Illinois Terminal Interurbans

How far into the hinterland did they run?

As of 1931 to Peoria, Danville  and Decatur. The dateis at the bottom of this map. Another map (circa 1974, post interurban) with interchanges. There is a brief history here.

Thanks for posting the map.  They covered a huge territory.  

Interurbans ran all over Ohio, Indiana, and, apparently, Illinois.  There is an old

car barn/substation not far from here, and an abandoned interurban line had gone in front of my old house while an abandoned RR ran behind it, this last now a powerline

route for high tension towers.  Is the "McKinley Bridge" into St. Louis still standing?

The Mckinley Bridge is still standing and again in use.  Wikipedia article.  But the tunnel on the St. Louis side has been filled in.

Between Danville as the Eastbound end of the IT and Paris Illinois there was a gap that at one point was to be closed between the THI&E and the IT.The latter ran to Indianapolis and the interurbans from there connected to Louisville KY,( IPS)  Detroit MI (LSE) and Dayton Ohio (CL&E). Many other cities were reached via the constituent lines.The Indiana connection was never built in favor of the McKinley Bridge ..another alternative was to the close the gap between Bloomington Il, and the isolated IT Valley Lines ( Joliet to Lasalle) to go all the way to Chicago...Auto parts used to run on overnight freight expresses between Detroit and all points on a train of express motors called the "Aeroplane" All in all it was an extensive system now forgotten..but fascinating.

Dale Jenkins "The Road of Personal Service" is the book on the IT as required reading. I have them all and this one is the best. Interurban history is another of my hobbies..has been for years

Yes, we lost a good thing when we lost the interurban network. Thanks for the book recommendation....I need to get that!

Bill Robb, if you have any pictures of your O gauge trolleys or street cars I'd like to see them.  

I've mentioned this in other posts on the topic ... the last operational interurban is technically still going.  When I was growing up it was still in full operation. 

http://www.yakimavalleytrolleys.org/

 Heres a video best watched with the bizarre soundtrack music turned off...it shows a meet between interurbans and diesel freights.

Yes, thanks, Bruce; I'm looking forward to reading it. It is funny, but growing up in Chicago, the only railroads I paid attention to "way back when" were the ones in and near my neighborhood. The large traction system downstate escaped my attention. However, I do have a distinct mid-50's memory of seeing some of the interurban  cars on one of my father's "obligatory" rides down US 66 to see the Lincoln sites. I didn't know what they were, of course, because I was 5 or 6 at the time.

Nice pictures of some of the Class B and C freight motors.

Thanks for posting the links!

Well, I still wonder, at the peak of the traction era, from how far east, say New

York state through Cleveland?, to how far west...maybe just west of St. Louis, could

you have once traveled by interurban lines?  I do know tractions was or is operating

in Iowa and Oklahoma until recently.... Ohio and Indiana had lines running all over them...maybe so with Illinois.  You could get from Cincinnati to Cleveland, not fast, and maybe not directly, by traction.

Here's the Class B freight motor at IRM, built 1910.

I recall a book written decades ago, relating an interurban trip from New England to Chicago or Milwaukee, using an almost unbroken network of interurban lines. Does anyone recall the title or author?

John

Here you go..2,000 miles.Another good read..Larry has published quite a few interurban books. The one on Interstate I just purchased..Their bridge route over into Kentucky dwarfed the McKinley Bridge. Its now a pedestrian bridge....just like the IT high line.

http://www.busmag.com/product/...-interurban-charter/

That's the one; thanks, Bruce! I have his two books on the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, and they are excellent.

There is a February 1950 Official Guide timetable  for the Illinois Terminal on The New Dave's Electric Railroads hosted by Tom.  This is the map and  timetable.

Wow!  That's a lot to digest.  The New Dave's Electric site is really cool.  Thanks for sharing!

I created another thread.

Gee, looking at that site with all the traction is depressing. I just think of all the

infrastructure, tracks, concrete bridges, all gone, and difficult to even find evidence

of now.  In Ohio between Zanesville and Columbus there is the only traction tunnel

in the state, in Blackhand Gorge.  The cars used to have picnic excursions to grounds up on top of the tunnel.  Now you tippy-toe around because timber rattlers like to sun

up there. But, of course, it is hard to find evidence of many rail lines, which also ran

everywhere.

I emailed the New Dave's website to my mom.  She grew up a block from a street car line.  She found pictures on there of the street cars she rode as a girl.  

I bet there are remnants all over the place out there.  Roads were probably built over some of the routes or bridges.  My Great Grandfather built bridges in Southern Illinois back in those days (late 1800s-early 1900s).  When I drive back roads and fly low I always look for old routes of roads, railroads and trails.  

For many years this structure was truly a bridge to nowhere as the approaches were removed. I remember seeing this bridge as a child crossing I-65 into Louisville, KY and always wondered why were the approaches removed. Its nice to see that it is used again for bike traffic.

Ken