Elizabeth and I slept in this morning at the Quality Inn in Charleston, Missouri. We checked out and drove down to try and find the station here on this cool, wet morning.
The remains of the Missouri Pacific Charleston station built in 1917. There had been plans in the early 1970s to rehabilitate the unused depot and convert it to a museum but those plans were not carried through to completion.
I then drove us to Cape Girardeau where first we went to Cracker Barrel and later learnt it was an hour and thirty minute wait. So we decided to go to International House of Pancakes where we waited fifteen minutes. This was because of Mother's Day and lack of staffing. I had a waffle and Elizabeth had French Toast with strawberries and bananas. Afterwards, I drove us to Arena Park for the first steam engine of the day.
Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company 0-4-0T built by H.K. Porter in 1923. The Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company was headquartered in Chicago, with plants in many states throughout the Midwest during the 1900s. The Cape Girardeau Plant was built in 1909 as the Cape Girardeau Portland Cement Company and was acquired by Marquette in 1923. Clay was quarried by steam shovel at pits about two miles south of the plant and hauled to the plant by this steam engine.
This engine is known as Hoppy. It was a five minute drive to Capaha Park for the next engine.
Hawkeye Portland Cement Company 0-4-0T 1 built by Davenport in 1930. In 1941, it was sold to the Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company, to work at the company's plant in Cape Girardeau, hauling clay quarried at pits about two miles south of the plant.
This engine is known as Dinky. It was now time to leave Cape Girardeau and head into Illinois.
The bridge over the Mississippi River as we made our way to Ullin.
Illinois Central Gulf caboose 199351 built by the railroad in 1972, on display at Ullin.
The Illinois Central station built in 1897. From here we went to Vienna.
A replica of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway station in Vienna which is the trailhead and offices for the Tunnel Hill State Trail
This is the station from Forman, Illinois which was built about 1900 by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and was at the junction of that railroad's track and that of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway.
Vienna is the bicycle capital of Illinois and this over-sized penny farthing bicycle is impressive. Elizabeth continued to guide us to our next destination in Stonefort.
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway station in Stonefort built in 1890. I put petrol in the car in Harrisburgh.
The little giant of Little Giant Grocery Outlet, a chain in these parts.
The bridge abutments of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, otherwise known as the Big Four, in Carmi on the way to Grayville.
Illinois Central caboose 9945, built by the railroad in 1950, on display beside the station in Grayville.
The Peoria, Decatur and Evansville (later Illinois Central) station in Grayville built in 1882.
A view of the Wabash River on the way to Griffin, Indiana.
Entering Indiana.
The Illinois Central Griffin depot built in 1925. We headed south to our next destination.
The Peoria, Decatur and Evansville New Harmony station built in 1881. From here we switched it up and started toward our first covered bridge of the trip.
Wildflowers on the way to the bridge.
The Old Red Covered Bridge built in 1875.
Big Bayou Creek runs under The Old Red Covered Bridge. Warning - if you drive to this bridge you will be driving on an unpaved gravel road so be careful.
My lovely wife Elizabeth and the Old Red Covered Bridge. From here I negotiated some more gravel roads to get us to our next stop at Johnson.
Wildflowers on the way to Johnson.
The remains of the Big Four Railroad into Johnson.
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway station in Johnson, built in 1910 and looking rather neglected. We then made our way to Chandler.
The Evansville, Suburban & Newburgh Railway interurban station in Chandler built 1915. The two of us then headed to our next station in Newburgh.
The Ohio River at Newburgh.
The Evansville, Suburban & Newburgh station in Newburgh, built in 1912. The railway was opened as a steam road in 1889 to ship coal from Evansville to Newburgh. In 1904, the management began to electrify it and small steam dummies used on freight were replaced by Moguls for hauling coal. The less-than-car-load freight was handled by a box motor. Passenger service ended in 1930 and freight hauling on the Bonneville branch ended in 1947. An ES&N box motor and a former Evansville & Ohio Valley steeple cab, remained in service until 1956 as Cook Transit Company worked the brewery in Evansville.
The plaque on the station.
A historical marker about Newburgh's capture. From here we drove into Evansville to the Evansville Museum Transportation Center.
Louisville and Nashville caboose 132.
Louisville and Nashville diner 2718 "Burnt Tavern" built by American Car and Foundry in 1926.
Louisville and Nashville lounge car 3052 "Tennessee Club" built by Pullman as ten-section observation car "Mt. Leidy" in 1926 then sold to Louisville and Nashville and rebuilt into a tavern-lounge.
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific 0-6-0 1416 built by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway in 1908 then became Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company 1207 in a 1927 corporate sale. It was re-numered 1416 in 1943 and sold in 1952 to Wabash Sand & Gravel, Incorporated 1416 at Terre Haute, Indiana, then in 1966, sold to the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science.
Museum scene. I drove us out to the Quality Inn where we checked in for the night. We went to dinner at Subway since neither of us were terribly hungry. Upon our return, the Internet was not working so we called called Allbridge, the Internet provider. They rebooted the system but it still did not work, so we used Elizabeth's hotspot on her phone then wrote the story and checked our regular websites before relaxing and calling it a night.
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