GALESBURG, IL - Trains Magazine

I'd like to thank you all for your help and suggestions.  We just spent two days in Galesburg, a quiet town of about 33,000 in west central Illinois whose two biggest draws are probably the Carl Sandburg museum and Knox College.

But after that, surely the trains?  Four Amtrak runs a day each way pass through Galesburg, calling at a reproduction-vintage depot just south of downtown.  Galesburg also is where the exx-CB&W Savannah and Chicago lines cross over the ex-ATSF main, making a small local park (Peck Park) a great place to visit and photograph from.  Then on the western edge of Cameron, a village about 8 miles west of Galesburg, they cross again, the ATSF heading south towards the Mississippi and Fort Madison, the CB&Q west toward Burlington IA.  Both crossings are by means of flyovers (viaducts), so there is no physical contact at grade. 

Now that BNSF controls both of the two former systems, about two-thirds of the way from Galesburg to Cameron, the company has built a huge set of wye's.  Or loops if you prefer.  They allow trains in either direction on either main to cross to the other set of tracks allowing any kind of transfer from one former co.'s main line to the other's.  Try it on Google Earth--it's amazing how big these loops are. 

BTW did I mention Galesburg has a good sized hump yard? 

We had a good time there and I won't belabor this travelogue because I know so many of you know the town better than I do.  We definitely intend to return, though.

Thanks again for all the good help and advice; it was put to good use.

Al S.