Fort Wayne, IN: Adams Tower: Penn (PFW&C) vs Penn (GR&I)

(Satellite)  Actually, this tower is out in the boonies, but it is inside the I-469 belt-line.
PFW&C = Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago
GR&I = Grand Rapids & Indiana

See Norfolk Southern Maps for an overview of today's railroad configuration in Fort Wayne.

Dave Arganbright posted
Does anyone have a photo of Adams tower in Fort Wayne from the Pennsy years? I can't find one on the web or in any of the popular books that featured this line...TIA!

Dave commented on his posting

From the North American Interlockings website.

Dave commented on his posting

Update:

Mark Llanuza posted
Its Sept 1976 I'm at Adams Tower just east of Fort Wayne on the former PRR with the tower man giving out train order's to this eastbound.

Mark Llanuza posted with a second photo when the train was closer
[The line to Decatur is behind Mark. The turnout in the foreground is the connector.]
Mark Egebrecht Where the Gr& I branches off. When was the tower closed?
Christopher Allen Howe I want to say early 1987. I know that they tried to tear the tower down and found a giant hornets nest and instead they let the Adams Twp. Volunteer Fire Dept. do a practice fire on it, then it was torn down. I know this took place around August 1987.
Christopher Allen Howe That story was verified by retired CR employee Bob Sykulski who was the foreman in charge of the gang that was single tracking the line and removing the towers.
Mark Egebrecht 1987 would make sense, since the line had been single-track ed 3 years earlier.

Mark Llanuza posted
Christopher Allen Howe This is where the branch down to Decatur and Richmond, IN split off from the Pennsy main. This line remains active today as the CFE uses it to reach Decatur and the former Central Soya(now Bunge) facility.
Mark Egebrecht That was the GR&I, which ran from Grand Rapids to Richmond. It fed into the Fort Wayne Line at Junction (Jct.)and ran down the Fort Wayne Line to Adams, where it split off.
Christopher Allen Howe In Pennsy days, that route was called the Ft. Wayne Branch in timetables and by PC and Conrail days it was the Ft. Wayne Secondary from Adams to Decatur, the rest was the Ridgeville Secondary.
Christopher Allen Howe Another tidbit, Adams got it's name for the township it's located in which was about two miles as the crow flies from where I grew up as a kid.
Mark Egebrecht When did the tower close?
Christopher Allen Howe 1986, was torn down in 1987.
Elmer J Hershey The far left rail in the picture is the turn off to the Old G R and I south towards Richmond IN. Cut up south of Decatur IN when Conrail took over.
Eric Zerkle By the time Conrail took over the GR&I was already severed south of Portland.

Mark Llanuza posted his second photo of the tower
Its Sept 1976 I'm at Adams Tower just east of Fort Wayne on the former PRR with this eastbound big Alco's .Its unreal how times have changed .Even back in 1976 there were at least 20 Frt's a day on this line plus two Amtrak's
Mark Egebrecht Was the GR&I still intact to Richmond at this time?
Eric Zerkle It was but oos south of Portland. Removed around 1977 78 from Portland to Richmond.
Mark Egebrecht When was the tower closed and razed?
Eric Zerkle Probably the same time all the others closed. Mid 80s
Leif Erikson Saw a lot of freight and Amtrak on the PFW & C...50/60 freight, 60/70 passenger...line was set up for speeds up to 100+ mph. What a great line it was.

Darren Reynolds posted five images with the comment: "Conrails (Ex-PRR)

'Adams' tower 

Ft Wayne, Indiana"

[Some comments talk about the location.]

Tim Shanahan shared

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Zearing, IL: BNSF/CB&Q vs Illinois Railway/CB&Q + NYC; CB&Q Depot; NYC Roundhouse

(Satellite)

The northeast/southwest track is easy to understand. It was CB&Q's mainline to Galesburg and points west. It is now a major route in the BNSF and Amtrak systems.

