Paducah Rare-Mileage Trip
May 20-23, 2011

Photos by Dave Ingles

Monday morning May 23rd was sunny; our departure had been discussed as 7 am and 8 am, but I took no chances and got out for photos before 7.

Good thing, too, as the crew soon showed up! We backed out at 7:08 and pulled to leave town at 7:17.

Our train just fit on the business track; a set of BNSF engines takes the wye in the background, west of where the big roundhouse used to be.

Clark Johnson, now age 80, and his wife, Nona Hill, enjoy going up the "Peavine" to Savanna on the Caritas platform. Another successful trip, Clark, thanks!

Alpha, Ill., featured in CLASSIC TRAINS in a 2-page photo of a CB&Q waycar when the depot and a diamond were here, flashes by at 7:38 a.m. If you can spot the "Alpha" sign on the shed, the diamond crossed just beyond it; the shed is on the old depot's site.

We waited at Warner siding, just south of the Quad Cities, from 7:58 until 8:41, for what turned out to be two Galesburg-bound trains. This is the 6290 East with trailing unit 6352 at 8:17.

Not awfully long after it stopped, a relief crew showed up.

The new conductor was filming us filming him. Actually, "filming" is kind of obsolete, isn't it.

The second train, 4762 East with one unit, came by at 8:30.

Colona, Ill., used to be a diamond crossing of the CB&Q and Rock Island main line, now Iowa Interstate. A wreck here a couple of years ago, or more, took out the diamond, so BNSF/IAIS replaced it with two switches.

Crossing the Rock River, nearing Barstow, where we'll turn right and BNSF's city line into Rock Island turns left.

On the Barstow curve, 9:02 a.m., two photos.

One of the several local engines on hand, inside the complete wye at Barstow. In the old days, Burlington and Milwaukee Road owned the local Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern, "the Dry Line," but it was parceled out a few years ago, with BNSF getting the Illinois side, and Canadian Pacific (thru IC&E/DM&E) the Iowa side. I'm not sure who owns the old DRINW Centennial Bridge across the Mississippi between Rock Island and Davenport. Iowa Interstate (ex-RI) may be involved, too. Google it if you need to :-).

Rolling thru Erie, Illinois, at 9:34; no GE plant in this Erie! In 1961 we had a water stop for CB&Q 4960 here on the excursion from Davenport to Dubuque.

Approaching Plum River, on the east end of Savanna where the "C&I" line from Aurora (Aurora Sub) joins the Peavine. It's 10:41.

We'll take to a Savanna yard track to stop and have our units run around the train. I used the layover to finish packing my bags. The back-street wooden bridge now is pedestrian-only, but the C&I Line has many such "rainbow bridges" still in vehicular use."

An empty yard greeted us. We were here 10:46-11:27.

Off we go on the Aurora Sub, no new mileage for me all day, and now no more new mileage for pretty much all riders, but the C&I is a great line to chase, or to ride.

The Milledgeville depot is gone, but a mural across from its site re-creates it.

Approach signal for Carter siding, between two "rainbow" wooden bridges (with a grade crossing in between -- great photo location).

As many times as I've been on or around the C&I and Carter siding, I never knew about the separated main and siding, since the portion isn't visible from a road and I wasn't paying attention on Amtrak detours, or on CB&Q trains decades ago.

To be frank, this was a bad meet. We could easily have made Stratford, the next siding, in the time we waited here -- 12:04-12:57 -- for a slow-moving, underpowered westbound. It's the 4103 West, trailing unit 936, at 12:51. I had lunch while we sat still.

Looking back at the industry just west of Oregon, Ill., where Illinois Railway GP's are switching. When BNSF sold or leased the Oregon-Mt. Morris branch, rights to switch this mainline customer were included. Now the Quebecor Paper plant at Mt. Morris has shut down, so this is about all the I.R. has to do at Oregon. The blue Geep is lettered I.R. 3500, and its mate is lettered for a former short line in Washington State. It's 1319 hours. Illinois Railway, the former Illinois Railnet, also operates three other ex-CB&Q/BN/BNSF lines in the area: Flagg Center-Rockford; Zearing-La Salle; and Montgomery-Ottawa-Streator. Its "shop" is in Ottawa by the Iowa Interstate (ex-RI main line) diamond. The Zearing line job is based in LaSalle, the Rockford job at Flagg Center.

The Oregon depot has been restored.

Approaching the Rock River bridge just east of Oregon.

Approaching the famous rock cut, site of numerous photo runbys in CB&Q steam excursion days, not far east of the Rock River.

Across the UP at the Rochelle Railroad Park at 1337 hours, with no delay.

At CP800, Milepost 80, a new crossover toward the east end of two main tracks east of Rochelle, we meet 4474 West at 1341.

The bumping post at the left marks the east, or south, end of the Rochelle Railroad, which extended to the new ethanol plant on the southeast corner of town.

Around the curve and by the turned-around preserved depot at Steward.

That's Mike Schafer out to photo us at his home in Lee, Ill., "Zephyr Acres," at 1353.

This is the first photo Mike shot of us.

And  this is Otto Dobnick waving at Mike, with Phil Moser behind him, as I am facing rearward (at left) to take Schaf's photo.

We had a meet at Sugar Grove which I did not photograph, waiting from 1422 to 1457, and passed Aurora junction at 1511 hours. At West Eola, we encounter a westbound Metra at 1518.

Over from Track 2 to Track 1 at Naperville, to make a quick passenger stop, 1525-1526.

West end of Naperville's north platform is a construction mess.

Around the curve at MP27, Naperville; Rick and Jane Moser are not home to wave to, they are sailing the Atlantic on the early part of a month-long cruise to the Baltic Sea area.

At 1529 west of Lisle, we pass Amtrak #3.

And at 1534. we meet 4451 West at Downers Grove.

After a quick passenger-discharge stop at La Grange, at 1550, we sail on downtown and pass the Metra yard en route to a 1604 arrival to end a great trip.

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