IC Ferry over Ohio River between Evansville and Henderson

(Satellite)

Brian Wiggins posted two images with the comment: "The IC car ferry where the twin bridges now sit."

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When I studied the PD&E that connected the IC to Evansville, IN, I noticed that IC had a branch on the other side of the Ohio River. I wondered if they were connected. 

Bill Molony posted via Dennis DeBruler
From the March 30, 1969 timetable.

Thanks to Brian's map above, I now know they were connected first by ferry and then by trackage rights on L&N's bridge.

Brian's map also shows that the ferry was shared with traction lines in Indiana and Kentucky. They traction lines were still using the ferry in 1914.

1914/14 Henderson @ 48,000

1900 Aban/IC Bridge over Salt Creek near Clinton, IL

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Abandoned Illinois Railroad Bridges posted six photos with the comment: "Nestled into the Salt Creek valley, three miles south-east of Clinton, IL, this bridge stands as a silent relic of the Illinois Central Railroad's Havana District.  The main portion of the bridge is a 130' steel truss span that was constructed in 1900 to replace an older trestle pile bridge that had originally been built by the the line's predecessor (Champaign Havana & Western Railway).  The piles of that older wooden trestle can still be seen poking above the water's surface when the creek is low.  The west approach of this bridge is an impressive 256' trestle pile span that was built in 1910.  Maintenance on this division suffered serious neglect in the 1970s and 80s, and the line was finally abandoned officially in 1985, leaving this bridge as one of its most visible remains for the last 40 years."

Mike Sypult shared

Tom Biscan: Great photos! The Clinton to Champaign local took 8 hours just to make it in one direction in 1985! I know because I knew someone who worked that job. Crazy!

Dennis DeBruler: Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9BBNAqnc3vhai53P7

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Larry Candilas commented on the above post
1944 track chart

1957/58 Mora Quad @ 62,500

CN/IC Bridge over Wolf River in Memphis, TN

(no Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

The spans across the channel are obviously steel girders. I can't tell if the spans over the flood plain are concrete girders.

Street View, Feb 2022

WSOR/WICT/(WIWR+CWRC): Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois Overview

[WATCO has broken these links. Below is what they have in 2024.]

WATCO via WSOR

On their system map:

WATCO_system

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, financial difficulties forced the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad to abandon much of its trackage in southern Wisconsin, including lines from Prairie du Chien to Madison, Madison to Janesville, and Janesville to Fox Lake, Illinois. At the same time, the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad abandoned its line from Madison to Freeport, Illinois. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation formed the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission (WRRTC) in March 1980 in the interest of preserving rail service on these lines. Two short line operators, Wisconsin Western Railroad (WIWR) and the affiliated Central Wisconsin Railroad (CWRC), were contracted to operate on the Prairie du Chien-Madison and Madison-Freeport lines.

These two operators filed for bankruptcy in December 1984, leaving WRRTC to find another operator. The Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad (WICT) was formed on January 1, 1985. WICT would eventually operate all of the above-mentioned rail lines, as well as lines from Janesville to Waukesha, and Janesville to Monroe. In 1989, the first Wisconsin & Calumet trains ran from Janesville to Fox Lake on the route known during the MILW era as the "J-Line". Shortly thereafter, WICT reopened the line between Janesville and Madison; bringing rail service back to Milton, Edgerton, Stoughton and McFarland.

The Wisconsin & Calumet was purchased by the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad in 1992, but it continued to operate as a subsidiary until it was officially merged into the WSOR in 1997.

Most of the rail lines operated by the Wisconsin & Calumet remain in service today under the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, with the notable exception of the line from Madison to Freeport [the ICG segment], which was removed in 1999. The Badger State Trail currently occupies the old road bed.

[enacademic]

Zaky Joseph posted
Fledgling Wisconsin and Southern northbound freight train on the BRC, going underneath the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) and banging over the Santa Fe diamonds at Nerska. This train was always affectionately known as the "Little WICT" on the BRC, since Wisconsin and Southern took over operations from the old Wisconsin and Calumet Railway. Chicago, Illinois. Taken in August, 1998.

