I forgot that one of the unique things about the IT is that it commonly ran switch engines with road switchers . . .
A retired co-worker of mine has a picture of an IT road train with a pair of B-units sandwiched between some SW1200’s. I only hoped that the B-units were equipped with toliets.
Hey, Nordique72, I remember the IT in Edwardsville quite well. I grew up on Franklin, three blocks from the old Edwardsville interlocking tower operated by IT, and three hundred feet or less from the NKP main. IT crossed the Litchfield and Madison (CNW after 1958) and Nickel Plate (N&W after 1964) at grade, as did the old IT electrified line. I can’t say for sure when the line going to Hamel was last used, but I have photos from around 1980 of track maintenance operations on the line to Alton near Grand View subdivision and the golf course. IT trains all too often derailed in that area spilling grain. I used to walk the line as far as the golf course (or maybe catch a grabiron if I was lucky and had a hand free) to get to EHS. Those trains were moving pretty slow coming out of the yard. The only thing left in the area now is the old water tank that would have been at the south end of the yard. Got a pic if you’re interested. Also, there are some great pics of the area, including some IT pics by Gary Forshaw, a former IT engine driver, on www.leclairerail.com. I’m not old enough to remember the electrified line in service, but do remember some of the old motors stored at the Edwardsville yard when I was growing up. Spring, TX…hmmm. I have a friend in Spring that worked for Shell Pipeline at the Roxanna terminal before transfering down there. Poor guy, he’s an IC fan.
The use of the “PRR” and “NYC” marks by NS and CSX, respectively, was done as part of the split up of CR by the two roads. All of the rolling stock that has these marks was probably CR equipment before the split.
I’m not so sure about NS owning the “CR” marks, but I don’t have a ready way of checking it from my home computer. The reason I wonder about this is that CR still exists as an operating railroad althoug, of course, it is vastly reduced from its days
Harley-
That’s neat you also grew up in E’ville - I lived in the Esic subdivision within eyeshot of the CNW and NS mains. The ex-IT passenger main bike trail was about three blocks from my house- I usually rode my bike over it through the Leclaire interlocking area to school when the weather was nice. When I was old enough to go around exploring the IT’s ex-T&E belt line to Roxana had already been abandoned on account of a bridge failing near where they went under the UP’s ex-NYC main near Roxana. I remember when they paved over all the crossings between Edwardsville and Troy-and later when they tore it all out. The old T&E water tower south of the former IT yard is still in existence as well- the Madison County folks helped save it after the T&E was converted to a trail. Back when the IT it was out of service my best friend and I spent alot of time in the summers hiking along the overgrown tracks. The electric line in town was torn out in 1972 from what I remember reading on it- to me it was always a bike trail!
Each summer when I drive back north, I make sure to pass through Edwardsville- it sure has changed alot in the 15 years now since I’ve moved away with all the rail lines through town (save the NS’s ex-WAB main on the west side) being torn out and made into bike trails. Leclaire Interlocking area was also mostly obliterated for a new reroute of ILL 159 through town, it’s hard to tell where the tower and yard were nowadays since the highway passes right through the former site. I really enjoyed the leclairerail.com site- I remember when that first was posted some years back- there are some fantastic shots posted there from all over the E’ville area.
I believe the last customer using the Illinois Terminal’s elevated line into downtown St. Louis was the hometown newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The paper was receiving inbound shipments of newsprint in boxcars. Apparently those boxcars were being unloaded right underneath the Post-Dispatch building - in an area that once saw the frequent movement of interurbans into and out of the I.T. downtown passenger terminal.
One Saturday about 15-years ago I traced the line between the downtown St. Louis terminal and McKinley Bridge. The “elevated” appeared to have one or more intermediate station platforms on the Missouri side before it dipped down to ground level. The track was laid at ground level for a few blocks and then a new elevated line ramped the route up to the west approach of McKinley Bridge. Most of the track appeared to be in place on the west side of the Mississippi River and across the bridge as well, but the elevated approaches on the Illinois side were too dilapidated to support any kind of railroad operation.