The northwest/southeast track was built by Illinois Valley and Northern Railroad between Streator and Walnet via LaSalle, Spring Valley, Ladd, and Zearing. It crossed the Illinois River at LaSalle. The IV&N was bought by CB&Q. At Walnet, it joined the Illinois Grand Trunk Railway, which continued west through Denrock to Fulton. CB&Q also bought the IGT.

Andy Zukowski posted
CB&Q Burlington Railroad Station, Zearing, Illinois. 1939

CB&Q Railroad Depot in Zearing, Illinois 1981 posted
CB&Q Railroad Depot in Zearing, Illinois 1981

Mark Silverberg posted
former CB&Q station at Zearing, Illinois. Photo taken about 15 years ago.
Mike Gleason Many years ago, I believe this station had an agent on duty 24 hours a day. I'm not so sure that tickets could be sold; but it may, possibly have had a small waiting room. Only one westbound train stopped and that was no. 9, the Chicago-Galesburg local. Doubtless, there was an eastbound train; but I cannot recall its number.

The Indiana, Illinois & Iowa (3I) route also includes a segment from Streator to Ladd, but their route crossed the Illinois River further downstream. The 3I was bought by NYC. Even though they were competitors between Streator and Ladd, the 3I used the IV&N and IGT to go west of Ladd towards Iowa. In fact, NYC built an engine servicing facility in Zearing even though they didn't own any track in the area. Note the tender in the following photo says New York Central Lines.

Fourth photo posted by Dale A. Fiste

Dale A. Fiste shared
I posted this a long time ago, so for purposes of our discussion re: Zearing and the 3 eye, here is a "New York Central Lines" engine with "CI&S on the top board of the tender.
[ CI&SR stands for Chicago, Indiana & Southern Railroad, the formal corporate name for NYC's Kankakee Belt Route.]

The IV&N route has been abandoned except the segment between Zearing and Peru, which is now owned by Illinois Railways. The 3I was abandoned from south of the Illinois River to its western terminus. It became part of NYC's Kankakee Belt Route. When Conrail was split up, Norfolk Southern got what was left of the Kankakee Belt.

Even in its heyday, Zearing wasn't much of a town.

1941 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Michael Matalis posted in Facebook
[In this map, Ill 4A would be the CB&Q mainline whereas Ill 9A would be the IV&N route. Again,  CI&SR stands for Chicago, Indiana & Southern Railroad, the formal corporate name for NYC's Kankakee Belt Route.]

But a town did not have to be very big to have a grain elevator. It continues to amaze me how many wood grain elevators lasted until the 1960s and even the 1970s.

Marty Bernard posted

CB&Q 4960 Fan Trips #3

On March 21, 1965 I chased a fan trip that went from Union Station to Zearing, IL, i.e. out the race track to Aurora then on the double track line toward Galesburg.

Continue the runby at Zearing.

Dennis DeBruler: This is another example were you captured the old grain elevator in a town. You have been teaching me that quite a few wooden elevators survived into the 1960s.

Ken Schmidt: Dennis DeBruler Actually, there are still quite a few around the Mid-West. But yes, they are slowly disappearing from small towns. I usually see a new one in my travels in Iowa and Minnesota.

Marty Bernard shared
Marty Bernard shared

Michael Matalis posted
Things were great in 2008! On a cold April morning back in 2008 an eastbound BNSF road freight works the Illinois Railway interchange at Zearing IL

Michael Matalis posted
It was a good day to be in Zearing. Same day (4/2/08) as the triclops shot, an eastbound UP trackage rights train passes thru town.

Marty Bernard posted
CB&Q GP20 927 leads at Zearing IL on March 21, 1965. Wash Me!

Bob Kalal commented on Marty's post
1963
Steam Giants posted

𝐂𝐁&𝐐 𝟒-𝟖-𝟒 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐎-𝟓-𝐁 𝟓𝟔𝟑𝟐

Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad 4-8-4 Class O-5-B 5632 on a photo runby at Zearing, Illinois on September 29, 1963, photograph by Chuck Zeiler. This was a fantrip from Chicago to West Burlington, Iowa and return to celebrate 5632's birthday. The track passing over was the NYC. Someone would invent the Photo Line sometime in the future.

