Western Railroad Discussion > My (rainy day) Wabash Scrapbook

The last full day of my Illinois visit was just as rainy & crummy as the first. But I wanted to see the current tenant of the old Wabash mainline. I have been fascinated with the Decatur area for quite some time. In the 70's I bought a set of Wabash copy slides that had several passenger trains shot in Decatur. And as fate would have it, as I scan through the Bill Gibson slide collection, I find that he visited Decatur several times in the 60's. Finally, in a more local way here in Manhattan (KS) I have been joyously connected to the Wabash since at least the mid 70's: My home town institution; Kansas State University has a renowned pep/marching band that somehow adopted the song "The Wabash Cannonball" as their own. It has been a runaway crowd favorite for nearly 4 decades. It is a very close & spirited second to the school's actual alma mater. Even a few staunch Jayhawk fans I could name [you know who you are!] will tell you they admire how the KSU band rolls right into their rousing rendition of the tune!

For all the above reasons I wanted to do a good job covering what I could of the Wabash mainline in one day. But oh, the lousy weather! I picked out a baker's dozen shots here and because of the rainy weather I really tried to dress them up for this thread. Those of you who regularly shoot at Wabic will know right off some of the editing I did, but for the rest of you I just hope you enjoy my 1st excursion into Wabash territory. I WILL be back! Other than what is in the 1st paragraph, there are no further details to divulge here. I will certainly give due credit to Mr. Gary Helling ("shoptonfan") who was again, a very capable tour guide on our 3rd & last day together. Kudos, pal...
(all photos taken November 7, 2012)

1. NS 6342 has slug 98 in tow in a switching move reaching out past the Wabic crossing in Decatur, IL.

2. & 3. Also switching near Wabic is a CSX remote job with engine 6028.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/18 17:51 by santafe199.

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4. NS 9233 is WB crossing N Water St in Decatur with a pip-squeak of a train.

5. NS 9046 is WB crossing the arched viaduct over Lake Decatur on the east side of town.

6. NS 9313 is EB at Cerro Gordo, IL.

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Yes sir...the NS Auto Artery. I miss railfanning that line up in Illinois like I did a lot in 2007 and 2008. Decatur has the tendency to stink (like your nose kind of stink) at times, but otherwise it's a cool town to railfan in.

Pump

7. & 8. A little diversion off the mainline at Bement, IL nets us this beautifully restored Wabash depot at Monticello. Other than a touch tone phone, the interior could be a century old.

9. I found an ancient elevator at the old Wabash location of Sloan(?), IL.

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10. NS 7648 has an EB manifest in tow at the old IC crossing in Tolono, IL. This was the route of one of my favorite RR tunes; Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans".

11. & 12. 59 minutes apart at Sadorus, IL we shoot EB (NS 9462) & WB (NS 9564) roadrailer trains with the 9564 being our last shot of the day.

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13. Just 1 more: I loved how the subtle patches of blue were desperately trying to break through over an ancient elevator at Sadorus.
A little editing was used to aid their valiant effort...
(all photos taken November 7, 2012)

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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Looks like a couple of clear signal indications prior to a pair of stop signals in photo six? What's up with that?
JB

Despite the gloom, you got some really good shots, Lance. Thanks for posting. - Jerry

That touch tone phone has some years on it too! Man, that track looks good!

9): I do believe that's Bement in the background, the signals protect the end of double track known as Wiggins, and the elevator you're standing next to is/was called Piatt.

PatternOfFailure Wrote:
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> 9): I do believe that's Bement in the background,
> the signals protect the end of double track known
> as Wiggins, and the elevator you're standing next
> to is/was called Piatt.

Thanks! I was really stuck here. I spent several confusing minutes bouncing between Google Maps & my Illinois DeLorme with EXIF time info from the camera. I'll duly correct my file.

Lance



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/18 17:49 by santafe199.