Western Railroad Discussion > a Westerner's Eastern Odyssey (pt. #4)

On the homeward-bound down slope of our 2 week southeastern excursion we stopped to bunk down in Carbondale IL. It was still early enough that I could get in a little tripod photography with some traces of light clinging to the western horizon. And I stayed out to record the arrival of Amtrak #393.

The next morning we got on the road with no destination & no time frame. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate. It rained the entire day, with a brief stab of thin sunshine NW of Bloomington, IL. There's not much in this segment to show because there isn't a whole lot to shoot when you can't see more than a few yards through driving rain. What little I can post is covered in the captions:

1. The former IC depot in Carbondale, IL is witnessing the last bit of light fading from the sky.

2. IC caboose 9425 sits on the old platform with...

3. ...IC 8701, in some kind of "Operation Lifesaver" status. Night time has arrived in Carbondale, Let's go see what Amtrak has in store...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/19 19:20 by santafe199.

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4. AMTK 89 arrives on time (2135) with train #393. 2 young railfans are in their customary spot to watch the platform activities. The young man in blue is named Andrew and happens to be a facebook pal of our Young Master Luke from Ellis, KS. These young fans knew the crew by name. We'll make sure they get to see this TO post!

5. After all passengers & baggage have detrained the 393's inbound crew takes the train back north to turn it on a WYE track, then shuttles back to the station where...

6. ...it is put to bed for the night between the 2 mainline tracks. A locked switch & a blue light will protect the train until morning reveille.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/19 19:22 by santafe199.

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7. I took a roundabout path back to my car. I had seen a couple of interesting non-RR targets for some tripod photography. The "Sidetracks Bar & Grill" at 101 W College St is right on the CN main. My kinda place: Grab a window seat, have a burger & a couple of cold ones and watch the railroad scene just a few yards away.

8. Also snagging a spot in my view finder was the Dairy Queen at 506 S Illinois Ave. I can't remember the last time I saw a classic neon Dairy Queen ice cream cone lit up in the night. Probably back in the 70's. Of course I had a dish of soft-serve, but it was a SMALL one, a very SMALL one... ;^)
(photos 1-8 taken April 15, 2013 in Carbondale, IL)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/19 19:23 by santafe199.

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9. 10. & 11. The next morning I got up early to record platform preparations leading up to the 0730 departure. I'd never seen an originating passenger train answer the morning bell. Minutes before departure I set up at the Main Street crossing wishing I had some 'good morning' sunshine. Oh well. At 0730 on the dot the 89's headlight came up to bright and with 2 sharp blasts train #390 was in motion. The train passed by my 2 retired IC friends from last night & gracefully headed toward 2 twin relics left over from steam days of yore.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/19 19:24 by santafe199.

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12. Hot on #390's heels was CN 8000 with a northbound manifest.

13. KJ & I had breakfast and headed north on US hwy 51 into weather that can only be described as dismal. (The worst was yet to come...) I stopped at DeSoto, IL to shoot an over-under configuration and could only play that "what-if" game, since no trains were imminent. That would be the UP (ex-MP?) sliding over the top of the CN (ex-IC).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/19 19:26 by santafe199.

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14. & 15. We parted ways with US 51 to go depot snooping in Radom, IL. No depot, but the crossing gates & lights went into action only to produce a mobile crane heading north.

16. It sure looks like a lonely stroll up the "Mainline of Mid-America"...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/19 19:26 by santafe199.

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17. & 18. The weather got just plain hopeless! We traveled north through Illinois through a steady, sometimes driving rain that nearly caused us to pull over a couple of times. We strove on, and with KJ having been an antique dealer in past years we decided it would be cool to visit History Channel TV stars Mike & Frank & Danielle up yonder in Le Claire, IA. Alas, they had closed an hour earlier than was advertised on their website. So it was off to a motel overlooking the Mighty Mississippi.
(photos 9-17 taken April 16, 2013)

Part #5 chronicles a VERY soggy 2-day finale to our grand excursion...

Thanks for hitch hiking along!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/19 19:25 by santafe199.

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Thanks, Lance, for the time and effort of sharing a slice of Americana (and Railroading) that all of us on TO can enjoy.

Dave Johansen
Glen Ellyn, IL