Photo shared with permission from the photographer/owner

© Chuck Zeiler https://flic.kr/p/Kt673g

Joseph Obrien shared

 

Andy Zukowski posted
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Zearing, Illinois Station 1949
Tom Lampman: He's actually going around the wye to get onto the NYC.
Trenton Dominy: Tom Lampman actually that’s the Burlington Route Zearing-Streator branch through Ladd and LaSalle the NYC had trackage rights to Zearing from Ladd for their belt line connection.
The bridge in the distance is the flyover bridge for the NYC while the Burlington used the tracks to walnut and connected with the Denrock branch.

Darrell Burkhalter commented on Andy's post
Zearing Turn.

Steven J. Brown posted
Milwaukee Road 261 is on the BNSF at Zearing, Illinois - June 27, 1998.

Ben Hesse: This was the second longest passenger train she had ever pulled. It was 24 cars long!

Steven J. Brown shared

(Facebooked)

Mounds, IL: IC Railyard, Roundhouse, Depot and YMCA

(Satellite)

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook added two photos with the comment:

In my opinion one of the more intriguing towns along the Illinois Central Railroad is Mounds, IL, a small town about 10 miles north of Cairo. The town seemingly sprang up overnight, flourished as a railroad town for about 40 years, but then the rail boom came to a screeching halt (no pun intended). Today there are few tangible signs that Mounds was a major station along the IC.

When track gangs laid the IC’s rails through the countryside north of Cairo in late 1854, the town of Mounds didn’t even exist. In 1855 local businessmen organized the Mound City Railroad, which was to run from the town of Mound City (on the Ohio River) westward about 3 miles, and connect with the IC. That connection was made at a wide spot in the railroad called Mound City Junction, but by 1862 (and perhaps sooner) the station was renamed Mounds. However, Mounds was not incorporated as a town until 1908.

In the late 1880's the IC began construction of its bridge across the Ohio River at Cairo. Since the city of Cairo itself would be bypassed (along with existing rail facilities), the IC had to build new facilities. A new passenger depot was constructed just outside the city limits at a station called Cairo Junction; shuttle trains ran on a regular basis between downtown Cairo and the new station. Meanwhile, a new freight yard, along with a roundhouse and repair shops was built at Mounds.

As expected, business on the IC boomed once the Cairo bridge opened. Business boomed again in the late 1890's, when the railroad began laying a second track along the Chicago - New Orleans mainline. A railroad YMCA was built at Mounds in 1903 to house train crews. Rail traffic continued to grow and by 1918 the building had tripled in size. In 1918 a new 24-stall roundhouse was constructed, and the freight yard was enlarged.

But the track itself was ill-equipped to handle the traffic boom. Northbound trains faced a steep grade leaving the Ohio River valley, and many northbound trains required a helper locomotive between Mounds and Anna, a distance of about 28 miles. IC began buying larger, heavier locomotives such as 2-8-2’s and 2-10-2’s to reduce the number of trains that required a helper. But the 2-8-2’s were banned from the Cairo bridge until additional bracing was added to the bridge in the 1910’s. The 2-10-2’s were banned from the Cairo bridge until the bridge was rebuilt in the early 1950’s.

Much of the new traffic during the early 1900’s was headed to/from St. Louis. Initially, this traffic joined the north-south mainline at Carbondale. To expedite this traffic, a “new” route between St. Louis and Mounds (via Olive Branch) was cobbled together by laying new track to link existing trackage. This “new” route did enable the St. Louis freight traffic to avoid the steep grades around Carbondale. But the route was prone to flooding.

The weight restrictions on the Cairo bridge, plus the steep grades around Carbondale, combined to make southern Illinois a choke point on the railroad. IC’s executives explored several solutions to improve train operations, including adding a third track to certain segments of the line between Fulton and Edgewood, IL, and relocating other sections of track. The railroad even obtained plans from the War Department to rebuild the Cairo bridge with a second track.

