Station Carbondale

05/15/2018

The whistle of an Illinois Central steam locomotive was heard in Centralia, Illinois, last week when an air compressor was hooked up to 4-8-2 #2500 in Fairview Park. This video tells the story.

Illinois Central 4-8-2 #2500 is preserved at Centralia, Illinois, and is one of only three large I.C. locomotives to survive today. James Adams of Centralia ...

04/17/2018

This portion of one of the 1938 Illinois aerial photos shows the area of the locomotive servicing facility and the junction of the various rail lines.

Visible are the roundhouse, turntable and the original wooden coal towers that stood until they were replaced in 1949.

Note the area around the wye to the right of U.S.51 and the mainline. The original route of the St. Louis Coal Railroad can be seen between the wye tracks and heading straight to the coal towers. The Coal Railroad had leased the Carbondale & Shawneetown Railroad, and built its new line straight across the Illinois Central when it constructed its route to Harrison. Exactly when this crossing was removed is unclear, but was gone by the time the engine terminal was renovated in 1918.

Toward the top of the image are the buildings of the Carbondale car repair department, which stood into the 1990s.

One other note on the west wye: this image shows the original alignment of the south leg. The original south leg had a much gentler curve than the south leg that exists today. This was the route used by trains between Carbondale and St. Louis. The current south leg of the wye was constructed when U.S. 51 was widened in 1985, and is used almost exclusively for turning Amtrak trains.

04/17/2018

Here's an unusual historic image.

In 1938, the state of Illinois was taking aerial images of the entire state. This photo is a composite of three of those photos, showing the north half of town and the area with the various railroad lines spreading out north of town.

The mainline and U.S. 51 can be seen side by side through the center of the image.

To the left of the mainline in the center of the image is the large railroad tie treating plant that was a fixture of Carbondale for nearly 90 years. At the northwestern edge of the tie plant yard is the wye leading to the lines to Marion and Johnston City.

Running along the south edge of the plant and continuing on a wavy path to the left edge of the image is the abandoned right of way of the original line to Marion, constructed in 1871 and bypassed around 1914.

On the west side of 51 is the wye leading to the line which split to St. Louis and Thebes across the Big Muddy River from Murphysboro. By 1880 there were two parallel lines heading west from the wye, and at the right of the image the abandoned track to Harrison Junction is visible curving northwest at New Era Road.

Essentially, this is the Google Earth view decades before the internet was even dreamed of!

04/14/2018

There has long been concern with people walking along the railroad tracks. Today there are media campaigns and programs such as Operation Lifesaver working to combat the problem.

Back before the dawn of the 20th Century, the issue was a concern too. This article appeared in the Carbondale Free Press on May 27, 1899.

For more information about Operation Lifesaver, check out their website at https://oli.org.

04/02/2018

42 years ago tomorrow...

03/28/2018

In the headlines 128 years ago today. Not listed is whether the train in question was one operated via Carbondale or DuQuoin.

03/27/2018

In recent years, there have been some highly publicized incidents of trains encountering misaligned switches. This is nothing new, as this article relates in the tale of a Cairo Short Line train collision on February 13, 1882.

The Cairo Short Line was the nickname for the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad, which operated the line from East St. Louis to Pinckneyville; Pinckneyville to Carbondale, Marion and Paducah; and Pinckneyville to DuQuoin, Benton and Eldorado. The lines were operated as the Cairo Short Line's Belleville & Southern Illinois Division, and became part of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1895.

03/26/2018

Good morning from Station Carbondale!

In this post, we look back at a not-so-good morning for the Illinois Central Gulf, when on May 28, 1984, northbound piggyback train #52 rear-ended New Orleans to Chicago freight NC-6 just north of Boskydell Road on Carbondale's south side.

While the collision made a mess and shut down the railroad for ten hours, the crews involved escaped serious injury.

03/16/2018

We now have the online Gift Shop open at Station Carbondale.

We have both a booklet on the history of Carbondale and the Illinois Central, along with the DVD documentary "Carbondale, The Railroad And The Old Depot" available for purchase.

Can't make it to the museum but interested in either of these? No problem! Just click on the order form and order by mail!

Stop by the museum and pick up a copy for a $20.00 donation to the museum, or click on the order form below to order a copy by mail.

03/14/2018

A new page has been added to the Station Carbondale website, bringing together a number of videos showing the Illinois Central from 1938 to 1991.

Also included is a video custom produced for the museum, visiting a number of sites in the region where the Illinois Central used to run. The video is called "Ghost Hunting The Railroads Of Carbondale."

Enjoy!

This video was produced for the Station Carbondale Museum in conjunction with the DVD “Carbondale, The Railroad And The Old Depot.” Come along as we visit many of the locations mentioned in that DVD as they are today.