Before I get to the story I need to lay the ground work. As many of
you know the BRHS has received files from the Aurora,IL. local. I've
been going through the files before they go to the archives to remove
personal info. And any BN material.
Tonight I stumbled on a
file, that's going to the archive, that contains something I never
experienced while working or ever heard about before.
The
Aurora lodge was actually two lodges but with one seniority list. An
Aurora lodge at Galesburg handled frt. and passenger between Galesburg
and Chicago. It also worked any locals between Galesburg and Mendota.
The lodge at Aurora covered everything else between
Chicago,Savanna,streator,Mendota,Rockford,etc,etc.
In 1938 an
Aurora Division,Galesburg based crew was ordered out of Cicero and
departed 12:45PM with 97 cars destined Galesburg. At Eola while the
train was being "worked" they were instructed to run to Wedron on the
Fox River branch, pick up four cars of sand and take them to Congress
for set out on the south wye to the IHB. The crew then returned to
Eola, gathered up their train and proceeded to Galesburg just under
the 16 hour "hog law".
Needless to say timeslips flew.
Leo
Phillipp