Looking at the map at the top, my 2005 SPV Map indicates the branch going northwest from Rondout is Metra+WSOR and the route going south of Rondout is Metra+CP+Amtrak+WSOR. The branch going north is CP+Amtrak. All of these segments used to be Milwaukee. At Tower A-5, WSOR uses another former-Milwaukee line to jog west over to BRC, which it takes south to Clearing Yard.

1887-1942 IC Dodgeville and Madison Branches

Larry Foht posted

There's been much said lately about the Illinois Central Dodgeville line.

Well there is a book that's out there of this historic line.

Please don't think I'm writing this to get you all to go out and buy it.

It was written because Rory Peterson and I felt we needed to preserve the history of this line that even his father Roy rode and took pictures of.

Well everyone there's copies in librarys and you could Google it or go to our publisher:

BLURB. Com

You can view this page by page if you choose.

Hay this is like a child to us and we're vary proud of it

We hope you all enjoy it !!

I first learned of the Dodgeville Branch when I studied an old grain mill in Scioto Mills, IL.

(Update: actually, I first learned about these branches in 2016, "(ICwest) Chicago, Madison & Northern and Freeport, Dodgeville & Northern;" but I had forgotten by 2024.)

Street View, Oct 2023 via Dennis DeBruler

The oldest 250,000 scale topo map that I could find was 1958, and this branch had already been abandoned. So I looked for an IC map. It was hard enough to find an IC map that was old enough and detailed enough to show this branch. But I did find this one.

1921 Map via Dennis DeBruler

The Dodgeville Branch goes to Dodgeville, WI. But it is hard to tell that the Dodgeville Branch Separates from the Madison branch at Red Oak, IL.

Digitally Zoomed and Resized

This topo map shows how the Dodgeville Branch branched off the Madison Branch which branched off IC's mainline to the West.

1939 Freeport Quad @ 62,500 via Dennis DeBruler

Some facilities along the Dodgeville branch that I have noted, ordered from Red Oak to Dodgeville:

• McConnell Depot
• Winslow Depot
• Bridge over Pecatonica River
• Argyle Depot
• Hollandale Depot
• Dodgeville Depot

Some facilities along the Madison branch that I have noted, ordered from Red Oak to Madison:

• Clarno Depot
• Monroe Depot
• Belleville Depot
• Basco Depot
• Fitchburg Depot
• Madison Depot

Trains on both branches pass by Scioto Mills and West Junction Tower on their way to the Wallace Yards on the west side of Freeport, IL.

Lost/IC Bridge over Pecatonica River and 1911 Flood near Martintown, WI and Depot

(Bridge Hunter broke Mar 22, 2023; Satellite)

This bridge was on the IC Dodgeville Branch that was abandoned in 1942.

Winslow Historical Society and Museum posted three photos with the comment: "Train bridge collapse in Martintown, WI.  These postcard pictures are from 1911 probably in the fall or late winter (as there are no leaves on the trees).  However, I do not have any detailed info on this situation.  I know there is info out there and maybe you can help."

Sharon Albright Moeller: From Bridgehunter dot com: Built 1868 at LaSalle, Illinois; Moved here (Green County) 1897; Damaged by flooding-caused abutment failure on February 19, 1911. 

Lost Linville variant Whipple through truss bridge over Pecatonica River on Illinois Central Railroad.

Destroyed by flooding

Dennis Bergman shared with the comment: "This bridge was near the Illinois/Wisconsin State Line. It was on the rail line from Freeport, Illinois to Dodgeville, Wisconsin."

Guy Devers: Abutments are still there.By the picture I would say a flood. The Pecatonica river is not normally that wide.

Dennis Bergman: Guy Devers Agree

Tim Howard: "This image was also printed on a postcard and was scanned from one sent from Martintown to Fresno County, CA by Fred Hastings to his first cousin Alie Spece. It portrays the wreck of the railroad trestle bridge, the abutment having been eroded by the 19 February 1911 flood of the Pecatonica River, causing the structure to collapse. The locomotive brakeman swam to a tree and was forced to wait there for half an hour before being rescued. The big white house in the background is not the Nathaniel Martin residence. It is the home of James and Rosie Van Matre and family, who in the early 20th Century had the property immediately to the west of the Martin parcel. (Minta, Ava, and Christie Van Matre, shown in the teens-on-the-river-ice photo above, were three of James and Rosie’s kids.) The building at the far left, in the water, is the Martin School. Locals considered the collapse quite a dramatic event. The bridge had been built in LaSalle, IL in 1868 and was moved to Martintown decades into its lifetime, and was not considered likely to give way as it did. It led to the photographer or his employer publishing for sale several different vantages of the scene. This one is number four in the sequence." https://davesmeds.malibulist.com/fam/martintown.htm

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Lalrry Candilas commented on Dennis' share
Around the same time - the young lady might be waiting for the bridge to get repaired.