If my memory serves me correctly, Norfolk Southern delivered the inbound newsprint loads to the aforementioned ground segment. Just north of the Post-Dispatch building an old EMD Geep with private line reporting marks was kept parked underneath the sidewalk that ran along the east si
Nordique,
Sounds like I have a few years on you. I used to hunt in the woods between the Alton and electrified lines (part of Esic now, I think). Remember there used to be a sub-station along the electrified line. I used to hang out at the old interlocking tower, and at the IT maintenance shop that used to be at the end of 1st Avenue. Childhood friend of mine’s father was a signal maintainer for the IT. I knew “Old Blue” pictured in the tower photos on leclairerail. That site hasn’t been updated in a very long time. I’m trying to contact the Farmers to see if i can find out what’s up.
Almost all of the abandoned right-of-way in Madison County has come under the control of the county and have been converted into bike trails. Some is hard-pack gravel, some remains undeveloped, but most is paved. I’ve ridden some of it. There are some 85-90 miles currently included in the bike trail system. That includes IT, IC, NKP, CNW that I know of. A map is available at http://www.mcttrails.org/viewer.htm I believe the logic was to have it for development for future LRT, but now residents are against that for fear of easier access from St. Claire County (East St. Louis specifically), and possible increase in crime.
It certainly is depressing to go back home and see such a lack of railroad presence in town. By the way, the old NKP station is still in town a few hundred feet from where it used to sit, by the old N. O. Nelson building. I Think someone has plans for it, but don’t remember what.
Harley,
The old substation by Esic was named “Bells”- it was torn down about 1989 after local residents complained that it was unsafe. I do remember going into it a few times before it was torn down- it was full of empty beer cans and graffiti. The NKP station was moved across the tracks about 1992 into the old NO Nelson foundry complex- it is owned by the Madison County Historical Society- they had plans to convert the whole NO Nelson foundry complex into a museum of sorts, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Here is a few of my shots from the area- the first is a going shot of the Norfolk Southern’s wayfreight passing the former location of Leclaire Tower-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nordique72/2712159926/
and a look at the CNW-NS joint coal train entering Edwardsville and passing the relocated NKP Depot-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nordique72/1142948301/
while the tracks are gone now- I’m glad I took some shots of the trains in town before they disappeared.
Bob-
The Post-Dispatch was indeed the last customer on the old IT line into St. Louis (the “Subway”). The old Illinois Terminal station is still in use downtown- complete with it’s railroad themed friezes above the entrances. Back when the NS was still delivering paper cars down into the subway- there was a connection on the riverfront short from where the ITC line came off the McKinley Bridge- this was where the NS accessed the portion to run over to the Subway. I can remember when I was a kid walking over to the old “subway” along Tucker- just south of the Post-Dispatch building there was an opening where you could see down into the subway- and seeing newsprint cars spotted under the building. I always wished I could h
I know this post is ancient history but Im trying to find out if the above farmer or family still owns that 1.2 mile of line. Ive looked everywhere to no avail…unless Im looking in the wrong place.
Anybody?
I believe the IT was purchased by the N&W because of the markets it offered to the N&W. In Decatur, they had always cooperated in the switching of the Archer Daniels Midland west plant. The IT operated a daily train via trackage rights to Sprindfield. By buying the IT, the N&W greatly increased it access to the other ADM plants plus more capacity to handle other things in Decatur. There was also a daily ADM train that operated to the St. Louis area where it switched to IT trackage there to go to river loading points for barges. This gave NW access to all the traffic from beginning to end. This one shipper offered a whole lot of business for NW to gain more traffic out of Decatur.
IT’s treminal operations in the Metro East area also generated a lot of traffic for N&W.
At Carlinville what track is still out there is cut in several places and tree’d-in. (Suspect it was not NS/N&W’s to pick up at abandonment on the Carlinville-Anderson Segment)
So the short answer is…no one really knows if the farmer or his family still owns that stretch? Or does anyone know for sure that particular stretch is gone for good?