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

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.

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 ommented 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

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."

1

2

3

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: CB&Q Depots and Old Grain Elevator

North Depot: (3D Satellite, still standing)

South Depot and Elevator: (Satellite)

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.

20150809 4036

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

1939 Aerial Photo via ILHAP
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.

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

Meredosia, IL: Grain Elevator and Wabash Depot

Steven Johnson -> Grain Elevators of North America
Cargill grain elevator in Meredosia, IL.

If you click the link, you should be able to access three more photos posted by Steven.

I like to research the railroad that serves, or at least served, an elevator. But when I studied the satellite image (below), I could not find any evidence of an abandoned RoW. So I looked at my 1928 RR Atlas to see from which direction a railroad approached the city. I could not find one in the vicinity of this town. Meredosia was not only a river town, it was just a river town. So this elevator seems to be a regional elevator that is served by barges instead of rail cars.

Satellite

While studying the Google Map, I noticed that there is a track coming from Bluffs, IL terminating on the south side of town in a loop. The loop evidently serves a coal power plant. Spurs south of that plant serve Celanese Emulations, a plastic fabrication company, and a couple of other agricultural service companies.

According to the Illinois State Road Map, Norfolk Southern built the spur towards Meredosia from Bluffs, IL. Bluffs sets on the NS/N&W/Wabash mainline between Decatur and Kansas City.

John Stell posted
Former Wabash depot at Meredosia on 6-2-08. John Stell slide.

Street View, Aug 2023

Andy Zukowski posted
Rock Island (actually BCR&N) boxcar on Wabash RR trackage. In Meredosia, Illinois. 1911

Ron Vieregge: The first RR in Illinois ran from meredosia to morgen city.