Atlanta, IL: GM&O Depot, Tower: UP/GM&O vs. Aban/Pennsy and Grain Elevators

Depot: (Satellite)

Tower: (Satellite, the Pennsy mainline was just south of the boxcar next to the old grain elevator.)

John Barriger III Flickr
Jon R. Roma: Atlanta, IL depot. View looks south.

 

Richard Koenig posted

Atlanta, Illinois

I've been scanning some slides of one train, powered by F-units, on the former Chicago & Alton, later GM&O/ICG.

Here we see it rolling through the town of Atlanta, Illinois. Needless to say, this handsome little depot no longer exists.

One image by Richard Koenig; taken November 26th 1976.

Michael Stamey: An all cab unit consist at this late date. Brings tears of joy to my eyes. 🥰
[Other comments indicate they were all F3 units.]
Cody Phipps: How did this line end up under UP ownership?
David Hahn: GM&O, ICG, CM&W, SPCSL, UP

Roger Kujawa posted six photos with the comment: "This is possibly the top of the Interlocking tower in Atlanta, Illinois where the Alton/GM&O crossed the PRR/CR line. The old photo is courtesy of the John W Barriger III collection.  https://www.flickr.com/.../in/album-72157640461514656/"

Thomas Dyrek: This building was used as an office(?) for a nearby coal mine and had no direct connection with the railroad.

Roger Kujawa shared

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Dustin Holschuh: It appears to me the building you posted previously was right behind the tower.

The Pennsy route kinda meandered through this part of Illinois. I can't find a connection between this route and the rest of the Pennsy system. No wonder it was abandoned a long time ago.

1951 McLean Quad @ 1:62,500

I checked the Illinois documentation of coal mines and could not find one at Atlanta.

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I include all of Barriger's photo of the tower because I want to note Race Street in the foreground.

John W. Barriger Flickr
Jon R. Roma: Atlanta, IL tower, looking south.

Note the train order signals above the left part of the depot roof. That is obviously the semaphores that are down by the tower. Given that and the curve of the tracks, I think the depot was just south of Vine Street. And Elm Street goes between the cuts of boxcars in the original photo at the top of these notes.

Digitally Zoomed to source material resolution

Then it occurred to me to look at an old aerial photo. Indeed, the depot was between Vine and Race Streets. I included the cut of freight cars in the upper-right corner because they show the siding that served the grain elevator northeast of Maple Street.

1940 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

This elevator has been preserved as a museum and it has its own notes.

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The grain elevator along the GM&O has grown. 

Street View, 2013

Even though it is not rail served because it sets beside a Class I railroad (UP), it has continued to grow. The two modern steel bins in this view do not appear in the above 2013 view.

Street View, Aug 2022

It appears the Walnut Street crossing has been removed so that the grain elevator could continue to grow along the tracks.

Andy Zukowski commented on a post