Dear Greg-thank you for the invitation. Unfortunately, I am
unable to travel at
present.
The
following text is taken from personal recollections and from
established
histories. My grandfather lived in Earlville, and his
brother lived in Mendota,
arriving in the late 1890’s. The text is contained in a
computer database that
I maintain. Explore Rail History consists of 200,000
database entries,
including 25,000 railroad histories, 80,000 Bibliographic
records (book titles,
articles, annual reports, railroad archival references,
maps, drawings, etc),
25,000 location, facility and structure histories, a
Glossary, Biographies, and
more. I expect that the database will become accessible to
the public in the
next year. Attached to this email, you will find several
lists that come from
the database: I welcome any additions or corrections to
these lists. You will
note that some records on the list appear to be in error,
such as the very
first line, which shows the railroad station in Earle, AR
being an MP station.
However, the internal record shows the following: “This
station was probably a joint station shared with the
Burlington. A
notice of the latter's intent to build a station in Earle
appears in Ref 2.”
Also note that my web site www.ExploreRailHistory.com
has been temporarily disabled until I am able to provide
public access.
1.
A
list of all CB&Q facilities and structures
2.
A
list of all CB&Q predecessors (includes merged and
acquired lines like the
C&S and its subsidiaries
My
comments are regarding Mendota, Meriden, and Earlville
Mendota
In
the early 1850’s, prior to the arrival of the railroads, the
area that became
Mendota was an unbroken prairie. Then, in 1853, two great
railroads arrived:
the Illinois Central was the first, being completed from
Cairo, IL to Mendota
that summer. In late fall, the Chicago & Aurora Railroad
(soon to become
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy) completed its line
from Chicago to
Mendota. Mendota would become the northern terminus of the
Illinois Central
until construction of its line to Freeport, IL was
completed. In the meantime,
the Illinois Central used the Chicago & Aurora Railroad
tracks to gain
access to Chicago. In later years, the Milwaukee Railroad
arrived in
Mendota.
Almost
immediately, the town of Mendota sprung up along the tracks.
A brick warehouse
(Freight House) was constructed to be shared by the two
railroads. A passenger
depot and several hotels were constructed; one of the hotels
was located at the
depot.
In
the winter of 1853 and the summer following led the
residents to see the need
of a town government. In the spring of 1855, meetings were
held and in June an
election for Town Trustees was held and the city government
was formed.
The
city of Mendota was named by the railroad, and laid out by
it’s engineer. The
Illinois Central claimed the right of naming all stations on
their line, hence
the number of Indian names. This place was known as the
"Junction"
and the company gave to it the Indian name "Mendota,"
meaning
"connection" or "joined to." [1]
The
two railway corporations had gangs of men working on all
points from Mendota.
These obtained their goods here and the settlers in the
groves about the
junction came here with their products, and getting goods in
exchange soon made
a brisk trade. . The enterprising spirits then in business
quickly saw the town
that must arise and though many of them had vague ideas of
the practical use of
a railroad, thinking passenger traffic would be the main
business and that it
would aid them in their efforts to erect a town, they
exerted all mans in their
power to create a large place. In the summer of 1854, a
trade in lumber was
started and for some years was the most important branch of
business in
town.[1]
As
a result, during the winter of 1853-54 and the summer
following, an
unprecedented growth was seen. Nothing was heard but the
sound of carpenter's
tools and by the autumn of 1854 the population was nearly
one thousand. [1]
The
first bank was established in 1856, and closed two years
later The First
National Bank was organized in 1865.
The
population had grown by the winter of 1866 to 2,000 and
steps were taken to
organize the city under the general State law. The election
to decide this step
was held on March 4th, 1867.
Mendota
was incorporated in 1855. A foundry and machine shop
business was established
in 1858. Donahue & Madden was the first manufacturing
firm to locate in
Mendota. The firm specialized in building farm wagons, which
were sold in a
territory up to forty miles around Mendota. Another
company, Tower
Brothers, was engaged in the manufacture of agricultural
implements, and
cultivators, along with sashes, doors, and blinds.
By
1867, the board of trustees voted to change from a town to a
city government.
