Railroad Property Trespassing Forbidden Under Penalty of Law.
Monon baggage cart.
Private Property Trespassing Forbidden Under Penalty of Law.
Stop Tank Car Connected.
Dwarf switch signal.
An approach signal and Milepost C 138.
Switch stand.
Museum scene.
Elkhart station lamp post.
St. Louis 201 milepost.
Railroad Crossing Look Out For The Locomotive.
Whistlepost.
Baltimore and Ohio position light signal.
Switch signal.
These are the grounds of the C.C.C. & St.L. R-y. Co.
No Right Turn.
Yard Limit.
A crossbuck.
Terra Haute station lamp post.
A Stop When Swinging wig wag crossing signal.
Museum scene.
Semaphore signal.
Caution Do Not Walk nor Trespass on the Railroad.
Wallingford station lamp post.
Museum scenes.
Semaphore signal.
Monon 50 flat car 7003 built by Pullman-Standard in 1941.
Museum scenes.
Water tower.
Crane display.
Narrow gauge side dump cars.
Museum scene.
Semaphore signal 933.1.
Museum scenes.
Museum scenes. Now for a brief look inside this museum.
They have an excellent collection.
One last look at the Monon Connection Museum.
Onward to Kankakee and Dave's House.From Monon we drove straight to Kankakee, Illinois.
The Kankakee Illinois Central station built in 1898 to replace the original 1853 wood structure. The depot became dilapidated in the 1970's and 1980's, leading to the city's purchase of the building from the Illinois Central in 1990. After unsuccessful attempts to open restaurants in the depot, the city completed a full restoration in 1998. Private donations and $750,000 in city funds were used to restore the depot and the project cost $1,000,000. The station was restored to its original grandeur and now stands as a symbol of the city's revitalization.
Care was taken to ensure the historic feel of the building would be preserved. On the second story, the original frosted glass windows inscribed with the names of former railroad officials remain. The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Amtrak, city offices and the Kankakee Railroad Museum are all located in the depot. Opened in 1999, the museum features model railroad displays, a beautifully-restored 1947 Pullman coach, railroad memorabilia and a scale model representing the city of Kankakee in the 1950s. The plaza surrounding the depot has been transformed as well. A fountain was added in 2006, followed by Clock Tower Park in 2007. Today, many concerts and events take place here. Kankakee is a flag stop on the route of the City of New Orleans route and it is also served by the Illini and Saluki.
North Kankakee Electric Light and Railway Company trolley 114 built by McGuire-Cummings in 1916. The company sold the extra electricity to the City of Bradley and was organized in 1892. This trolley ran in Kankakee from 1916 until 1932 when it was replaced with buses. It ran a north-south route from Merchant Street in Kankakee, to Olivet University (former St. Viator's College) in Bourbonnais. There was a separate trolley company that ran the east-west routes in Kankakee. We have been working on its restoration for four years, and about one year of this time was spent building the trolley barn to protect it from the weather. It is 95 percent wood and it was used as a motel during the World's Fair in Chicago 1933-1934. It was later used as a carpenter's workshop and finally just for storage.
Union Pacific caboose 25673, built as 903014 by International Car in 1967. It was converted to Roadway service in 1994 then stored at Laramie, Wyoming, moved to Cheyenne and sold in 2004 to the Kankakee Railroad Museum.
Santa Fe 44 seat coach 2895 built by Pullman-Standard in 1947 lettered "The City of Kankakee".
Signal.
Canadian National 5786 South came through Kankakee. Down the tracks was a local getting ready to go back to work.
The Canadian National Kankakee Local.
Grand Trunk Western GP38 4928, ex. Grand Trunk Western 5728 exx. Helm Leasing 2018, exx. Missouri Pacific 2018, nee Missouri Pacific 867 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1972.
Canadian National GP40-2LW 9543 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1975. From here Dave and I tried to find the local crew, had no luck but stumbled onto another train because we did this.
Norfolk Southern 9784 West passed through Kankakee. From here we drove back to Dave's house in Streamwood. I would like to thank Dave for such a great trip.
| RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE |