Announcements, updates, presales
In writing/researching my upcoming book, Rails Around Northern Illinois, I developed a fondness for the then-rural areas northwest of Chicago. Tonight I offer this excerpt from Chapter 7, which covers this corner of northern Illinois: The Soo Line’s depot in Grayslake was on the west side of the mainline north of County Road A27. A…
From Chapter Five: The CGW cross the Fox River in St Charles on a six-span, five-pier plate-girder bridge north of the downtown area. Eastbound train #192 is captured crossing the bridge in January 1968 behind six F-units. The Great Western Trail now occupies the span. (Terry Norton) There are more fantastic shots like this of…
Viewed from the Sterling 1st Street Waterworks on the city’s east side, C&NW Falcon service train #239 crosses the Sterling Causeway over the Rock River on June 26, 1981. The causeway was formed in the early 1900s by the construction of dams between Sterling and Rock Falls, flooding the fields north (photo left) of the…
7-13-26: Rails Around Northern Illinois is completed and currently being printed! Estimated arrival and shipping out to readers will be early October, 2026. From now until October 1, the book is available to order at $64.95, which is $15 off the $79.95 cover price, plus USPS Media Mail postage. Order here!! Your copy will come…
I will be at the Galesburg Scale Train Show Saturday June 27 at the Knights of Columbus in Galesburg, 1556 E Fremont St, then the next day at the Decatur Train Fair, Decatur Civic Center, #1 Gary Anderson Plaza from 11-4. Come by and get your copy of Rails Around Central Illinois, and info about…