Western Railroad Discussion > Summer night in Streator

Have you ever seen seen a railfan photograph from a certain city or town that makes you sit right up and take notice. And you think to yourself: “I’d love to visit that place some day.” I dare say we all have at one time or another. The location in question could be from a website, or some railfan publication or even from a set of slides you purchased eons ago…

Streator, IL is one of those places for me. I remember purchasing a copy slide from a now forgotten source showing a westbound Santa Fe passenger train during its station stop at Streator. With the head end leaning slightly in on the curved track adding to the usual platform activity I just thought it was a great place to shoot trains. Returning from my recent trip to Summerail in Ohio I made sure to stop in Streator. I’d been through the town at least a dozen times or so in past years, but always while riding on flanged steel wheels. It didn’t matter that my visit would be at night. That’s what they make tripods for. And I didn’t even care that BNSF had a storage container partially blocking my view of the old Santa Fe depot. I stood and took this 20 second time exposure on the very same platform I had seen SFe varnish occupying in that image from half a century ago. But I now had some added attractions. I could now hear those wheels singing on those steel rails. And when the passing FRED was gone I could hear a couple of crickets, plus the muffled sounds of a small city retiring on this summer night…

1. Looking north (TT east) on the former Amtrak passenger platform at Streator, IL. It’s 10:16 PM on a warm August 14, 2017.

Thanks for waiting up!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/17 10:12 by santafe199.

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Very creative Lance and as always, I love the background story.

BB

Streator is such a cool place.

Uncle John should have merged with Conrail.

MOAR

Posted from iPhone

Really well done Lance!

Gary