Columbus, OH: B&O (GN) (CP Camp) Junction Tower: B&O vs. Pennsy vs. NYC vs. Big Four

(Satellite)

The 2005 SPV Map labels this junction CP Camp.   

Darren Reynolds posted four images with the comment:

B&Os "GN" tower (Columbus)

West Broad St.,Columbus, Ohio

This tower is no longer standing

Tim Shanahan shared

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A lot of tracks have been removed to make rooom for three highways through this area.

1955/56 West Columbus Quad @ 24,000

The tower was west of the B&O track and just south of McKinley Ave.

Mar 1, 1953 @ 18,000; AR1XM0000010170

The B&O route to the south is now owned by IORY. This map shows the IORY terminating at Sullivant Ave. But a satellite map shows the tracks continue north and now join the NS/Pennsy tracks.

National Rail Network Map

Nokomis, IL: Lost/Big Four Depot

(Satellite, based on the aerial photo below.)

According to some maps, Big Four shared this track with CE&I.

Bill Edrington posted
This was the attractive passenger depot at Nokomis, Illinois on the old St. Louis Division main line, seen from the west.  It was still a flag stop for secondary passenger trains between St. Louis and Indianapolis until they finally came off in 1959.  Very similar to the replacement passenger depot built at Litchfield prior to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, which the railroad tore down soon after mixed train service on the Old Line ended in 1942.  The Nokomis depot stood until the early ‘60s, however.  Photo is from the collection of Jeff Dunn.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

The grain elevator has grown considerably considering UP doesn't give it rail service. It looks like UP is still running coal trains in 2024.

Street View, Jun 2024

When I advanced street view one "notch" to get a better view of the rectangular elevator, the train was gone. So, the above view was not catching cars in storage. It was a train.

Street View, Jun 2024

I wonder if the tall wood building south of the main elevator is a feed mill. Unfortunately, Google Maps indicates that it is permanently closed.

Street View, Jun 2024

This view shows the complexity of the legs.

Street View, May 2024

Pekin, IL: Junction Tower: P&PU+Sante Fe+Peoria & Eastern vs. P&PU

(Satellite, the east/west route and the P&PU Bridge are gone.)

Richard Haward posted
Pekin Tower.

Given the curve of the train and the angle of the tower, this must be the junction of the east/west P&PU route that carried Santa Fe and P&E across and the P&PU route that went along the east side of the Illinois River. There is also an industrial spur that went south closer to the river. The industrial spur still exists, but it now joins the north/south P&PU route further north.

1960 Pekin Quad @ 24,000

Saline C: Carrier Mills, IL: O'Gara Mine #15

(Satellite)

Roger Kujawa posted
Photo: Carrier Mills Illinois 1939 O'Gara Coal Company Mine Ruins

Barney Mitchell: Where was this located ?

Raymond Barr commented on Roger's post

Here is a photo of the mine in its prime.

- Photo from scrapbook of Dr. George Sokol and FB posted by Richard Glueck. -

Dennis DeBruler commented on Raymonds comment
Thanks for the "#15" information. O'Gara had a lot of mines in Saline County.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Barney's question
North of town, https://maps.app.goo.gl/FvHkVCz31uAfBWYbA. You can still see a treeline along the industrial spur that came up from the Big Four mainline. 1938 aerial photo, https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/webdocs/ilhap/county/data/saline/flight3/0bhc01036.jpg

isgs

1925/25 Harrisburg Quad @ 62,500

Montgomery C: Schram City, IL: (Hillsboro) Indiana & Illinois Coal Mine #11

(Satellite)

Judy Goby Oxtoby posted

Hillsboro, Montgomery County

A wonderful antique image displaying Illinois' mining and railroad history.

From the Dr. Geo. Sokol Collection

Charles Riner: They r hauling coal from Hillsboro to Springfield by truck daily.

