Eastern Railroad Discussion > Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern chase

One of the catches on my way back from the IRM event was a KBS grain train headed south. Started a little south of Iroquios Junction, Illinois and followed it as far as Fowler, Indiana. The morning was slightly overcast which got thicker as I ventured south, so gave up the chase after Fowler. There were 2 units up front and 2 on the rear of the train. Here are a few from the chase, the first two in Sheldon, Illinois and one from Earl Park, Indiana. In shot one the train is crossing the TP&W :

Roger Durfee
Akron, OH



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/19 09:54 by EL833.

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Three from the Fowler, Indiana area

Roger Durfee
Akron, OH

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Cool, been a while since we've seen much post Alco days but nice to see that they seem to be
doing well.

Out

Nice shots Roger - thanks for posting!

KB&S is still a pretty neat railroad with some great power, and is very worthy of burning pixels on.  But alas, what used to be...  Not sure if I ever saw them live - the only time would have been when I was a kid travelling with my father Steve and my two brothers (and possibly you!).  My brother Steve was there as an adult at least once during the Alco days and took some great pre-digital photos.  I'm sure you have plenty from back in the day - care to share any with the TO faithful?

Regards, 

Rob Benkovitz

Well done. Considering I was last there in the 1970's, things certainly have changed.
Bob

Great series Roger!

Does the KB&S run on any set schedule? How often do they run trains? I need to get out there and see them one of these days.
   -Caleb

Very nice..!!

I only caught the KB&S once in their Alco days. I think I had been up at Rochelle and was just passing through when I noticed their power at Iroquois Jct. Illinois back in July 1994.

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Digging through my archives it appears that I went by there in August 2003. Here are three more in the Alco days. As I recall I asked permission to photograph their equipment and was told just be careful. 

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mtzctrain Wrote:
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> Does the KB&S run on any set schedule? How often
> do they run trains? I need to get out there and
> see them one of these days.

KBS rarely operates on weekends. They do not operate on a set schedule.  On any given weekday, they can run to Lafayette or Danville or (less often) to Kankakee.  To find out where and when they are operating, your best bet is to phone them (number is on their website).  In years past, they had a secretary who "understood" railfans and would tell you the where and when.  Don't know if she's still there but KBS is generally friendly and someone there should be willing to help you.

For photos of all KBS Alcos, go here: http://www.illinirail.com/kbsr/roster.htm and click on the camera icons on the left.

Thank you for image #4, taken on the US 41 overpass looking northwest towards Earl Park. I hadn't seen an image from that angle since Jerry Taylor included a similar vantage point in his book, "A sampling of Penn Central". At that time, the carrier was using the "Chicago West" line (Indianapolis to Sheff) for detour freights, while a work maintenance window was occurring on another portion of the Division. Thank you for sparking the memory.

No photos handy, but NKP steamer 765 did some short shuttle trips on the KB&S in May or June 1980. 

Never enough of the Beaverville!!