Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Carbondale, IL: IC Coaling Tower, Roundhouse and Depot

(Satellite of Coaling Towers, Satellite of Roundhouse Footprint, Street View, 2013 Street View)
Depot: (Satellite, and museum)

Street View
 
Street View, Jul 2022
 
Robert Wanner posted
Illinois Central Railroad at Carbondale, Illinois in July, 1954. Arrived from Belleville, Illinois on passenger train headed by steam locomotive with just enough time to look around before return trip. One thing accomplished was to climb the large coaling dock to record this view looking out over the roundhouse area. I was not disappointed although don't believe any locos were steamed up. Did catch 2 steam trains on the Mainline. Photo by Airman Robert Wanner then stationed at Scott AFB.
Kelly Wendt: Where would this be at in Carbondale?
Raymond Storey posted
The IC..Carbondale ILL..1954

Dennis DeBruler commented on Kelly's comment
https://maps.app.goo.gl/c4qWyQGR848MQnUC9

John Fazenbaker posted
Illinois Central switchers No 2720 & 3547... At Centralia. Illinois...Photographer Edwin E. Olsen...Blackhawk Films slide 357-18.
Bryan Maloy location is Carbondale
Bryan Maloy 2720 is facing North, photo is looking west

Christopher Bodkin posted
Old coal towers and where the old roundhouse once stood at Carbondale, IL. March 16, 2024

Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central 4-8-2 #2613 at Carbondale Illinois. 1950
Ron Trentacosti: This is the first picture of the coal chutes in operation I have ever seen. They still stand and most folks have no idea what they are or that Carbondale was a major rail hub for many years. I worked at the roundhouse during the 70's and 80's.
Dennis DeBruler commented on Ron's comment
It is the second that I have seen during operation, https://www.facebook.com/groups/ILLRRHISTORYBUFFS/posts/2959949027564577/, but we can't have too many views of what they used to look like. Today's view:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/iwMbh49FAoGpfkEK6

Mike Breski posted
IC, Carbondale, Illinois, 1959
Illinois Central Railroad 4-8-2 steam locomotive no. 2613 leading the northbound Cairo Turn local freight train under the coaling tower at Carbondale, Illinois, on December 28, 1959. Photograph by J. Parker Lamb, © 2015, Center for Railroad Photography and Art. Lamb-01-031-04
Raymond Storey posted (also low resolution)

Jim Arvites posted
View of the Illinois Central Railroad passenger depot at Carbondale, Illinois circa 1905. The station, built in 1903, was replaced by a new Amtrak depot in 1981, but is still standing today.
(Jackson County Historical Society - Murphysboro, Illinois)

Dale Hearn posting
ICG's coaling towers at Carbondale, IL. tower above a short train leaving town on Sept.14, 1980. Dale Hearn
Loren Casey Not only leaving town, but headed for Muphysboro.
Kevin Pearson Other than the towers, it looks nothing like that now.

Jim Pearson posted
Canadian National Support our Troops Engine 3233 at Carbondale, IL
Canadian National (CN) locomotive 3233 (Support our Troops) heads north on the CN Centralia Subdivision leading CN M396 as it spits the old Illinois Central Coaling towers at Carbondale, Illinois on December 15th, 2020.
From a CN Press Release: "CN’s two new tribute locomotives (CN 3233 & 3015) pay homage to veterans and active military men and women across North America. Their custom design represents the proud footprint we have established across our network and our deep recognition for the veterans who live and work in the communities our trains pass through every day. Stay tuned as they make their debut on our main line in the coming days!"
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100, (for detail in the highlights).

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook posted
Other than violating Rule G (showing up for work intoxicated or drinking on the job), there's probably no greater sin in the eyes of railroad management than allowing a locomotive to roll off into the turntable pit.  Yet, on a warm, muggy, Friday the 13th in June, 1958, we see Illinois Central GP9 9174 sitting in the turntable pit at Carbondale, IL.  Number 9174 was a youngster when this photo was taken, having been delivered in January, 1956.  
The front walkway handrails have pretty significant damage, indicating collision with another object.  I've only found a brief, one-paragraph mention of this incident in any of the papers around Carbondale.  9174 and another unidentified diesel locomotive were being moved from the wash rack and somehow, someway the hostler lost control and 9174 wound up in the turntable pit.  Thankfully the newspapers did not report any injuries.
To compound the tension, IC's St. Louis Division was headquartered in Carbondale.... just a couple blocks from the roundhouse .  More than a few foremen, managers, and perhaps even the Division Superintendent himself are on hand and actively giving their advice and instructions on how to get 9174 out of the pit..NOW!
It's unknown how long it took to extricate 9174 from the pit, but judging from that stack of cribbing underneath the locomotive, it undoubtedly took the better part of a day.  Incidentally, 9174 served the IC and successor Illinois Central Gulf until 1986, when she was sold to Mid-South Rail..
Photographer not marked on print, Cliff Downey coll.
[Note the coaling towers behind the locomotive.]
Cliff Downey shared

Alexander Golman commented on the above posting
Carbondale roundhouse.
Bill Molony shared
Gary Miller posted
Period photo of IC roundhouse & locomotives in Carbondale, IL
Mary Rae McPherson: Ben Gelman photo from the SCRC Virtual Collection at Morris Library, Southern Illinois University. Let's credit the source, please.

Mary Rae McPherson posted
P30ch #718 passing the North Yard coal towers on southbound 391
Abandonedimages by Michael Wright posted
Coaling towers that were built around 1913 for the Illinois Central. Still standing in Carbondale,Illinois.
Bryan Maloy These were built in 1949, before that there was a wood coal tower,,,,,

Mary Rae McPherson posted
In the late sixties, the Illinois Central Railroad had cut back on most of its passenger service, with the exception of what it called the "mini-corridor" between Carbondale and Chicago. Passengers along this stretch of the Mainline of Mid-America had multiple options, including The Campus, The Mid-American and The Shawnee in addition to the Chicago-New Orleans and Chicago-Miami long haul trains.
When Amtrak came along, one of the "mini-corridor" trains was kept: The Shawnee. The train left Chicago in the morning and reached Carbondale in the early afternoon. Once there, the train was turned and serviced for its afternoon return to Chicago.
In June of 1974, the train had been turned and was being serviced alongside the coaling towers in Carbondale's North Yard. The locomotive was no stranger here, as #4034 was an Illinois Central unit to the core despite the Phase I Amtrak colors.
Bill Wylde photo, scanned from a slide in my collection.
Mary Rae McPherson shared

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