I bought a B&O system map about 10 years ago in Altoona Pa. during railfest. On the map it shows the B&O going from Chicago, IL. to Kansas City, MO. via Springfield, IL. Which I believe was the Alton & Southern, later GM&O. My question is when did the B&O own these tracks and why did they give them up?
THe Alton was a part of the B&O from 1930 until 1943. St Louis overshadowed Kansas City for interchange back then.
I have often wondered about B&O/CSX’ decision to abandon its Decatur-Sprinfield, Illinois segment. One would think that sement in combingation with the once B&O now KCS-owned Gateway Western would be a particularly valuable piece of the puzzle for CSX.
Gabe
The Alton & Southern was mostly just around East St. Louis, much like the switching roads around Chicago. It styled itself as the ‘East St. Louis Outer Belt Line’.
It was never a part of the Chicago & Alton. It was bankrupt and auctioned off to the B&O. The B&O changed the name to The Alton but did not fully merge it into the system. The GM&O announced it would purchase the Alton in August 1945 but did not get full control until 1946.
Much later, the GM&O was merged into the IC (Illinois Central Gulf) which promptly got rid of all the branch lines north of St.Louis and a lot of the original GM&O south of St.Louis. Then it sold off everything left in the old eastern and western divisions of the Alton to the Chicago Missouri and Western but it kept the old ‘Joliet and Chicago’ north of Joliet including Glenn Yard. Then it changed its name back to Illinois Central.
The CM&W couldn’t make a go of it; neither could the next fellow. Now it’s split between the UP (E.St.Louis to Joliet} and the KCS which has the 3 lines out of Roodhouse (Roodhouse-Springfield, Roodhouse-KC, and Roodhouse-E.St.Louis).
I hired out on the Alton part of the GM&O in '47 shortly after the GM&O takeover and left in early 1952 while it was still the GM&O.
Art
Art ,
did the Alton use B&O’s postion light signals? i recall reading somewhere that atleast portions of it did…
J.Edgar, it’s been an awfully long time ago. I don’t remember color position lights anywhere I worked. Mazonia had semaphores as did Joliet. And I remember my brother and I discussing the fail-safe feature of the signals in my home town. A pendulum, pulled away from perpendicular, would yield green or amber display but if the detection circuitry failed, it would swing to vertical and display red. I suspect this was a searchlight signal.
Dick Wallin’s wonderful ‘Gulf Mobile & Ohio Color Pictorial’ does show the B&O type lights on several photos. One photo shows a train approaching such a signal south of Springfield, probably at Isles where the Wabash was crossed. The caption reads, in part: “The color position light signals are a carryover from the days of Baltimore & Ohio control of the Alton. Many are still in use on the former GM&O main line to the day.” R.R.Wallin. His book has chapters on the sections of the main line. Many shots of train order boards but signals shown around Springfield are all color position ones. Around Joliet, only semaphores.
Chicago locations could be different and although there was originally talk about moving the Alton over to the B&O station, it never happened and they stayed in Union.
I looked into the last Alton employees time table dated September 29th, 1946 (the first GMO time table #1 was effective October 5, 1947) and it has this notation:
- Following is schedule of Baltimore and Ohio passenger trains at Springfield passenger station.
No.41 daily (except Sunday), 9:30.A.M. No.40, daily (except Sunday) 5:20 P.M.
These trains use Alton RR main tracks between passenger station and Third Street Wye, with right of first class trains, but must secure permisson from Yardmaster or Operator to enter Alton main track.
There is also a discussion of COLOR POSITION LIGHT SIGNALS; what they display, what it indicate
more then enough thx Art
that is what I wanted to know
Thank Art
You’re all welcome; the thanks are nice.
Happy to help out.
Art
PS, will be off for a week unless I can find a computer.