Back in the C&EI thread, I had asked about EMD’s oddball RS1325 locos. Carl responded that they were alive and well on the Illinois & Midland.
That name really rung a bell, but not for that reason. Lo and behold! Today while looking for some headlight info, I found an article on the Illinois Midland amongst my Aurora, IL historical information.
It comes from a publication put out by the Aurora Savings & Loan called the Thrift Corner Yarns. TCY was published from the 60’s into the 70’s. I don’t have all of the issues, but I have a number of them (mostly inherited from my Dad, who I gather had an account there). All the articles were written by Vernon Derry, who also penned two of the Aurora History books that I have.
Anyways, long story short, I thought the article was entertaining, so I thought I’d present it here:
Yeah, that RR was a little south of you, Jim. My uncle actually lives in Newark, so next time I’m back home (a little over two weeks) I plan to head down that way and do some prowling around to see if there are any remnants of the Illinois Midland.
I’ve also got another TCY on the “Q” that I’ll try to get scanned tonight. That one should be even more interesting for you as an Auroran.
I believe a model train layout based on the IM was featured in Model Railroad Planning a few years back. Simple track plan, one locomotive … perfect.
If you have a taste for small Illinois railroads of the past, don’t forget the HY&T: Hooppole, Yorktown and Tampico. A fair amount of information is available on the internet, and I ordered the video that is mentioned on this website. And the tiny depot at Hooppole still stands, at hte end of a visible remainder of the ROW.
