September 4, 2006
The Clue:
An easy on to get on with it: This town had 3 different companys through it at one time, includeing an interurban (the IT) plus the IC and Wabash. Today, the old IC line and some of the old Wabash is still in use. You can still see the IT R-O-W by a Wal-Mart on the edge of town.
Town hints: college town, where a big rock band got its start.
REO Speedwagon?
Champaign
Me too, I would have said Champaign, IL but did not Champaign have 4 RRs (IC, Big four, Wabash and the interurban Danville- Springfield… and there where for a few years even a second interurban Champaign- Rantoul–> that would make 5!
sebastiano
Mattoon
Famer City?
I’m going with Bloomington, IL.
CC
Urbana
I think Rodney is correct…Urbana.
Urbana was also served by NYC, so it (and Champaign) are out. Bloomington is out as well, as GM&O was also there. The way I understood the problem, there were only he three railroads (IC, WAB, ITC) there. If I’m wrong, I hope Crazy D will get on and let us know.
Haven’t a clue when it comes to rock bands. Did they use them to tie the ballast to the tracks?
Complete and utter stab in the dark.
Montecello, IL?
Somewhere, in the back of my mind, it seems there was a rock band out of Rockford, Illinois?
Cheap Trick. That lept to my mind also but the Wabash went nowhere near Rockford, they had the IC, C&NW, and the Milwaukee.
The Wabash route maps show it also did not enter Bloomington or Mattoon.
I’ll stick with Champaign with its U. of Illinois, and the band as 1435mm pointed out, is REO Speedwagon. The band has always been adamant about being from Champaign, and NOT Urbana.
Delmar! Where are you? Don’t do this to us!
Technically the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is mostly in Urbana – there is a little bit of slopover into Champaign but most of the campus is on the east side of Mathews Street, thus, in Urbana. As I recall I think the IC is entirely on the Champaign side and the P&E was in both Urbana and Champaign.
Sorry for the confusion, but it was Chaimpaign-Urbana that I was looking for.
I didn’t realize that there was more than three companys though there (should have looked at my sources a bit better!)
Crazy one:
Great to see you didnt leave…
I made a little side trip to Central Illinois today, all the way down I55 to Bloomington and then to Peorira.
Have you seen those funky little signals on the UP (ex GMO)?
ed
Yes!
I think I have a Picture of one…
I cant understand why they are so short…and no they are not dwarf signals. When you stand next to them, they are a little bigger, about 8 ft high, but I would think the visability would be limited…perhaps not.
ed
CSX has 2 of them in Tuscola