Quency, OH: CR Morgan Tower: Big Four vs. DT&I

David Parker -> Railroad Interlocking and Signal Towers

The Big Four went east/west and the DT&I went north/south. According to Google, both routes still exist. I don't have a Ohio map to determine the current owners. Since the east/west route still has two tracks, I assume this view looks down the Big Four route. Note the double masts of three semaphores in the background.
The DT&I was still using train orders because you can see the stand in front of the tower that holds the orders for the crew to hoop them.

Windsor, IL: Junction Tower: Aban/Wabash vs. Aban/CR/Big Four

Jacob Hortenstine -> Railroad Interlocking and Signal Towers

Big Four went east/west and the Wabash went north/south. On a satellite image, you can still see a tree line for the Wabash north of town.

Obviously Big Four was the first railroad through here because it plated the town to be on an angle so that the streets were "square" with its tracks. The Wabash curves and evidently came through town on Vine Street.

1940 Aerail Photo from ILHAP

Cobb, WI: CN&W Coaling Tower

Jerry Krubb -> Railroad Depots, Shops & Structures of North America

Jerry's comments:
On October 12, 2003, the crop already was cut, leaving the former C&NW tower visible from US 18. A row of wind turbines is nearby, providing a nice "old and new" theme. This coaling tower was left by the C&NW when it pulled back its line towards Madison, WI. The property owner at that time must have wanted the tower kept intact. Normally property must be returned to approx. its original state when reverting back to the owner.

Kevin Huggins: Is this on the former, Ridge Runner line?

Jerry Krug: Yes. The former right-of-way is south of US 18. Traveling west through Cobb, WI, the row of wind turbines and then the tower come into view. It's quite an unexpected sight.

Jerry Krubb -> Railroad Depots, Shops & Structures of North America

Later, Jerry posted a closer view.
Jerry's comment:

A closer view of the still-standing ex-C&NW coaling tower visible from Highway 18 west of Cobb, WI on the abandoned Ridge Runner line

Trent Briggs posted
Cobb, Wisconsin
Scott Wright shared
C&NW operations at Cobb WI on the Ridgerunner line.

 

Auburn, IL: GM&O Depot, Original US-66 and Union Fuel Coal Mine #3

The purpose of the posting is more to save the link to the Sangamon Valley Collection album than the depot itself. But the depot does have train order signals by the bay window for the agent's desk, an extended freight/package/baggage handling facility, and team/house tracks. (Update: and it has grown since concerning US-66 and the coal mine.)

US-66 Overview

Flickr from album.

Update:

William A. Shaffer posted
GM&O #884-A at Auburn, IL (5.02.53)
(Photo by William Eley - Collection of William A. Shaffer)

And later I came acvross another photo.

Andy Zukowski posted
Gulf Mobile & Ohio Depot in Auburn, Illinois. Photo Taken on July 4, 1969

Dennis DeBruler ommented on Andy's post
This topo shows that Brandt has reused the depot's land.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gKKmo5oid3bBkXCK9
1965 Divermon Quad @ 24,000

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post

This 1939 aerial photo agrees with that location.
 https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/webdocs/ilhap/county/data/sangamon/flight14/0bhd01130.jpg

Original US-66

CJ Bahan posted nine photos with the comment: "Just north of Auburn Illinois is a beautiful 2.25 kilometer section of preserved red brick road. Curran/Snell road was paved with hand-laid brick over a concrete bed in 1931, & was once part of the old Route 66 alignment. There’s a picturesque former highway curve that transitions the two roads, & a couple newer bridges over Panther Creek that were built in a retro style to match the original road aesthetics. I’ve had an interest in old national roadways lately, so I visited this site yesterday afternoon before seeking out a spot to swim."

Denise Sperry: Phillip and June Snell lived just west of that corner (across the road from me), Walter and Esther Burtle lived on the corner of this intersection. Wonderful people-gone now, loved living out there…so peaceful.

CJ Bahan shared

[I can't believe the number of comments complaining about the use of "km."]

Paul Isaacs: If you insist on stopping in the road to take your pictures, you should do it on the east/west section, which is Snell road, not where you're at. The north/south section is Curran Road, and is well traveled, since it is a short cut to the west side of Springfield. Also, it wasn't brick when it was Route 66 - the bricks were added after Route 66 was moved.