Dave Smeds commented on the above post
I think I mentioned the date here a year or two ago. Yes, it was 19 Feb 1911. The train went into the water at seven in the morning. The brakeman was stuck in the wreck for half an hour -- mighty cold water! Attached is the post card send by my grandfather's brother-in-law Fred Hastings of Martintown and Cadiz Township to my grandpa's other brother-in-law Alfonso James Spece, who had moved away from Cadiz Township in 1908 and was in 1911 based in Fresno County, CA. (The post card is not postmarked because it was tucked into an outer envelope, but it was mailed the week of the wreck.) This pic is not the same as the one shown above, but is by the same photographer taken on the same day.

This IC route was abandoned by 1955, but it does show up on a 1923 topo map.

1923 South Wayne Quad @ 62,500

We can still see some different colors in the fields where the RoW was.

Satellite

This Dodgeville Branch of the IC was chartered as the Freeport, Dodgeville and Northern Railroad (FD&N). [Tim Julhall via Dennis DeBruler]

1928 CN/IC Edgewood Cutoff

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook posted
In late 1922 rumors began swirling the Illinois Central Railroad was planning to build a "cut off" line through southern Illinois and western Kentucky. This new line would divert some rail traffic away from Cairo, where the Ohio River bridge was not only taxed to its capacity (it was not uncommon for 50 trains a day to run across the single track bridge) but also was in constant need of repairs and upgrades to support heavier cars and locomotives.

The rumors were put to rest on Christmas Day, 1922, when IC President Charles Markham sent a telegram to the Commercial-Appeal newspaper in Memphis, confirming that the IC would build a 169 mile line between Fulton, KY, and Edgewood, IL. This new line would cross the Ohio River at Metroplis, IL, on the Paducah & Illinois Railroad bridge (the IC had bought a one-third interest in the P&I in mid-1922). The new line would be 22 miles shorter than the old line between Fulton and Edgewood, have fewer curves and hills, and was estimated to cost $25 million to build.

Construction could not begin until IC's plans were approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission. After two rounds of hearings the ICC gave its approval in March, 1924. IC also faced legal challenges from several towns along the old line that would be bypassed, but all of those legal challenges were eventually pushed aside. The Kentucky portion of the cutoff opened on April 4, 1927, and the Illinois segment opened on May 7, 1928.

Building the cutoff required a considerable amount of heavy machinery to move to excavate and haul mountains of dirt, rock, and debris. But as this photo illustrates, there was also plenty of work for more primitive tools, such as teams of MULES, seen here digging a drainage ditch next to the tracks. Although the MULES were decidedly low tech, they got the job done. MULE teams were also frequently used by contractors building the "new" Paducah shops, which opened in 1927.

Photographer, date, and location unknown. Cliff Downey collection.
Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook When the Edgewood Cutoff was built, there were no grade crossings. However, over the years several were added.
[Comments discuss the possible economic impact this cutoff had on Cairo and Evansville.]

Randy James posted
Phil Gosney Photo
The IC was extremely short of freight locomotives in 1969. Here is Train 50 a Memphis to Markham, IL fast overnight Intermodal train, also known as the "Fastback", seen at Johnston Yard in June, 1969. The unusual power was an E-8 and three F units from the Rio Grande. The latter units were being leased for the interim period from EMD Corporation. While the E units were fast handling a passenger train, they did not have a very long duration in freight service. After several months, and many blown traction motors, this train was replaced by new GP-40 locomotives. Also this train was routed via "the Passenger Main" via Central Station through Memphis and also ran via Cairo and Centralia, IL north to Chicago.

