Hello again,
Finally made it over to Galesburg, ILL to do some train watching. I would have to say that this is a must-see for Mid-west railfans. The town is very nice, clean, and easy to get around in. Plenty of places to stay and many places to get food and drink. You can walk from most of the train watching spots in town to get something to eat or change your viewing area.
The Amtrak station is a good spot on the former CB&Q double-track main. You can see a good distance in both directions and the station is such that you can walk out onto the platforms to take photos. The BNSF yard and service facilities are just to the south of the station. There are two bridges that span the yard, allowing for excellent views and, from what I was told, you are welcome to use them.
The former Santa Fe transcon cuts through the center of town and crosses under the CB&Q lines. There is also a line diverging off of the CB&Q headed north towards Savanna. This single track line actually had a great deal of traffic on it in both directions and the trains were amazingly long with a lot of Cryo-Trans reefers.
You hear trains in Galesburg continuously. Mixed in with all the freight is eight Amtrak runs at the station. They are working on the railroad park next to the station where engine 3006 is on display. A plaque states that this engine ran 2,348,267 miles of service!
Hope to make it to the Galesburg Railroad Days next month, June 23 & 24.
[img]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/511621398_cf86b8b948