Finally, on December 25, 1922, the IC announced plans to build the Edgewood Cutoff, a 169 mile line between Fulton, KY, and Edgewood, IL. The new line would cross the Ohio River via the Paducah & Illinois Railroad bridge at Metropolis, IL (which the IC acquired a one-third ownership) and was 22 miles shorter than the existing line through Cairo. Grades on this new line would be considerably less steep than via the existing line through Cairo, plus the P&I bridge could accommodate even the heaviest IC steam locomotive. Residents of Mounds bitterly fought the cutoff and even took the IC to court. By diverting rail traffic to the cutoff and eliminating Mounds as a crew change point, IC wouldn’t have a need for the yard, roundhouse, etc., at Mounds – and the hundreds of workers employed there. But the IC prevailed. The Kentucky portion of the Edgewood Cutoff was completed in 1927, and the Illinois portion was completed in 1928.

As expected, IC quickly scaled back its operations in Mounds once the Edgewood Cutoff was completed. New agreements were reached with unions representing train and engine crews, and the railroad quit changing crews in Mounds. Since trains were no longer changing crews in Mounds, the roundhouse was no longer needed, and the workers there were furloughed. The yard and car repair shop at Mounds was abandoned, and the switching that once was done in Mounds was moved to Fulton, KY. The yard and roundhouse were gone in a 1952 aerial photo.

Construction of the Edgewood Cutoff gave rise to Bluford, another town that popped up almost overnight. Bluford is about 127 miles north of Fulton and was established as a crew change point for crews working on the Edgeood Cutoff. A roundhouse, shop building, and other machinery necessary to repair and maintain the locomotives passing through the terminal were constructed. After the Edgewood Cutoff was completed, Mounds' population dropped noticeably. Many of the folks who left town probably transferred elsewhere on the IC, but I haven't seen any definitive numbers.

The line to Olive Branch was torn up decades ago, but the branch from Mounds to Mound City is still in place, serving two rail-to-barge terminals. A railroad car repair shop and an environment remediation company have set up shop on the site of the old yard. These two companies occupy just a small part of the old yard, but they help keep Mounds’ railroad history alive.

Cliff Downey shared

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Dave Cantrell posted

Illinois Central, Mounds, IL railroad yard, 1937 flood

Chronicling Illinois
Shared with permission
Henry Horner Collection
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

David Cantrell posted

Mounds, IL railroad yard during Ohio River Flood - 2.5.1937

--National Archives

1931 Cairo Quad @ 62,500

Cliff Downey posted two photos with the comment: "Two views of the railroad YMCA  established at Mounds, IL, in 1903."

[Cliff repeats the comments he made on the roundhouse post above.]

Cliff Downey shared

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Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Railroad Depot and Train in Mounds, Illinois.  C.1910
Richard Fiedler shared

A different exposure and better credit.

Andy Zukowski posted

Illinois Central Railroad Depot at Mounds, Illinois. 1912

Photo by C.U. Williams

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook And Occasionally Other Railroads posted

In the early 1900's the Illinois Central's shops in Mounds, IL, were buzzing with activity, as seen here.  There was a roundhouse, machine shop, car shop, a large yard, and a railroad YMCA.

Alas, the completion of the Edgewood Cutoff killed Mounds as a railroad town.  A considerable amount of freight traffic shifted to the cutoff, and the large facilities at Mounds were no longer needed.  The shops and YMCA are long gone, but there are now a pair of freight car repair shops in town, plus the spur leading to Mound City on the Ohio River and the grain docks there.

IC photo, Cliff Downey coll.

St. Francis, WI: UP/C&NW old (passenger) vs. UP/C&NW new (freight)

(Satellite)

William Shapotkin posted two photos with the comment:

St Francis, WI is where the C&NW's "Old Line" (the psgr main betw Chicago and Milwaukee) and the "New Line" (the frt bypass between Proviso and Butler) met. Today both lines are single-track and only a pair of switches are used to control train movements. However, at one time it was a major junction -- with a tower.

Paul Boness Yea new line....built in 1906 !
William Shapotkin Well, it's newer than the "Old" Line (1860(?)).

