A Day Around Galesburg

The first train of the day heads east towards Chicago

Waking before sunrise, Don (the local ATCS expert) and I packed the car and fired up the radios before leaving Le Clair, Iowa. Le Clair is where we had spent the night, recharging before heading off to Galesburg, IL. This railroad mecca is where we would spend the next two days railfanning.

Planning our departure to make it to Yost, IL, which is east of Galesburg; it is a great spot for train watching. We arrived just as the sun was starting its march over the horizon. Pulling into a parking lot next to the tracks, we were greeted by the sounds of train horns off to the west. A high green signal was shining on the mast. I took a the few minutes I had and set up the video camera and got ready for the arrival of the first train of the day.

Almost as if the train crew knew there were railfans waiting for them, they took their time pulling into Yost. This gave the sun time to get a little higher in the sky, giving me the perfect lighting conditions for the photo shoot. A blast from the horn of the BNSF "Z" train came as it rounded the curve and into the center of my camera lens. As the train made its way east, Don yelled from the car: "A westbound!" I whipped the video camera around and watched as a westbound stack train with four Dash-9s made its way towards us at full speed. Wow! We had only been here five minutes and had already seen two trains. I only hoped it would keep this pace.

I walked to the car to look at the ATCS screen and was very happy to see the screen lit - up in both directions. Just about this time another railfan pulled in, in time to catch the third train of the morning. This time an eastbound Union Pacific stack train running on "trackage rights" was headed to Edelstein, IL. We kept an eye on the ATCS while starting up a conversation with the other railfan. It turns out he was not only a railfan, but he is a railroad employee, who just happened to work with the signal department. This of course piqued Don's interest. Both of them talked the morning away as I continued to shoot train after train.

By the time 9a.m. rolled around, we had seen close to eleven trains; it was also the time Steve, a local railfan friend, arrived to join us for the days' adventures. Just before Steve arrived a Herzog Hyrail truck had shown up and parked in the lot. When I saw this I took it as a sign that the amount of trains was soon to slow to a trickle. However, the guys were not moving too fast. In addition, there was not talk on the radio from them so we kept the faith and the trains kept coming.

Trains 12 and 13 were both eastbound BNSF stack trains - boasting lash-ups of two units up front and two DPUs on the rear. Train 14 was an eastbound UP stacker with three units up front and two shoving. Having a break in the action, Steve and I joined Don who was already talking to our new railfan-insider friend about the Ins-and-Outs of railroad signals and advancements in Positive Train Control (PTC) around the Chicago area.

Before I could get into the conversation I had to break away to catch trains 15, 16 and 17. These trains were a mix of two heading east and one west, but all were more or less the same - BNSF stack train with four or five units, again mixed between the head ends and tail ends. As the last train cleared the plant, the Herzog crew came to life, heading to the tracks. The men planted short, half red/half yellow flags on both main lines before driving onto the crossing and setting wheels on to the rail.

Having a feeling that traffic was going to slow a bit, and having already seen eighteen trains before noon, we were more than ready to grab some lunch and check out the westside of Galesburg and further, the towns of Cameron and Ormonde.

After lunch, Don needed to make a stop at an auto parts store. Steve split off since he wanted to get some shots of Amtrak's California Zephyr train at the connection in Cameron. Don made his purchase. We tried to find Steve, but ended up finding a location we were trying to remember how to get to earlier in the day. Strange how things work out. I got my shots and we continued on to find Steve. Don talked to Steve on the phone in order to find him just off the beaten path, talking with another railfan. Although I had a moment of "I don't think we should go down there," we did anyway. We were set up to catch a UP stack coming off the old ATSF transcon line onto the old Burlington Northern line. There was also a BNSF coal load.

The next train we waited for was Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Before it got to us, I noticed a red Dodge Dakota making its way down the road towards us. Turns out my feeling was true; after a quick chat with the railroad employee, we moved locations to a grade crossing a few hundred yards away.

Just after we moved Amtrak 3 (The Cheif) came roaring down the line at close to 80 miles per hour. As Amtrak cleared, we watched the switches move and the signal mast light up for a empty grain train comprised of solid ADMX hopper cars. Steve theorized that they were heading to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and the huge ADM transportation car and grain complex located there. With the ATCS showing nothing in the area, the three of us moved our location once again - this time at our own choosing.

We relocated to Ormonde, a place which proved very busy last year. I hoped for more of the same this time around. High hopes for a busy afternoon at Ormonde were not to be. We spent more time reading Trains, Model Railroader and other various railroad-related magazines instead of photographing the real thing. Ormonde produced only six trains. A good number for railfanning back home, but a very slow day for Galesburg standards.

Steve was on a curfew so we broke camp around 5p.m. The three of us made plans to meet back-up the next morning for a trip to Chillicothe. [Editor's note: doing research, the city's motto is "Where the Rails Cross the River", how's that for rail celebration?] Before calling it a night, Don and I headed into Galesburg and made our way to Peck Park, hoping to meet up with some other railfans and do some ATCS show-and-tell.

Peck Park was mostly devoid of railfans - save the few that were congregated by the now famous railfan house. It sits next to the tracks offering a good view of the old ATSF transcon and the BNSF Barstow subdivision. With no one around to show ATCS to and the sun setting, now gone for the day, I snagged a few low light shots of a BNSF manifest train on the Santa Fe line. We watched the train pass marking the end of day two in Galesburg. W,ith one more full day of railfanning in front of us it was time to recharge our batteries and get some rest.

Final count, day two ended with over 30 trains and lots of great memories. I don't know how the local railfans are able to keep a job ; I know I would need an intervention if I lived here. Until next time, railfan in moderation, stay safe and I'll see you by the tracks.