It's neat how there is probably about, what, 25 - 30 years between the first photo and this one and little has changed in this little area. like the sidewalks and grass and tracks. Doug
With some photos of Bloomington, IL posted above, I thought I'd post two more, both taken 04/12/1987. The first of the Union Station (GM&O/NYC/NKP) there and the other of BN, long known as "BN Target", for "Bloomington-Normal". Normal is a neighboring town. I don't know where "Target" comes from. Surprisingly, all of this is gone. The station was demolished throughout late 1997/early 1998 after a structural problem was found in the bridge, integral to the structure, that you can see to the left of the station. BN Target was razed about 1995.
Sad to see more railroad structures gone. Guess can't save them all. I find it interesting that BN paint is on every non piece of building like the broken out windows and frames, looks funny when you really stare at it.
By the mid-1980s, the tracks were removed under the Montgomery station shed. [05/1985] It's a beautiful station, having once served trains of the WRofA, GM&O, ACL, L&N, SAL and CofG. [10/31/1987]
The following article covers in detail the history of the Floridian, including its numerous reroutings and problems with the SDP40F units. http://www.trainweb.us/kentuckyrailtaskforce/railhist/page5.htm
Southbound, the scene at Montgomery looked like this in June 1972. Amtrak must have assigned whatever Es were handy. To the right was small M&M Montgomery & Mobile) Yard. It last saw use in the mid-to-late 1980s when a building was placed there. Montgomery's primary yard is the much larger former L&N S&NA (South and North Alabama).
This was M&M Yard in June 1984. That grain elevator in the distance became the Amtrak station when the ill-fated Gulf Breeze ran between Birmingham and Mobile from 1989 to 1995.
With a branch from Tuscaloosa completed in 1898, the Mobile & Ohio was the last road to enter Montgomery. With a large paper mill on the line, it was an important connection, supported by a yard west of town. The line was sold during ICG's systemwide garage sale, then sold again. Here's the engine terminal at the ICG's yard. [11/1984] (@gmorider , thought you might like this)
SD40-3s leading a manifest freight railroad north out of the Harbin passing siding, CSX NO&M Sub, Longbeach Mississippi on 30 August 2023.
Couple of CSX “relics” leading an ethanol empty train westbound through SW Cedar Rapids, IA. August 31, 2023 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well, as usual, I'm about 3 weeks behind the rest of the world but alas, I finally found the cat. She's really sweet and was even purring
Oh my gosh, you found it and got a great shot too! It's interesting that CSX has let it be, rather than rush it off to Waycross for a respray.