The old line goes down along the Lake Shore through a lot of towns and terminates at the C&NW station in Chicago. The new line doesn't have any passenger stations and connects with their cutoff to the west side of Proviso Yard.

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Greg Mross posted
St. Francis tower, 12/83. It would be repainted gray before being torn down!
Alan Bryner: And air conditioning was installed just prior to dismantling. It made sense to me.
At least they had train order trees at St. Francis. There weren't any at Kenosha and there was a low joint just before the hand up location. It felt like the engine was going to fall on you.

Quincy, OH: Morgan (QC) Tower: CSX/Big Four vs. IORY/DT&I

(Satellite)

Rich Weller posted
July, 1980. Morgan Tower, Quincy, Ohio. This tower protected the crossing of the DT&I and NYC/PC/CR lines. DT&I is the single track line. Both lines are still in use, Tower long gone! Photo by: Rich Weller
Tim Shanahan shared
Howie Castellucio Tower came down in 1984.

Update: the location of the model railroad club mentioned in a comment.

 

Rod Clark posted
Conrail SD-50 6792 W/B crossing the diamond of the DT&I  at Quincey Ohio. Conrail Morgan tower. March 29 1986. My photo.

Howie Castellucio: 1986.....not long before it closed.

Dennis DeBruler: The grain elevator in the background makes it easy to determine that the tower was in the northwest quadrant of the crossing, https://maps.app.goo.gl/mVCJ8Dz32wrCQfg9A.

 

Express Horizons posted

Awesome #train content by: Classic Trains

lnstagram: 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜.𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬

On a hot and sultry May afternoon, DT&I train DJ-1 with GP40-2s 406 and 415 has slowed down to a crawl and will stop briefly to work the Penn Central interchange at Quincy, Ohio. Morgan tower guarded the crossing of the DT&I and the former NYC "Bee Line," which ran between Cleveland and St. Louis. The tower was staffed with PC operators, however, the DT&I dispatcher always kept the operators busy copying and hanging train orders for the dozen-plus DT&I trains that passed by here everyday. Since the DT&I was a "dark" railroad and operated solely on train orders, most DT&I trains could always count on picking up orders "on the fly" from the "iron man" at Morgan. May 21st, 1975.

Photo Credit to Jim Sinclair.

Tim Shanahan shared

 

LIVE GAME CS posted

On Conrail's 8th birthday, eastbound INSY-1 hits the GTW (DT&I) diamonds at Morgan Tower in Quincy, Ohio. INSY gets the once-over by the watchful eye of the tower operator. 1984. The tower would be gone within the next two and a half years.

Photo Credit to Brad McClelland.

Tim Shanahan shared

Darren Reynolds posted seven photos with the comment: "C.C.C.& St.L.RY    DT&I RY   'Morgan' tower (QC)    Quincy, Ohio."

Hotrail Productions: Closed in December, 1986.

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"Morgan" tower 1976

Photo by: Kirk Reynolds

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The model board at "Morgan" tower

Photo by: Jack Wherley (No Date)

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Interlocking machine and model board at "Morgan"

Photo by: Jay Williams (No Date)

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Inside of "Morgan" tower

Photo by: Jay Williams ( No Date)

Paul James Pritchard: 1985 on the calendar.

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A DT&I train is passing "Morgan" tower 1978

Photo by: Kirk Reynolds

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A Penn Central freight train passes "Morgan" tower on

May27,1974

Photo by: David P. Oroszi

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The home interlocking signal at "Morgan " tower

Photo by: Jay Williams (No Date)

All images from North American Interlockings States A to Z and Canada..

The grain elevator in Rod's photo is extant. I wonder if the wood building between the bins and silos used to be a grain elevator.

Street View, Aug 2014

A rare example of stave silos being used by a commercial grain elevator. I was wondering if the elevator is now abandoned, but the augur elevator on the left makes me think that at least part of it is still used.

Street View, Aug 2014

16 photos

Bill Haines: Morgan tower was torn down in '87.

Scott Trostel: It was named for Superintend Morgan of the Big 4. They couldn't name it Quincy, the name was in use by the stations of both railroads.

2:11 video about the closing