Salem, IL: UP/C&EI Railyard, Roundhouse and Sand Towers

Railyard: (Satellite, it still has most of its tracks.)

Roundhouse: (Satellite)

Normally, a roundhouse would get first billing. But Don's explanation of how sand towers used to work gets first billing for this railyard.

Don Murray posted
This is the old sand tower at Salem Illinois. The sand was shoveled from the fenced area into the tower. You built a fire in a large pot belly stove that had a cone around it. You shoveled the wet sand into the cone. As it dried it sifted out the bottom of the cone onto the floor and then you shoveled it into a tank and then applied air pressure to blow it up into the top of the tower with the dust billowing out of the roof. I hated that duty. Finally got a tower that used silica in a hopper and did not require shoveling. Salem fire department was allowed to burn this down for practice.

C&EIRHS shared

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted
Ariel view of C&EI Salem Yard from the cover of the May, 1945, C&EI Employee Flyer.
From right to left is the rip track, turntable and roundhouse, with shops behind, water tower, sand house, and coal tower.

The above cropped to get better resolution

Don Murray posted

Salem Illinois pit tracks looking south from the back track.

Early 80's I think.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Don's post
I noticed that you can still see the "land scars" of the roundhouse.
https://www.google.com/.../@38.649113,-88.../data=!3m1!1e3

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Street View, May 2024

Street View, May 2024

Street View, Nov 2022

Jon Martin posted
Salem, Illinois   Union Pacific today.

Leland Dean Fultz: Probably was originally the Chicago and Eastern Illinois. C&EI was fully dieselized by 1950.

In 1968 my Uncle Dale Bean allowed me to run two C&EI GP35s back and forth in the salem yard.

Warren Caudle posted the comment:

To the NE of Centralia IL, is another smaller Midwest "city", Salem, at the junction of the B&O, Chicago & Eastern Illinois, and the Missouri-Illinois Railroads. The C&EI had a large Roundhouse, NE of Salem. Not sure when it was removed. Today, this yard is the UP main from Texas to Chicago, and is fairly busy. A county road, # 22. North from US Highway 50, or East Main Street, will put you nearly in the yard. Stay alert!! You cannot access the Roundhouse area.

https://www.google.com/.../@38.649181,-88.../data=!3m1!1e3

This was on the branch that went South to the Thebes Bridge and the Joppa Coal Plant.

Bill Molony posted via Dennis DeBruler