Dennis DeBruler shared

Directory

isgs

By 1939, it looks like only a tailings pile or two was left.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Milford Junction, IN: Junction Tower: CSX/B&O vs. NS/Big Four and Modern Purina Feed Mill

Tower: (Satellite)

Feed Mill: (Satellite)

I did not know that Big Four had a north/south route in northern central Indiana. I determined that NS still owns this route.

Given the IN-15 overpass in the background, which is west of the junction, it appears the tower is in the northwest quadrant.

Gary Hostetter posted
This is a picture of the Milford Junction Tower on the edge of Milford, Indiana near the state road junction of 6 and 15. My Grandfather was a telegraph operator in that tower, and I was lucky enough to visit the tower a number of times. I loved when a steam engine went by. That was back around 1956. I was 4. The massive levers to through the switches, watching Grandpa send a message on this telegraph key that was horizontal, not vertical. I think about those visits, and treasure them. I never saw a NYC train going through the crossing, north to south, but saw a number of B&O locos. Loved it.

Eric Zerkle: The Winona interurban that ran from Peru through Warsaw and to Goshen..

Tim Shanahan shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on Eric's comment
Here is how the Winona Interurban and Big Four ran through Milford. 1951 Milford Quad @ 24,000

Eric Zerkle: Dennis DeBruler The part from Milford jct. to Goshen was gone by the late 1930s

It appears that there are still remnants of the foundation footings.

Satellite

Street View, May 2023

A big part of the Purina operation is a warehouse.

Street View, May 2023

I can't find any feed trucks. Does this plant produce just packaged feed?

Mound City, IL: CGB & ADM Grain Elevators, IC Depot and Old Gas Station in Mounds, IL

CGB: (Satellite)

ADM: (Satellite)

IC Depot: (Satellite)

Big Four Depot, Original: (Satellite?)

Big Four Depot, Current: (Satellite)

Old Gas Station: (Satellite, this is in Mounds, IL.)

The CGB elevator is on the left, and the IC Depot is on the right. In the center background is a remnant of its downtown.

Street View, Nov 2025

A closeup of that downtown remnant.

Street View, Nov 2025

Big Four Depot

Andy Zukowski posted
Big Four Railroad Depot - Mound City, Illinois— Photo by Brent Moore

Bill Edrington: It was moved a few blocks at some point to a lot on Merritt Court between High and Pearl Streets, where it became a private home. Until today I had no idea it still existed. But it‘s unmistakably a Big Four depot.

Richard Fiedler shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bill's comment
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yiw469FidxaSp23Y6

Larry Candilas commented on Andy's post
MP 252.7 NYC Egyptian Line

Both of the Mound City elevators are rail-to-barge.

CGB:

Street View, Nov 2025

ADM:

Street View, Sep 2023

I see that CGB has a couple of big grain piles. 

Satellite

This confirms that the railroad along the river was the Big Four's Cairo or Egypt line. But that railroad was abandoned a while ago. So how do the trains get to the elevators? This map shows that there was a shortline that provided access to the Illinois Central. And a satellite image shows that that route is still intact to the CN route.

1953/59 Cairo Quad @ 62,500

I could not find the Big Four Depot. But I noticed that CGB evidently tore down some houses to build their elevator. Although, looking at a satellite map, this town has lost a lot of houses.

1959 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Roger Kujawa posted eight photos with the comment: "Mound City, Illinois; Illinois Central depot and ADM SW1001 locomotive."

Roger Kujawa shared

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Roger Kujawa posted five photos with the comment: "Mound City, Illinois.  Consolidated Grain and Barge locos at the north end of the plant. There is a switcher and another GP locomotive in one of the plant buildings."

Roger Kujawa shared with the same comment.

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Old Gas Station

While checking out the nearby Mounds, IL, to confirm that they still have some stores or residents in Mound City, I found this old gas station. This is on the original US-51 route.

Street View, Nov 2025

The diamond above the garage door reminded me of Sunoco. But that doesn't fit. So I don't know what brand this station pumped.

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