Richard Koenig posted
Edgewood Cutoff
One image by Richard Koenig
March 26th 1976
Adam Auxier That would have to be Tunnel 3, tunnel 1 is curved and tunnel 2 is too long.
Erik Coleman This is definitly Tunnel #3, looking south at a northbound. Here's a more contemporary shot from the other side (south portal): https://flic.kr/p/dt99Qr
Erik Coleman The first shot is certainly the Edgewood Cutoff, and that is Tunnel #3, about Mile 104 just east of the Kerley Cemetery, not far from Simpson, Illinois. Judging by the long tangent and the backlighting, this is looking south at a northbound coming through the north portal. I tried to drop a pin where the photographer probably is: https://goo.gl/maps/6eXMU9bfWn42

I had to find a map that was new enough to include the cutoff and old enough to include the original route up the middle of the state. And a map that had an appropriate scale to show the whole cutoff on a webpage. This 1928 IDOT map met my requirements. The original route uses the IC bridge at Cairo whereas the cutoff uses the bridge that it shared with CB&Q and NC&StL.

1928 IDOT Map

IC Branch and a Quarry in Hillside, IL

(Satellite)

Proviso West High School posted

A fantastic bird's eye of the old Hillside Quarry which was located at Mannheim Road and 290. This photo is from around 1980.

"Although farming was the major occupation in the 1850s, Marion Covell discovered a large deposit of limestone just a few feet below the surface of his property. The quarry that he began in 1854 continued to operate until the mid-1970s, supplying crushed stone for road-building throughout the Chicago region. Against the wishes of most village residents, the quarry was acquired by the John Sexton Company in 1979 and used as a sanitary landfill."

John Ryan: Is this now a landfill?
Proviso West High School: It was covered in 2008 per this Tribune article.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-04-13-0704120601-story.html
Proviso West High School shared
Hillside quarry
Stephen Belcher: In the summer of 1962, I was employed at what I remember as Consumers Concrete and Gravel that ran this facility. We did ready mix concrete and road gravel. I was in quality control to make sure the gravel met specifications and that the concrete had the proper mixture of air. At that time there was an expansion at O'Hare and our gravel was loaded from here and taken to form the basis of runways and taxiways.
And always liked that little bridge with train tracks which crossed the Congress there....and breakfast at the bowling alley....lol
Joe Newman: And, boy did that landfill STINK!
Thom Techman: Joe Newman It was Horrible, wasn’t it ? It didn’t matter if you kept your car windows closed, it still got in.
Ardens Acres: They use to sound a siren everyday before they set off dynamite
Jim Vondrak: I remember in the late 60's that on Fridays at around 3:00, the school would shake because they were blasting at the quarry.
[There are several more comments about the smell and the bangs. And a boy who died when he fell in while chasing rabbits under the fence in the late 1960s.]

3D Satellite

The Illinois Central had a branch that went North between the quarry and Mannheim Road. It joined the right-of-way of the CA&E Branch to continue north to connect with the Chicago Great Western Railway. In addition to this topo map, I used the 2005 SPV Map to confirm the route of this IC branch. I don't know the official name of the branch.

1953 Elmhurst and Hillside Quads @ 24,000

1927 Hinsdale and 1928 Elmhurst Quads @ 24,000 via Dennis DeBruler

CTA Westchester Branch and CA&E Cemetery Branch

Roosevelt Station: (Satellite, the land is now occupied by a Shell station. Note the IC overpass bridge still exists.)

William Shapotkin posted

Hard to believe that there was once 'L' service to Westchester! This is a view of a W/B trn arriving at the Roosevelt station. As difficult as it might be to believe, the IC (now CN) bridge over the one-time ROW still stands today! This location looks north from Roosevelt Rd from a point west of Westchester Blvd.

Service on the WESTCHESTER 'L' ended in December 1951. Transit service was then assumed (by bus) on CTA Rt #17 -- WESTCHESTER and is today provided by PACE Rt #317 -- WESTCHESTER. While service today does operate seven-days-a-week, it does NOT operate twenty-four-hours-a-day and (with the exception of rush hours), seldom better than once and hour.

From the Craig Pfannkuche Collection. Posted with Permission.

