Western Railroad Discussion > A Couple Weeks Ago in Galesburg

A couple weeks ago I ended up in Galesburg Illinois for several hours in a mission to collect some Amtrak miles as described on my thread on the Passenger Board.

Don't be a Defeatist, Be a Completist! Mile Collecting That Is!

In planning I noted that the Galesburg Transit East route went by Peck Park which is where the Santa Fe goes under the former Chicago Burlington and Quincy. I would have an hour in between buses there and saw three or four trains. The nice part was there was a railfan and his wife from Peoria to talk to. There was another couple from Champaign but they stayed in their car. The park itself is nice enough, there are pick-nick tables under a roof. As can be seen in the pictures the trees block the full view of the Santa Fe but the former Burlington is quite visible. I rode the bus back to the train station and walked to get some iced teas then to look at the Santa Fe closer to downtown. I missed one train while walking on Chambers then right when I got close another came through. If on foot the area between Chambers and Prairie is not pedestrian friendly if you want to stay near the tracks. You are better to go a block on either direction as the approaches for the bridge across the Santa Fe for Seminary Street have no pedestrian underpasses or anything. 
1) Coal on the CB&Q. 
2) Stack on the former ATSF. 
3) Run and shoot! The view from the other side of this crossing would be great but safety first!  

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After negotiating my way west from Seminary I attempted to figure out where the Santa Fe depot would have been but could not. I also hoped to get a better picture of something in Galesburg than picture 3. Just when I was ready to walk back to the Amtrak I saw the headlight! From there I walked back to the Amtrak station with ample time to catch the train back to my car in Ft Madison. Galesburg looks like with more time it could easily be railfanned by bus and on foot.
4) Stack coming under Seminary Street, I was shooting from Prairie Street.
5) Looking down Main Street from Seminary Street. The Galesburg Transit buses line up one block from this intersection so you can see the trains from a distance on both the former Burlington as seen here and on the former Santa Fe while waiting on the buses. 
6) A closer look at that SD 40-2.

Thank You for Looking!

Jim

Edit: Had wrong street name on caption



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/20 12:44 by tq-07fan.

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I've only been to Peck Park during the Railroad Days in June. It's a great place to bring a lawn chair and sit under one of the trees that you see in your picture. Another place to go in Galesburg is the Rt10 overpass at the BNSF yard. It is supposedly the longest bridge in Illinois that doesn't cross water. (at least that's what our guide at a RR Days tour told us) It was built wider to accommodate parked cars to view the action in the yard.

The Santa Fe depot was at Broad St

https://goo.gl/maps/3GhjLKdKVHdsAKfA6



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/20 13:17 by Spoony81.

Spoony81 I forgot about going across that bridge the next day with the car! I wasn't sure if we were allowed to park on it but my battery was seriously low so it gives me a reason to come back I guess.
7) July 24 2020 looking north.

Jim

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tq-07fan Wrote:
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> Spoony81 I forgot about going across that bridge
> the next day with the car! I wasn't sure if we
> were allowed to park on it but my battery was
> seriously low so it gives me a reason to come back
> I guess.
> 7) July 24 2020 looking north.
>
> Jim

Yep, you can park on the bridge shoulder and walk around