Small Towns in Illinois

Hello all,

I am a long established lurker with a few posts under my belt (not many though), and I wanted to let you know about a website that I’ve created. It provides primarily photos that I’ve taken of buildings all over Central and Southern Illinois.

I’m not selling anything and I’m not asking for anything.

It is simply a labor of love on my part. I’ve been a model railroader for countless years and began taking photos of railroad related structures in 1996. From that point it expanded to taking photos of old buildings (store buildings, churches, post offices, libraries…well, you get the point) throughout the small communities in Illinois.

How does this pertain to model railroading? These photos are the inspiration for me for scratchbuilding, kitbashing, and kit detailing. There are also railroad related structure photos on the site. Eventually, I will also be uploading model railroad photos to this site (hopefully, re-creations in HO scale of some of the buildings I’ve photographed).

There are some things I should mention. For the dial-up users, it is slow-loading (but I think it’s worth it…I am planning to take care of this problem at some point down the road.) Also, this is the first website I’ve ever designed and it’s not 100% complete at this time.

Once again, I am not selling anything or asking anything of any of the forum members. I am simply sharing photos and information. I would like to think that some of you may find some of the photos helpful as you create your model railroading empires.

Now that I’ve bored you with the details, here’s the link if you would like to visit:

www.smalltownillinois.com

Jeff

one small problem: the links to the other parts of the site appear to be just pictures, and not links at all. But I am sure what is behing those doors is as wonderful as you say it is.

The site itself needs work, as I’m sure you know, but great content once you figure it out!. Until the index on the left is up, this link gets you to all those fine Illinois treasures!

http://smalltownillinois.com/index_files/page0012.html

My favorite is the Illinois Terminal Railroad Depot in Union,IL. Kinda wonder who owns it now.

Jeff,

Love the site! Since I’m modeling the area you’ve highlighted in your website (who else is modeling Congerville?) it’s great to see the area’s history online.

(oh, and the RR that bypassed Benjaminville is the Lake Erie and Western, which eventually became the NKP. I decided not to model Holder, since I already have Bloomington and Saybrook on the layout!)