Here are some photos of the old Meredosia station.
The old Wabash line extended from Bluffs, IL to Meredosia, crossed the Illinois River and traveled up to Keokuk, IA crossing the old Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad near Camp Point, IL.
Hannibal Scratchbuilt Bridge Project
In other news, I would like to work on the HO scale scratchbuilt replica of the Hannibal, Missouri Railroad bridge. My wife's Grandpa (the one that I mentioned is terminally ill) worked as a bridge painter and painted that bridge back in the Norfolk & Western Railway days. I had the bridge installed up along the ceiling of his old farm house. When they moved to town, the tore down the layout and it had been in storage for a couple of years. I brought it home over the summer and now more than ever want to get it repaired and back up on display. I have found a site for a static display in the house, but want to see if it is possible to construct an around the room shelf layout for continuous running. I need to survey the room to see if it is possible.
Found your site. I model the Rock Island from Peru to Utica in n scale.
ReplyDeleteDave L
What stage is your layout in? Construction? Operating? I would be interested to hear more as operations on my layout change as I learn more about the area.
DeleteI am modeling the Rock Island 1960's from the CB&Q crossing west of Peru to the sand plant in Utica, n scale. I interchange with the CB&Q and Illinois Central at LaSalle. The IC interchange runs up the bluff to an active IC yard. I used Atlas signals at the CB&Q crossing. I was wondering what kind of signals you are using. Also your Putnam St crossing reminds me of the Plain St crossing just east of the Peru power plant. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Dave! Always great to hear from fellow RI modelers. Do you have a website/blog for your layout? I would be interested in seeing more. If I had more room, I would try to fit in more features like the IC crossing, but I chose to model as much of the sand operations as possible.
DeleteThanks for the compliments on the layout. For signals, I use Richard at Custom Signal Systems. He is top notch and great to work with. http://www.customsignalsystems.com/
I have a U shaped Rock Island layout in one stall of my garage. Operation has been limited to running trains and switching industries. I have a cab control system with two cabs. I am able to switch one cab to DCC. The mainlines run into serial staging. Scenery is limited. I am currently working in the area of the station at LaSalle. I'm building a model of Uranich Coal on the CB&Q and have some station mock-ups. The Rock Island and CB&Q stations are within a city block of each other. They interchange right near the stations. I was trying to attach a picture of the Plain St crossing in Peru. Maybe next time.
ReplyDeletePretty cool! I explored this area for the first time this past summer with my family while visiting up in IL. What other industries do you plan on modeling? You mentioned the sand plant at Utica. Are you modeling PQ as well?
DeleteRock Island Railroad LaSalle-Peru
ReplyDeleteI have the spur in for the Alpha cement plant at LaSalle. They shipped a number of cars of cement. Both the IC and RI served the plant delivering coal and shipping cement in covered hoppers. I haven't done anything for the Westclox plant in Peru but they also received coal, materials, and shipped boxcar loads of clocks, fuses, etc. On the south side of the Peru yard was a Foster Grant later Huntsman Chemical plant. On the Rock Island, Foster Grant shipped hopper cars of plastic pellets. Plastic pellets continued to go out on the Burlington after the Rock folded. I have a spur in for Maze Coal and Lumber and the Peru power plant. Maze was right on the west side of Plain St. How do I put a photo in? You could probably squeeze in the Maze coal towers. Then I have a spur for the Star Union Brewery at the west end of Peru.
The interchange with the IC had daily traffic. The cement plant in Oglesby continues to use the old IC bridge and interchange track with the Rock Island now Iowa Interstate. I'm not sure how much interchange was done with the CB&Q. But I have the CB&Q running south of the Rock Island through Peru with the Mertel Cement spur in West Peru.
I have east and westbound sidings at Utica with the spur on the north side of the track. I've mocked up a sand plant loader. I'm not that familiar with the east side of Utica. I can see a torn up crossover in front of the station in my CSX photos but I'm not quite sure how it was used. I know the Peru switcher came back to Peru on the north or west bound track.
I am trying to model each of the trains coming out of Chicago with B&O interchange, C&O interchange, New York Central interchange. etc. Then I want to squeeze in the passenger trains. It's mainly a run through railroad with the Peru switcher running out and back to Utica daily. I also have the Illinois Central trains coming in and out of the LaSalle IC yard switching a chemical plant and the cement plant plus the freight house and the oil distributor.
95% of the track is in and running. I am wrapping up the CB&Q track at the LaSalle station.