The Jacksonville Loop
This afternoon, Grady and I teamed up with Matthew Harrell and we went out for a few hours. The PC Heritage unit was up at Beardstown but I didn't think we'd have much chance before heading back to Springfield for dinner.
We drove over to Jacksonville and checked out the new grain facility on the south side of town and the then empty grain loop. We heard a KCS 4602 on some scratchy radio transmissions but dismissed it as something on the mainline around Roodhouse. We were wrong! We came back later and found that a grain empty had arrived. In this view looking north from I-72, we can see the train is completely on the loop.
The KCS branch - former GM&O "Jack Line" is out of view to the right. The Jack Line and Air Line from Jacksonville down to Roodhouse has been rebuilt. Bartlett Grain might ship as many as 14-21 grain trains a month out of this facility. Excellent traffic for a 2 day a week branchline!
08-03-2013
The Jacksonville Loop
This afternoon, Grady and I teamed up with Matthew Harrell and we went out for a few hours. The PC Heritage unit was up at Beardstown but I didn't think we'd have much chance before heading back to Springfield for dinner.
We drove over to Jacksonville and checked out the new grain facility on the south side of town and the then empty grain loop. We heard a KCS 4602 on some scratchy radio transmissions but dismissed it as something on the mainline around Roodhouse. We were wrong! We came back later and found that a grain empty had arrived. In this view looking north from I-72, we can see the train is completely on the loop.
The KCS branch - former GM&O "Jack Line" is out of view to the right. The Jack Line and Air Line from Jacksonville down to Roodhouse has been rebuilt. Bartlett Grain might ship as many as 14-21 grain trains a month out of this facility. Excellent traffic for a 2 day a week branchline!
08-03-2013