Help with Bloomington, IL

[Anonymous]

Does anybody know anything about rail operations in and around Bloomington-Normal, IL or know where I can get any info. for it. I am attending Illinois State and am interested in doing some railfanning around the area. Thanks.

Tom

[Anonymous]

Tom, try asking on the list Illinirail on www.groups.yahoo.com. It's all about railroading in Illinois.

Doug
Crystal Lake, IL

[mccauley]

I live in Bloomington. What did you want to know?

Currently we have two rail lines through town. The main one is the former Chicago and Alton line, which has changed ownership a few times and is currently a UP line. It carries about 20 trains a day, about half of them Amtrak. As an ISU student, if you live on campus you could try for a southeast facing room in Watterson towers where you will have an excellent view of this line. The other line is currently operated by NS and has about 4-6 trains a day (heads east to Peoria, west to Gibson City). Their yard on the west side of Normal is often full of autoracks used to move cars from the Mitsubishi motors plant. There is one inactive, semi-abandonded branch from this line from the south side of Bloomington that goes to Champaign. It is sometimes used for railcar storage.

These account for the 5 tracks currently fanning out from the twin cities. As recently as 1980, there were 10, and in the more distant past, about 100 years ago, railroads were the largest employers in Bloomington/Normal. One of the main Illinois Central arteries ran almost due north/south through town, with a branch ENE through several rural communities (a portion of which further out of town is still in operation as a short line). These lines were dismantled and the property sold in the mid-1980s, and are now the main arteries of the Constitution Trail system. The continuation of the Champaign line in the other direction ran due west to Pekin, while another Illinois Central branch ran WSW to some more rural communities. These also have been dismantled.

Joe

[Anonymous]

Thanks Joe I appreciate your reply and information you gave me. It will come in quite handy. Thanks!

Tom

[Anonymous]

It's been awhile since I've been up in that neck of the woods. I seem to remember a rail line that
paralelled Old 66 between say Romeoville and St Louis.