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Joliet This image shows a Rock Island outbound commuter train clacking over the ATSF/GM&O tracks at Joliet, Illinois. This has always been a great spot for rail enthusiasts.
The wonderful station here is made from Indiana limestone, of which I'm a fan, growing up amongst the quarries of southern Indiana. The locomotive is an EMD E8A built for the Union Pacific in 1953.
Image by Richard Koenig; taken in 1976.
Lexington, Illinois
This is a northbound Amtrak State House in Lexington, Illinois. The line is the former Alton/GM&O between Chicago and St. Louis.
The locomotive here, number 498, an E8A, was formerly PC 4309 and PRR 5809 prior to that.
One image by Richard Koenig; taken May 22nd 1977.
Amtrak’s Inter-American
Not great photographs here, but the content makes it worthwhile to inspect and interpret what was versus what remains.
This is a southbound number 21, the Inter-American, crossing College Avenue in Normal, Illinois. This is the former Chicago & Alton, later Gulf, Mobile & Ohio. One may note the distinctive B&O signals here—a result of the C&A being controlled by that major railroad. It was Illinois Central Gulf at the time of these pictures, and is now of the Union Pacific (with another group owning the line in between these last two).
The train is approaching a spot in Normal that will host a passenger station (MP 124), but at this time trains stopped a bit further down the line in Bloomington itself. One will also note the the train will meet a northbound freight with an ICG unit on point. Illinois Central’s charter line cuts across the Alton near where that train can be seen. Looking at Google Maps today, it’s clear that this historical line of the IC no longer exists here (though it does in bits and pieces in other parts of the state). And looking at Google Street View, it’s difficult to recognize anything from these vintage views—other than the high-rise buildings, which I assume are connected to Illinois State University.
The train is being powered by three E-units—two are former Union Pacific E9s (built in 1955) while the middle unit is an E8 (built in 1953) of the RF&P. Two are in Phase II paint (so-called cigar-band), while one is in the original Phase I (bloody-nose) scheme. I didn’t realize this train, the Inter-American, went all the way to Laredo, Texas, and had connecting service with National Railways of Mexico. I’ll add a timetable page above (copyright Amtrak, by way of timetables.org).
Two images by Richard Koenig; taken November 21st 1976.
Which Rocket?
I put a question out to a knowledgeable group on Facebook—if it was approximately 6:00 PM when this image was made (based on the the sun nearly being down in early October), could we make a firm call on which Rocket this be?
Update: the FB group was quite firm with this train being the Peoria Rocket rather than the Quad Cities. One supplied an image showing the timetables for the two trains, which I’ll add above. The Rock Island was one of about four railroads that did NOT have their passenger trains folded into Amtrak in 1971.
The train, made up of two lonely coaches, is powered by an EMD E8A built in March of 1952. One image by Richard Koenig; taken October 9th 1977.
Panama Limited
Amtrak 436, of Illinois Central heritage, backs out of Chicago Union Station. It's not a very good image, but I was taken by the make-up of the consist: the E8A on point, followed by a P30CH and an SDP40F.
A few things tell us the name of the train: the former Illinois Central unit on point, the fact that it's backing out (also an IC trait), and the time of day (late afternoon).
One image by Richard Koenig; taken September 5th 1976.
A Mighty Fine Road
Some images taken at a Rock Island engine facility (most likely Joliet). E9A number 665 was built as UP 905 in 1956 (with an NW2 off to the side, built in 1949). E8A number 649 was built for the Rock in 1951. Three images by Richard Koenig; taken Sept 4, 1976.
Birmingham Action
Here are a couple of trains of the Southern Railway in Birmingham, Alabama. The first three images were taken east of downtown, the fourth while the Southern Crescent is making its station stop, and the last has the same train continuing on its way to New Orleans.
The freight is led by one of the most idiosyncratic units—an EMD GP30 with a high short hood. The passenger train is powered by a quartet of E8s; the legacy equipment following (at this time) is still heated by steam generators on these wonderful locomotives.
Five images by Richard Koenig; taken June 27th 1976.
La Salle Street Station
Here we see a commuter train in La Salle Street Station. The Rock Island locomotive in an EMD E8A built for the Union Pacific in 1953.
One image by Richard Koenig; taken September 20th 1975.
More from Harrisburg
Here are a couple of Es sitting at the station in Harrisburg. Since they’re pointing eastward, I imagine that they’ve come off the National Limited and will need turning before they head back toward the Midwest on return.
Number 447 is an ex-Pennsylvania E8A that was built in 1952. (Someone told me the hooks on the nose are a give-away to this fact, though I think at least one other road had them.) I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that E-units look darn good in Phase I.
Two photographs by Richard Koenig; taken March 20th 1977.
