#tuscolail

Surprise on the C&EI

This was an interesting sight: a northbound (TOFC) train with Southern Railway power on the former Chicago & Eastern Illinois (Mopac by this time). We're in central Illinois, not far from Tuscola.

Perhaps this run-through arrangement was a way for the Southern to make it to Chicago—they really should have snapped up the Monon prior to the L&N getting that road in 1971.

That lead unit, as SD35, was built for the Central of Georgia in 1966. It's interesting to note that the Southern purchased all their locomotives with high-short-hoods and tended to run long-hood forward, but not always. I always loved this idiosyncrasy with the Southern Railway as well as the Norfolk & Western.

Westbound Local

The spot of this photograph is two miles west of Tuscola, Illinois. I don't know if there could be a flatter place on earth.

A westbound CSX local is working the former B&O line that runs over to Decatur. In the distance one can see the huge ADM plant adjacent to the former C&EI and Illinois Central (UP and CN by this time).

The MoPac at Tuscola

To follow up on the previous two posts—another couple of train movements in Tuscola, Illinois, taken the same day.

Here we see both southbound and northbound trains, taken some time apart. The trains are on the former C&EI and are approaching the crossing with the Illinois Central and the B&O at TY Tower. The Union Pacific would get this line just five years later.

Tuscola Trio

These three images were made in Tuscola, Illinois. This is where the Illinois Central, the Missouri Pacific (former C&EI), and the B&O all converged on a single spot to form a triple crossing.

First, an Illinois Central local, with 8010 on point, moves southward by the ancient tower (controlled by the IC, the oldest road here). Next we see a Chicago-bound MoPac train with 3214 leading the way. And lastly we have B&O GP30 6963 on the point of a westbound freight rattling over the complicated diamond.

TY Tower

Here’s a northbound freight on the Illinois Central main line. We’re in Tuscola and the photographer is looking westward on the B&O while the sunlight of late fall reveals every detail of TY tower. In addition to the IC and B&O, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois (C&EI) crosses at the same spot, in a diagonal fashion.

Southbound at TY

A southbound freight on the Illinois Central mainline rolls through Tuscola, Illinois. The IC crossed both the B&O and MoPac (C&EI) at this spot; the tower is just behind the photographer.

Triple Crossing

These images come from an intriguing spot if one is a rail enthusiast: the triple crossing at Tuscola, Illinois.

This is where the Illinois Central double track ran in a north-south direction; the B&O crossed moving east-west, and the C&EI (later MoPac) cut across at an angle to the previous two lines.

The first image shows an overview of the track layout as seen from the highway overpass nearby—the old track arrangement is still in play here, but preparations are being made for the simplified alignment soon to come. This will merge the B&O and C&EI prior to crossing IC, thus having fewer diamonds to maintain.

The latter two images show a southbound train of the IC: I shot the first still from the highway overpass while the second image was taken from track level, standing on the B&O. These were taken in the so-called death-star era, of which I have very few images.

MoPac at TY

The interesting triple crossing at Tuscola, Illinois, with a northbound MoPac rolling through. This line was previously the Chicago & Eastern Illinois (C&EI), it crossed with the Illinois Central and the Baltimore & Ohio; the tower was referred to as "TY" and was razed at some stage, perhaps in the mid- to late-1990s.