Clinton, IL: IC Coaling Tower, Roundhouse, Railyard, Office and Depot

Railyard: (Satellite)

Depot+Office: (Satellite)

McLean County Museum of History posted
llinois Central's Clinton roundhouse
August 1934
Here's a spectacular view of the Illinois Central Railroad's roundhouse and rail yard on the east edge of Clinton. At the time, the DeWitt County seat served as headquarters for the IC's Springfield Division. This aerial likely came from The Pantagraph's news-gathering plane known as "Scoop."Jacob Hortenstine shared

Andy Zukowski posted
From the Don Morice collection, here is a shot he took of the Clinton,Illinois, Illinois Central Roundhouse in the Summer of 1956.
Billy Irvin: It was definitely in its twilight then. In the next few years they would begin tearing the entire complex down. A small wedge of the roundhouse would survive through the 70s. Now the only thing left is the old reservoir and it was mostly filled in with rubble from the buildings. Even a majority of the tracks are gone.🥲

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook posted

IC 4-8-2 2520 is seen at Clinton, IL, circa 1954. As was customary with the 2500's, number 2520 was accompanied by an auxiliary water car.

2520 was built at Paducah in April, 1938, by mating the boiler from 2-10-2 2958 to a new frame. The locomotive was retired in Oct., 1960, and later scrapped.

Photographer unknown, Cliff Downey collection.

Given the coaling tower in the background, this town was worth investigating. The land scar of the roundhouse looks like it was close to a 360-degree roundhouse.

This town had three railroad routes through it. Unfortunately for the town, they were all owned by Illinois Central. So the town did not get the benefit of competitive rates that multiple railroads would normally provide. The east/west Chicago, Havana, and Western is gone. The north/south charter (Gruber) route still exists on the north side to Heyworth. That remnant and the southwest/northeast route between Gilman and Springfield are now owned by Canadian National. The Tate & Lyle grain elevator in Heyworth is the reason the Gruber line is abandoned only on the south side of town.

Aban RR Map

As expected, the railyard has a small fraction of the tracks that it used to have.

1941 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

The coaling tower has the "pointed shadow" near the lower-left corner. You can see a cut of coal cars waiting to be unloaded.

1941 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Update:

Chris Buchanan posted
Here’s a picture of the locomotive shops in Clinton, IL that we’re flooded in May 8, 1961.

Chris Buchanan posted
A schematic of the IC shops and trackage on the eastern side of the diamond in Clinton, IL

Jon Roma posted three photos with the comment:

We've recently had several conversations featuring talking Clinton, Illinois – the headquarters of IC's Springfield Division. In 1959, this division was merged into the Illinois Division, which was headquartered at Champaign, some 40 miles east.
These undated photographs were exposed in the camera of John W. Barriger III from the rear observation car of a southbound train, headed toward St. Louis.
With IC tracks extending north, northeast, east, south, southwest, and west, the IC had a big presence in Clinton in the steam era, but there's not much left of the IC's presence today, though CN still runs a couple local freights that originate at Clinton.
The large building on the right side in the second and third images was the passenger station and division headquarters; this building was torn down about 1985.
The original pictures reside in the Mercantile Library of the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

Isaac Fabris Sadly, there is only one train called out of Clinton these days, but it's sporadic and mostly nocturnal. An occasional grain train will be routed to the new ITB, and there's an few detours every year, but traffic is sparse for the old Gilman District.

[The comments also discuss snowplow trains and Barriger's camera.]
 

1

2

3

.

Depot and Office

Roger Kujawa posted two images with the comment: "Illinois Central office at Clinton, Illinois. Clinton was quite the junction in its day with 6 IC lines and the ITS ran through town."

Roger Kujawa shared

Billy Irvin: A booming place indeed. To visit Clinton now it is hard to tell it was anything but a tiny whistle stop.

Roger Kujawa shared

1

2

Craig Homberg commented on Roger's second share
Sanborn Map Company, Jan 1916

Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Depot in Clinton, Illinois. Photo by C.R. Childs

Tom Biscan: I believe all passenger trains on the north-south original main line was ended by 1939. Great photo!!!

Jim Calvin commented on Andy's post
The train is sitting on the original Charter line heading North. There was a double diamond about where the engine is where Charter crossed the Gillman line on the North side of the station. There was a sign on the North side of the station that pointed to Chicago and St Louis on the Gillman line with the mileage - 150 miles and 151 miles - almost the exact half-way mark between the big cities. By the time I was born in the 50’s there was no North-South passenger service but on the Gillman line there was the Green Diamond twice a day. This picture is of the streamline Green Diamond at this station. The diamond in the foreground is the Charter line.

Salvador Mtz commented on Andy's post

Lake States Railway Historical Association posted

2025.031.320

Monypeny image, Illinois Central passenger train departing Clinton, IL on July 11, 1933.

Jon Roma: The Clinton, IL passenger station was built at an angle in the southeast quadrant where the north/south charter line crossed the IC line that connected Gilman, Springfield, and St. Louis at a 90 degree angle.

This suggests that the photographer is in the northwest quadrant of the crossing and the train is departing southward for Decatur and Centralia.

The depot also served as the headquarters for the IC Springfield Division until 1960 when that division was merged with the Illinois Division, which was headquartered in Champaign, a mere 40 miles to the east.

This structure was demolished during the mid-1980s.

Joseph Obrien shared

This topo map accurately marked the location of the depot+office.

1957/58 Maroa Quad @ 62,500