C&IM

[Anonymous]

Is anyone modeling the C&IM in HO? I used to build C&IM loco's and sold them through a hobby shop in Springfield called the whistle post, but it's closed now.

I hired out on the TP&W in 2000, so I haven't built anything since, but would like to talk to anyone currently doing so. Thanks Dave.

[orsonroy]

Hi Dave,

I'm modelling the NKP line from East Peoria to Bloomington, and plan on including the C&IM's transfer run to Pekin in my operating sessions. So far, I've got an Athearn 2-8-2 and Bowser 2-10-2 waiting for conversion to C&IM engines. I've got a pretty large prototype database on the C&IM during the steam era, which includes photos, negatives, track charts, ETTs, and lots of train orders. I'm collecting a pretty large C&IM freight car fleet as well, including lots of hoppers and gons (P2K has the Mathers boxes and stock cars covered. I just wish someone would come out witht heir bathtub gons in resin!). AMB has their caboose fleet covered, with the IC-clone side door cabooses and the ex-LE&W cabs (cut by AMB and sold by Sparrow Point). Microscale now makes all the C&IM decals we need.

The C&IM is a great road to model. With only about 125 miles of mainline and a steam roster of under 50 engines, a modeler can reproduce the road realistically. If I wasn't such a NKP nut, I think I'd change over to modeling the C&IM!

Oh, and I'm modelling the TP's connection to the NKP at Farmdale, in the months before the flyover was installed. I've got two F3's, an RS-2 and a Bowser 4-8-4 waiting for their trip to the paint shop. My file for the TP is about as big as fot the C&IM.