Steam & Excursion > Coal Loads Rolling Into Centralia

It's November, 1956, and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 2-10-4 Colorado type #6312 is rolling into Centralia, Illinois, with a train of coal loads from the southern Illinois mines.  The train is running on joint "Q" and Southern Railway trackage, having already crossed the Illinois Central's double-track mainline.  In this scene the locomotive is crossing the Missouri-Illinois diamond, with the M-I rails heading southwest out of town to the right.

Many mine runs were based out of the yard at Herrin Junction in Williamson County.  These mine runs were assigned to O1a Mikados (including future fantripper 4960) through the end of steam.  The M4a Colorados were common power on the turns that to empties down to Herrin and returned with loads.

Steam would remain into 1958.

This photo was taken by Mike Haper of St. Louis, who was but a young lad when he took this photo.  He later lamented how his early camera scratched the negatives as the film was pulled through the camera.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/21 14:36 by MaryMcPherson.

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MaryMcPherson Wrote:
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> Steam would remain into 1958.

Thanks for this fine photo,

Not to be picky, but Lloyd Stagner, in National Railway Bulletin Volume 56, Number 4, 1991, page 15, gives the date of January 27, 1959, as the end of CB&Q steam in Centralia, with four 2-8-2's and two 2-10-4's.  Burlington Route steam also survived into 1959 on the Colorado and Southern and Ft. Worth and Denver..

That is a great photo. Forgot about there being a building at the control point for this interlocker. Most of the images I've seen involving the Mike and Ike (M-I) through Centralia showed gates and turnouts instead of diamonds and (towers). Do you remember what the interlocker code letters were?
Also a good angle catching the Hollywood candy water tower just above the tender. Anybody like Paydays, Zeros, Zagnut, Butternut, or Milkshake candy bars? They were made in the building hidden behind the steam locomotive.
What is amazing about this line is that coal still travels between Beardstown, Illinois and Paducah, Kentucky. The loads just go the opposite direction.

What a good image to reflect back on.