Brian A Morgan: The locals call Westchester deadchester. Because there are more dead people in the Cemeteries than live people in Westchester.
William Shapotkin: Brian A Morgan Have heard the same said about Forest Park...
Robert Haugland: River Grove was called River Grave for the same reason.
Brian A Morgan: William Shapotkin. The whole reason why the Westchester line was in operation was for the onetime funeral service on both the Elevated and the Roarin Elgin.

William Shapotkin: Brian A Morgan Have heard that before -- but to-date have seen no documentation (i.e.: photos) of funeral trains operating on this line. They did operate on the CA&E mainline (serving Forest Park especially) and on the Mt Carmel Branch (even have pix of same at Mt Carmel). The real reason that this line was built was so that developers could sell lots in Westchester and the never-built CA&E line extended westerly from (what is today) Cermak/Mannhiem to Warrenville. For a detailed history, see

 https://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/westchester.html

Dennis DeBruler commented on William's comment
Your comment clarified for me what was happening on this 1920s map. The Westchester service used the eastern branch. The funeral trains used the western branch.
1927 Hinsdale and 1928 Elmhurst Quads @ 24,000
The next topo available is 1953, and this branch shows up as just a grade.

William Shapotkin commented on Dennis' comment
Here is a detailed track map, should be of even more help --

This map provides context for the two branches.

Brian Morgan posted via Dennis DeBruler - CA&E

And this is how the branch related to the CTA. (North is to the right.)

1938 Map from chicago-l; LoopChicago has a similar map; via Dennis DeBruler-L, cropped

This is another example of high-tension wires marking the right-of-way of an interurban line.

Street View, Aug 2022

When I zoomed out, I noticed you could see the location of the former Westchester Branch a little west of Bellwood Ave & Westchester Blvd. The RoW is the reason Marshall Ave. is not part of the street grid. There is a church and green space south of I-290. And there are larger homes south of Roosevelt and another park where it curved west to the Cermak station.

Satellite

We can see where the Cemetery Branch curved west because of the IC overpass and because of the odd shaped boundary lines.

Satellite

And this tree line is another indicator of the route.

Satellite

1910-1944 Inundated/IC Bridge over Cumberland River at Grand Rivers, KY

(Bridge Hunter; Satellite, it has been inundated by water. See the topo maps below.)

Photo via BridgeHunter, Public Domain: Published Prior to 1923

John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library Flickr

The river must have been high when John rode over it because the flood plain under the trestle is inundated.

John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library Flickr

These two topo map excerpts cover the same area. It is disconcerting that this 1955 map is a decade after the Barkley Dam was built and yet it doesn't show up on this map.

1955 Grand Rivers Quad @ 24,000

At least it does show up in the next map. The 350 contour in the water shows the embankment for this bridge.

1967 Grand Rivers Quad @ 24,000

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook added four photos to the album "Illinois Central Cumberland River drawbridge hit by barge 1950."

On Jan. 12, 1950, a towboat heading downstream with two barges loaded with steel smacked into IC's drawbridge across the Cumberland River at Eureka, KY (yes, Eureka was the actual name for this station. Apparently at one time there was a small settlement here. It died out in the late 1800s but the name remained).

The barge collided with the fixed span next to the draw span. The north end of the fixed span (by timetable direction) was knocked 9 1/2 feet sideways on its supporting pier. Since the drawspan was in the closed position and was locked with the adjacent span, the drawspan was also jerked around.

Several days were required to fix the bridge spans plus fix the interlocking mechanisms that locked the drawspan. This drawbridge was replaced in 1965 when IC's tracks were rerouted across Barkley Dam. Afterwards the bridge was cut apart for scrap.

Photos from Cliff Downey collection. 

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Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook posted
This photograph shows how the drawspan was knocked open by the force of the collision with a runaway towboat pushing two barges loaded with steel. The towboat and barges were coming downstream (left to right in this photo) and got carried away in the high water. The bridge actually hit the fixed span on the other side of the drawspan. When the end of the fixed span was knocked 9 1/2" to the side, it pulled the drawspan around, also. During normal river levels the pier supporting the drawspan was virtually right on the river bank. Cliff Downey collection.
Paul Jevert shared
I.C.R.R. Cumberland River bridge Jan. 12, 1950

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