We all have our favorite places to watch our favorite railroads. But how about hotspots from 40-50 years ago or even longer that don't exist no longer. One of the first places I think of is Mendota,Illinois. The Burlinton Route crossed the original north-south charter of the Illinois Central. The Milwaukee Road also came through on IC trakage. Along with the "Leaning Tower of Mendota"(old control tower that gaurded the diamonds), I imagine the action had to be pretty damn good back in the day. Another place that comes to mind is Cragin Jct in Chicago. The Milwaukee Road's west line crossed the Chicago and Northwestern's north-south line, now UP's Cragin industrial lead. Before Proviso and Bensenville were built, both lines yards were in the city limits of Chicago and the Junction served both of their Milwaukee lines. Any other spots you wished were still around? I'm sure they are. So give us your favorites and start typing "If only..." Eric
I'm sure I'll come up with other places later, but after reading an article on it, I'd love to visit Avery, Idaho during the final days of Milwaukee electification. Avery wouldn't exist without the Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee wouldn't have that essence about it had their yard been located in a larger city. The two just fit together perfectly. ------------------ Brian Schmidt railohio@hotmail.com ICQ #21630753 AIM - railohio
I'd have to say that Sayre Yard in PA when the Lehigh Valley was in full swing would have been my first stop. It was still working in the 70's when I was (a lot) younger but I didn't have much interest then. Now I run trains through what's left of Sayre and the Lehigh main. Most of the yard is gone except for a railcar repair industry that uses quite a few of the old class tracks for storage and there's a couple of tracks left that NS uses to run around coal trains to and from Ithaca etc. Knowing what I know now, and hearing the stories from the Lehigh guys I work with, I wish I had at least seen it before Conrail tore it all out.
50 years ago? Well, I wouldn't have to travel far. Anderson Indiana was the intersection of the very busy Big Four Cleveland-St.Louis double track main with the Big Four Elkhart-Louisville line, the Central Indiana Ry from Anderson West to Brazil (near the IL line) and the Pennsylvania RR Chicago to Cincy run. The Pennsy handled much of the local switching which was still significant in 1951 and the South Anderson Yard was very busy. The big Mohawks would soon run out their last days here and the Pennsy was just moving from steam to diesel. You could still here the mournful cry of the steamer as it passed through town at two and four in the morning carrying travelers from Cincy to Chicago and the reverse. The Roundhouse and turntable were still in daily use in South Anderson with the coaling tower standing tall and proud. The Pennsy's coaling tower was north of Anderson about a mile, but there was a water tower at 5th and Main with their frieght station and an ice plant. Up the track to the south of that was the old brewery/Purina Feeds mill and the passenger station. Traffic was frequent on the Big Four and the Pennsy. Expect a train at any time. Crossing Gates were just being electrified from the operator having to crank them down and the downtown night would be shrouded in mist from the steam from the RPOs and waiting passenger cars early in the AM at the Big Four station. 20 years before? We can add the Union Traction/Indiana Railroad interurban lines with their power plant and maintenance facilities and frequent passenger runs. No, I don't have to travel far. That was my home town. Roger Roger Hensley - rhensley@anderson.cioe.com == http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ == == Railroads of Madison County (Indiana) ==
Hard to believe what a little imagination can do. Every time I see an old right of way, I picture a train coming down the line in run 8. I can't believe I forgot Griffith, Indiana! GTW, C&O, Erie, Michigan Central, and the EJE. Plus, the diamonds meet right in the middle of the street. The CN and EJE still go through there, but I imagine it can't be the same. Eric
The best place to watch steam locomotives was a place called De Aar in what was then the Cape Province of South Africa. You could be guaranteed a train roaring through every hour or less day or night. A small hotel there existed because of trainlovers from around the world. Those days the SAR was king with massive condensing tenders to help getting through the arid Karoo. ------------------ Robin member #35 Maberly and Tayside
Griffth can still be pretty active, but what about old State Line interlocker- now there's more weeds than trains!!
Nothing to date has matched my standing along the West bound PRR mainline out of Altoona, Pa during the late 1940's and early 50's. My grandmother's house sat just across the street from the fence protecting the tracks. The coal drags would take on helpers just outside Altoona and when you heard the 'ready' whistles blow, the fun began. I was always in awe at the power and noise as the lead PRR 2-10-0 I1 steam came by, full throttle and getting a run for the mountain. Then came the two I1 steam pushers on the rear making double the noise. The cinders from the exhausts would fall down on you like snow....but we didn't care! The same engines rounding the Horseshoe Curve at full power is also etched in my memory. I visit these spots about twice a year when I go home to visit family, but I can't get the same thrill from watching diesels on hill or curve today. Oh! for the good old days. ...Eddie ------------------ Eddie Delozier PRR N-scale www.deloziers.com eddelozier@yahoo.com
Milwfreak said->> Hard to believe what a little imagination can do. Every time I see an old right of way, I picture a train coming down the line in run 8. <<< And one of the sadest things that I have run into happened summer before last in north central Indiana as I stood on old NKP trackage at a rail crossing. I was out of the car walking a little distance first one way and then the other on the weed overgrown tracks, tracks that had once seen heavy north-south traffic as the Nickel Plate moved the grain, freight, people and mail. I was already saddened by the knowledge that this track would soon be gone completely. As I reached the road, an old couple in an older car came by and stopped by me. The woman looked at me and then the tracks and said, "The trains don't come here anymore." I cried deep within then and now as I write. God help us! What have we done! Roger Roger Hensley - rhensley@anderson.cioe.com == http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ == == Railroads of Madison County (Indiana) ==
Back in the 1980s, I lived in Topeka, KS, and I would go to the UP depot and watch UP, Cotton Belt, and Rio Grande freights pass by. The Cotton Belt trains would squeal as they made the sharp curve under the Topeka Avenue bridge coming off or going on the former Rock Island line. Their power consists would on several occasions have half the power dead (especially the eastbounds). The line was a hotbed of SD40-2s and U30/C30-7s, with a few GP30s, GP9s, and GP35s tossed in for good measure. Sadly, the depot was damaged by fire, and I have no idea if it's still standing. All the traffic (and there's a lot more) is now UP. ------------------ Southeast....Southwest.. Ship IT on the Frisco! Bob T. Member # 362 http://hometown.aol.com/slsf1630/myhomepage/profile.html
