LOST LOCOMOTION

What if central Illinois had an electric rail line carrying passengers and freight between Springfi eld, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Peoria and St. Louis? It might be hard to imagine, but such a thing existed from 1906 until the mid-1950s. The Illinois Terminal Railroad System was centered in Bloomington-Normal and ran “traction” cars with overhead electric power lines on interurban routes between cities in the area. Springfi eld was connected to St. Louis and Decatur, with a line running north to Lincoln, Mackinaw and eventually Peoria. The end of the Illinois Terminal came as automobiles gained transportation dominance in the 1950s, and the last passenger train between Springfi eld and St. Louis ran in March 1956. Diesel and steam locomotives continued to haul crops and other goods on the network until 1982, when the railroad was bought out and shut down. If you look closely at Google Maps, you can still see the path that the Springfi eld-to-Lincoln line took, including the remnants of a bridge across the Sangamon River east of Riverside Park. The Illinois Traction Society is a group dedicated to preserving the history of the Illinois Terminal Railroad System, and they’ve produced a 2015 calendar featuring electric, diesel and steam locomotives, events in the railroad’s history and several advertisements from the railroad company. For more information, visit www.illinoistractionsociety.org.