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[The south end. Street View, Apr 2024 and Satellite]

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[Street View, Apr 2024 and Satellite]

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Photo 11 implies it is the other end. But it is just a selfie of Photo 1. This is what the other end looks like.

Street View, Apr 2024 and Satellite

The retro style of the bridge railings is a nice touch.

Route 66 Experience, Feb 2024

The original route was State Road 4.

1924/24 Divernon Quad @ 62,500

The curved brick road at the intersection of Snell and Curran Roads is not the original route. As we can see above, the 90 degree turn at the intersection was the original route. They must have added the curve as part of the 1931 road improvement.

Street View, Apr 2024

As we can see on today's map, they did an additional improvement US-66, now IN-4, by creating a diagonal road that removed Snell Road from the US-66 alignment.

Union Fuel Coal Mine #3

Dan Dixon posted
This was the south coal mine in Auburn, Sangamon County, Illinois
[Some comments indicate that today's baseball fields reused the tipple's land.]
Dennis DeBruler shared
According to some comments, today's Veterans Park, https://maps.app.goo.gl/JoPvXvuW5taGcYdM9, has reused the tipple's land.

Directory

Map

Kankakee, IL: Big Four Depot

(Satellite, the curve in the road indicates where it used to be)

The 1939 roundhouse was on the other side of the tracks. The remaining track is now owned by KB&S. The Big Four joined the Illinois Central route in Kankakee to gain access to Chicago. It also connected with the Kankakee and Seneca of which it was a joint owner with Rock Island.

Bill Molony posted
John Petit from this angle you would of been looking southwest.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Steve Drassler posted
Big Four Depot, Kankakee, Illinois. The passenger train James Whitcomb Riley called on this station to/from Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Old postcard photo, year unknown. The quote "When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck" is attributed to JWR.

Robert Daly posted three images with the comment: "Big Four station in Kankakee--undated early postcard and photos from August 9 1975."

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A third color rendition of the same photo.

Bill Molony posted
The Big Four station at Kankakee, Illinois - circa 1910.
From the Blackhawk collection.

Ottawa, IL: IR/CB&Q Depots & Engine House and Old Grain Elevator (South Ottawa)

North Depot: (3D Satellite, still standing)

South Depot and Elevator: (Satellite)

Engine House: (Satellite)

IR = Illinois Railway

Bill Molony posted
This is a post card picture of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad station at Ottawa, Illinois.
Marty Bernard Typical CB&Q look.
Andy Puch Still there and now serves as Illinois Railnet/Railway offices.

Illinois Railway has done a nice job of preserving it as an office. Unfortunately, the dumpster is stored on the track side of the parking lot.

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Andy Zukowski posted
Old Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad Depot (Ottawa, Illinois) Built ca. 1914  Photo by Jordan McAlister

Andy Zukowski posted
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Ottawa, Illinois. 1952
Mike Landers: Was this on the south side of river Strong- Strong had a elevator there ?
Think they tore it down in the early 80s.
Dan Rosier: Mike, yes, just south of Rt. 71.
Kevin Moe: road to the left, suicide hill to Marcy st.
Thomas Whitt shared
Andy Zukowski posted again

Tom Winkle: Right off the south end of the bridge. If you were going west on Rt. 71, it was to your left. 4H Road is south of here, at the top of the grade out of the valley.

I grew up a few blocks to the east of this.

There also used to be a small brick building out of the frame to the left that I assumed was a shelter for passengers waiting on the Budd RDC to Streator back when that ran.

James Nelson: Tom Winkle interesting. I didn’t know the CB&Q ran Budd RDC cars. I know they had a large fleet of doodlebugs of various manufacturer.

Tom Winkle: James, my knowledge of that extends to one photo in Trains Magazine quite a while ago. The photo was of a Budd stopped at the station on Madison Street, and the photo notes said that it was a service between Aurora and Streator. I'd guess the photo to be from the late forties. I'd love to know more about it.

Thomas Whitt shared

Steven Holding: Was like the Old Plano depot saved at the Farm Museum in Yrokville with agent apartment upstairs.

Steven Holding: The Ottawa Stock Yard was to the left of the photo. Depot was still there in early 80's

Larry Candilas commented on Andy's second post
Late 1930s aerial - MP 80.5 Montgomery & Streator Sub

1939 Aerial Photo via ILHAP

William Brown posted
The SD7s sport the first and last paint schemes respectively.  CB&Q southbound freight hauling silica sand at the Ottawa station. Only a month to go before Burlington Northern merger. This line is still intact and extends from the mainline near Eola Ill to a connection at Streator.  Unknown photographer.

