Nostalgia & History > Sunset at the old Aurora, Illinois Commuter Station, Dec. 1984

This was the end of the commuter zone for decades. It was downtown, with no parking, and poor access. Everything except for three or four tracks are gone. The railroad from Chicago still splits here to go to Savanna and Galesburg.

The commuter facility was moved in the mid-1980 to a large location north and east but still within the city.

Aurora is now the second most populous city in Illinois.

Roger Puta took these seven photos in December 1984. They are presented in the order he took them.

The depot/office building in the first photo was torn down in April 2013. I was in the upstairs CB&Q offices a couple of times but did not pay attention to what was happening there.


Enjoy,
Marty Bernard



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/17 23:04 by MartyBernard.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/17 22:59 by MartyBernard.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/17 23:00 by MartyBernard.

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Excellent!!! Remember being forced assigned to work the Dinky's as a fireman and as a young kid sleeping in back of pickup truck in the "employee" parking lot, for what that was worth. Circa 1979 thru 1981.. Keep them coming Marty!!
PWM

MartyBernard Wrote:
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>
> Aurora is now the second most populous city in
> Illinois.

That is a surprise to me, I never would have guessed!

>I was in the upstairs
> CB&Q offices a couple of times but did not pay
> attention to what was happening there.

As I recall, the upstairs offices in the late 1970s housed division engineering (including a drafting room), maintenance of way offices (such as roadmasters), and transportation offices. The Division Superintendent may have also had an office there, but if I remember correctly, his main office was in House 9 in Cicero where dispatchers and a legion of administrative and clerical people were also employed.

Neat photos of an old depot I wondered about, but never got a chance to see.

My mom grew up in Aurora, and after she came back from college at Duke in the 1940s, she commuted from Aurora to Chicago to a job at Time Life.

After she and my aunt had moved to California by the mid-1950s, my grandparents boarded the California Zephyr there to visit their daughters in the Bay Area.

Thanks for posting the photos.

I worked in the Aurora ticket office for a while in 1960. I loved the constant goings on with the trains, especially the Zephyrs and the "Northerns" that kept us so busy. Phone was constantly ringing and I was one of 2 information clerks. Eventually I got to sell tickets. The old timers called me the "eager beaver" since I was in railfan heaven.

Being young I couldn't understand why the men's bathroom was so busy at night. The older clerks told me about the birds and bees in the bathrooms. It never bothered them, they just accepted it as a fact of life.

I was working on #4 passing Aurora they day they were tearing it down. I just happened to glance out as they punched through the roof exposing the waiting room. That brief moment brought back many memories.

Amsnoop