Western Railroad Discussion > A few for Signal Sunday

I attended a funeral in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Friday and used the trip as an excuse to document a few more of the former Santa Fe's still-standing signal bridges and cantilevers in western Illinois. First stop on Thursday was Stronghurst, where cantilevers guard both the east and west ends. First shot is the east end and the second shot is the west end. Third shot is on Friday morning with rain clouds looming from the pedestrian overpasss at Fort Madison. Next up will be Lomax and Ormonde back in Illinois.

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After the funeral on Friday, I made my way back toward the Santa Fe mainline at Lomax. Despite plenty of rain during the morning, it had stopped by the time I got to Burlington and about 30 minutes after reaching Lomax, the skies cleared and let the sun shine through. First 2 shots are West Lomax, then one from East Lomax. The signal on the mast at the left is for the former TP&W connection track.

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My final stop before heading back to Indiana, was Ormonde, where a pair of signal bridges guard the crossovers there. Not sure what was going on there but an eastbound was stopped in the distance to the west of the west bridge. Couldn't tell if this train was dead or disabled in some way, but eastbounds were running around it on Main 1 and crossing back over to Main 2 at Ormonde. A westbound pulled up just after I arrived and had to wait for two eatbounds before proceding. The crew reminded the dispatcher that they only had an hour left. First shot is one of the eastbounds at East Ormonde. If that train looks familiar, it's because it was the final train I shot at East Lomax before leaving there. I was surprised I was able to beat it to Ormonde by as much as I did. Final shot is of the westbound hustling past West Ormonde after the second eastbound cleared.

Hope you enjoyed the shots. I really like these old signals from the Santa Fe era that still survive. At this point, their demise isn't immiment, but it probably isn't too far off.

Kim Heusel



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/16 19:52 by KimHeusel.

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I LIKE Pic 3!!!

The signal bridges in the last 2 photos are relatively modern and look solid--why tear them down?! Just put the new signals up there, and save some money in the process!

coach Wrote:
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> The signal bridges in the last 2 photos are
> relatively modern and look solid--why tear them
> down?! Just put the new signals up there, and
> save some money in the process!
All good points, but I based my comments on what I have seen and what others have posted here on TO. In Missouri, many of these same types of signals still stand but with new signals standing next to them ready to be cut in. My thinking is that once these new signals are cut in, crews may start to move into Illinois to start the replacement process.

Great work Kim
#3 is my favorite
Bryan

Very nice pictures! Does anyone have any idea how old the cantilevered signals are?

There's one I drive by going to and coming from in south Wichita on the Ark City Sub at E E Connell close to the Spirit Aerosystems plant. Pretty sure it's days are numbered which will be sad as it feels like an old friend. See picture courtesy of Google Maps.

Regards,
Bill Thompson
Derby, Kansas

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