Council Hill Station
CN 2379, 2999, and 5469 are working together to muscle a 98 car U704 up the grade through the rolling landscape of Northwestern Illinois on a clear and calm Saturday morning. The ethanol loads are rolling through the "western edge" of the relatively off-the-beaten-path spot of Council Hill Station, Illinois nestled in the valley of the East Fork of the Galena River. The 1850s-era Council Hill Station general store still exists just a little out of frame to the right of this spot, which also served as the depot for the small community of Council Hill located about 2 miles to the north on the top of the ridge but at an elevation that no doubt wasn't possible for the railroad to reach when it was first surveyed through the area.
The whole climb of the former Illinois Central through this part of Jo Daviess County is full of character in it's twists and turns, clinging to the edge of the river valley as it finds it's way from the Mississippi River level to the top of the hill that is not far from near the highest elevation in Illinois at Scales Mound. It's a character I've always found hard to capture well from a ground-level view, but the drone starts to open up some possibilities of at least sort of conveying the feel and the beauty of this area.
Council Hill Station
CN 2379, 2999, and 5469 are working together to muscle a 98 car U704 up the grade through the rolling landscape of Northwestern Illinois on a clear and calm Saturday morning. The ethanol loads are rolling through the "western edge" of the relatively off-the-beaten-path spot of Council Hill Station, Illinois nestled in the valley of the East Fork of the Galena River. The 1850s-era Council Hill Station general store still exists just a little out of frame to the right of this spot, which also served as the depot for the small community of Council Hill located about 2 miles to the north on the top of the ridge but at an elevation that no doubt wasn't possible for the railroad to reach when it was first surveyed through the area.
The whole climb of the former Illinois Central through this part of Jo Daviess County is full of character in it's twists and turns, clinging to the edge of the river valley as it finds it's way from the Mississippi River level to the top of the hill that is not far from near the highest elevation in Illinois at Scales Mound. It's a character I've always found hard to capture well from a ground-level view, but the drone starts to open up some possibilities of at least sort of conveying the feel and the beauty of this area.