Ray Speerly: Worked that job when it was a night job out of Cicero with stops at Eola to pick up cars and Wendron then on to Streator and back up to Cicero. was on it the night we had someone change the switch in Oswego and we almost made it into a house along the trains. There was also a day job from Eola to Wendron to switch at the silica plant. Both are great jobs to work.

William Franckey: Ray Speerly I worked that 11:40 pm job in the early 70’s for about two years. At that time our hours of service were cutdown to 14 hrs from 16 hrs. Every night our crew boarded a dinky at Aurora at 10:15 pm for dead heading to Clyde where the power sat on the pit and train waited in Cicero yard. Those days IF we made it all the way to Streator and back to Clyde, we still had to catch a dinky back to Aurora… to get rested for a repeat ride back to Clyde that same night. That job worked 365 days a year. After 50 or 60 straight nights of this, a guy would be close to befuddled. The regular engineer would welcome a slight cut in his pay because of having a fireman. That way, the job wasn’t a complete man killer. Usually I ran the first half to Streator and the engineer would run the train from Streator yard, Ottawa back towards Wedron then to Aurora and Clyde. Sometimes doubling into Serena.

Every night we were assigned 5 SD-7’s and 9’s. A guy could work all night, every night with those motors as they had those six wheeled Cadillac trucks. Once in a while, we would get a GP 40 on one end of the consist and we noticed that after a few days riding a GP, our kidneys would hurt from the riding action of those locomotives. Nothing rode better than those stable platforms of SD’s at 30 mph. Every night we deadheaded with the dispatchers working 3rd shift to Clyde and the crews knew those dispatchers as they knew us. Even though slightly dysfunctional at times, the railroad felt like a family.

Many many times we would drag our sand train into Cicero yard at the end of our hours of service… the entire crew would bail for Clyde depot to catch the suburban train back to Aurora. I would take the train in myself and as (we) went dead under the hours of service, I’d grab my grip and run towards Clyde depot trying NOT to miss the westbound dinky. To miss that one meant that there was a big wait for the next dinky to stop at Clyde. Mid afternoon, the dinky started to skip stop some of the lesser stations like Clyde. Sometimes I barely caught that westbound suburban back to Aurora with my crew, sometimes not.

Ray Speerly: Yes that was a long day, I would catch that job off the extra list for some reason on a regular bases. I would drive to Cicero to catch it because I never wanted to worry about catching the Dinky. It was a long night, I worked that job at first when it was still 16 hours days. That job and the Rockford day switch I seems to get on a regular bases, only got the night job out of Rockford to Rochelle a couple times, Did like the day switch up there and took it when vacation time came around for the regular guys on the crew. My time was the mid 60's and 70's on that jobs. I was Brakeman, trainman in 70's Yard foreman then conductor. Remember starting when it was the Q then it became the BN then BNSF.

Mike Landers: Sad Nothing goes to Streator any more one glass plant gone and owens glass took there tracks out going to the CB/Q _BN !

Thomas Whitt shared

Roger Kujawa posted nine photos with the comment: "Ottawa, Illinois CBQ depot, Illinois River bridge and some power at the engine house now used by the Illinois Railway."

Andy Zukowski: Beautiful Bridge photos

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CBQ depot

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CBQ depot Ottawa, Illinois.

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CBQ depot Ottawa t

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Illinois Railway, Ottawa CBQ engine shed.

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Illinois Railway, Ottawa CBQ engine

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Illinois Railway, Ottawa. CBQ engine

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Illinois Railway, Ottawa, Il. BN caboose

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Illinois Railway, Ottawa, Il.. Ex CBQ Illinois River bridge.

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Illinois Railway, Ottawa, Il.. Ex CBQ Illinois River bridge.

Andy Zukowski posted

CB&Q Engines Ottawa, Illinois.

A pair of CB&Q switchers sit out the July 4th holiday by the engine house in Ottawa, Illinois.Today this line is part of the Illinois Railway. The signal is the southbound home signal for the CRI&P crossing. Date is 7/4/68.

Photo by Barry Lennon

Larry Candilas commented on Andy's post
MP 80.5 Montgomery & Streator Sub; 1969 track chart

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