |
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| Roger Holmes posted CB&Q 4960 westbound at Mendota 50+ years ago. © Roger A. Holmes. Terry Spirek Oh what I would give to ride another Burlington excursion! |
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| John Morris posted When this Mendota, Illinois photo was taken in the Spring of 1966, everyone's focus was on Burlington's Steam locomotive #4960 visiting on a fantrip. At the time, I considered this slide hardly worth keeping. Now, 54 years later, I realize how much vanished railroad history is depicted in this scene. Gone now are telegraph and signal wire poles, semaphore signals, interlocking towers, railway express signs, the IC and Milwaukee Road in Mendota, and, oh yes - that curious disk signal to name a few. Wow! Makes me feel old! Jim Fleming And soon Del Monte in Mendota will be gone too. Christian Goepel There’s so much of interest in this photo that I don’t know where to begin! Thanks for sharing it. Of course, I happened to notice that sliver of the IC freight house (original depot) at extreme left. John Morris Thanks for mentioning that...I missed noticing it until you pointed it out. Gary Klockenga Gone too is the branch to Denrock. Mark Egebrecht Did the Milwaukee have its own set of diamonds? James L. Ludwig Mark EgEgebrecht - No. The Milwaukee Road joined the Illinois Central on the north side near the tooleorks then crossed the Burlington and split off the Illinois Central south of the diamonds and veered off to the southwest. |
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| Glenn Hicks posted Mendota |
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| Laird Barber commented on John's post Here's what Mendota looked like in 1976 with a westbound BN freight crossing the MILW Road at the tower. The MILW freight depot is in the background. Laird Barber photo. |
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| David Thompson commented on John's post 1952 USGS of Mendota area |
Two California Zephyrs, 44 Years Apart. CB&Q 17 at Mendota on Aug 2 1969 and Amtrak/BNSF 5 on August 3 2013. Locations are as nearly the same as possible. Ironically the 2013 Zephyr was trailed by an original CZ dome reconfigured as an open end observation.Harold J. Krewer Here's a bit of trivia for you. After the tower was torn down and the ICG diamond removed, BN eased the curve here by swinging Main 1 over onto the alignment of Main 2 and swung Main 2 out to pass over the spot where the tower had stood. So if you overlaid these two scenes exactly the modern-day Amtrak CZ would actually be to the LEFT of the CB&Q version in these photos.
Robert Daly When was the tower demolished?
Harold J. Krewer Early 1980s, I want to say '81. The ICG was pulled up in '86.
The trains are timecard westbound through the junction. In the contemporary photos, note how a remnant of the IC+Milw almost connects to the BNSF rails. The remnant tracks are used by the railroad museum to store cars.
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| Peter Zimmermann posted
Located 80 miles west of Chicago, Mendota was the crossing of the Illinois Central's original main line from Centralia IL to Freeport Illinois, commonly called the "charter line" or "Gruber Line" with the Chicago to Galesburg main line of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad and a branch line of the Milwaukee Road that ran from Rockford to Ladd and Oglesby Illinois.
Tower is gone, the Milwaukee Road line was abandoned on March 1st, 1980, the Illinois Central Gulf abandoned the "charter line" on January 1st, 1986 [through this area], only the CB&Q line remains as the Mendota subdivision main line of the BNSF Railway.
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| Andy Zukowski posted Burlington Route 4-8-4 No. 5621 on a westbound freight clatters across the Illinois Central diamonds at Mendota, Ill., as it slows for a coal and water stop in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo Thomas Whitt shared James Miller: He's already past coal and water. |
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| Andy Zukowski posted Illinois Central's Mendota Turn crosses the new BN at Mendota Tower on a grungy day in April 1970. Photo by Joseph Petric |
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| Andy Zukowski posted IC's Clinton-Freeport freight passes Mendota Tower, with an ex-Rio Grande unit and a pair of ex-Katys. April 1970. Photo by Joseph Petric Trenton Dominy: Tower was demolished in 1980. Diamonds were removed in 1985 after the IC abandoned the Gruber Line. John Eagan John Eagan: The Leaning Tower of Mendota, Pete Fileca: John Eagan I see the bracework. Richard Fiedler shared |
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| Andy Zukowski posted Burlington Northern train #11, the former "Nebraska Zephyr" with "California Service" cars, passes Mendota Tower in May 1970. Photo by Joseph Petric Bruce Liebe: The leaning tower of Mendota. Thomas Whitt shared Mike Landers: Tower gone IC and milwaukee tracks on right Gone crossover switch gone and the water tower is gone sad today ! |
The Milwaukee Road was abandoned in February 29, 1980.
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