A
good indication of the success of Mendota businesses and
employment
opportunities can be seen in the profits earned by its first
bank, The First
National Bank of Mendota. The bank was chartered in 1865
with an initial
capital stock of $65,000. Twenty-five years later the bank
had earned over
$300,000 in net earnings. The Germania Bank was started in
1874, presumably to
attract the deposits of the many German settlers that lived
in or around this
city.
A
large organ making company, the Western Cottage Organ
Company, was formed and
employed 100 persons all year. At its peak, the company made
3,000 organs each
year in eleven different styles. Another organ company was
established in later
years.
A
large number of retail establishments were founded during
the next thirty
years. By 1885, over eighty different Bakeries, Grocery
stores, Drug stores,
Dry-goods, Boots and Shoes, Clothing, Milliners, Furniture
dealers, Hardware
and stove dealers, Coal dealers, Hotels, Wagon and carriage
shops, Harness
makers, Livery keepers, Blacksmith shops, Agricultural
implement dealers,
Photographers, Cigars and Tobacco shops, Books and notions,
Jewelers were doing
business in Mendota.
The
first flouring mill was built in 1854. A linseed oil mill
was built ten years
later.
Many
of the buildings used to house these early businesses burned
to the ground,
only to be rebuilt, and burn again.
The
first school was constructed in 1854. It was built as a one
room school. The
Blackstone School, a large three story school with ten rooms
was built on the
west side of town in 1868. By 1885, enrollment had reached
500. A high school
department graduated a total of forty-three between 1879
and 1885. The
high school courses lasted for three years, and included
instruction in Latin
and German languages. A four story school with seven rooms
was erected on the
east side of town to support an enrollment of 300. The
teachers included
Frances R. Heslet, Alice B. Brown, Mary J. Stevens, Mattie
E. Imus, Maggie
Brazil, Eva B. Clark, Ella Johnson, and Mrs. Warner.
Two
seminaries were established: The first being a Presbyterian
Seminary, known as
the Hoffman Seminary, and later, another, known as the
Wartburg Seminary and
Evangelical Lutheran College.
Churches
The
first church was built in 1855. Six additional churches were
constructed in the
next 20 years.
Library
The
Mendota Library Association was opened in. 1874.
Newspapers
The
first newspaper was opened in. 1855, and was followed by a
German newspaper, in
1858.
The
German influence
Immigrants
from Germany played an important part in the development of
Illinois, and
Mendota was no exception. (My grandfather was the son of a
German immigrant;
his brother settled in Mendota, and my grandfather in
Earlville, a few miles east
of Mendota. The comments below are typical of many other
communities in
Illinois.
A
German Hotel was constructed in 1854. Several additional
German churches and a
German Lutheran Seminary were organized. (Most likely, the
services were
conducted in German, and the Bibles were written in
German-we inherited a
German Language bible from my grandfather in Earlville).
References
1.
http://www.mendotamuseums.org/UDRR.htm
2.
"The History of Mendota, LaSalle County Illinois"
http://genealogytrails.com/ill/lasalle/town/mendota.html
3.
http://guitarjourney.tripod.com/rayslasallecountyonlinemuseum/id14.html
(many
photos; track diagram at bottom of web site)
4.
"Magnificent Whistle Stop: The 100 year story of Mendota" https://archive.org/stream/magnificentwhist00mend#page/9/mode/1up
5.
"Sketch book of Saint Louis: containing a series of sketches
of the early
settlement, public buildings, hotels, railroads" (1858)
https://books.google.com/books?id=rUUVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA142
6.
Burlington Bulletin #71, Burlington Route Historical
Society, pp 4
7.
"The History of Mendota, LaSalle
County Illinois" Transcribed by Nancy
Piper http://genealogytrails.com/ill/lasalle/town/mendota.html
(the
text below has been edited from this publication)
Mendota
Railroad
History
Mendota
was an important city in the early development of Illinois.
It was also an
important railroad junction point, first reached by the
Illinois Central
Railroad in 1853 as part of the building of the IC's
historic mainline between
Freeport, IL, Mendota and Cairo, IL. This line eventually
connected Chicago
(via a "branch line" that became the mainline) and the Gulf
of
Mexico. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy was the second
railroad to reach
Mendota, shortly after the Illinois Central Railroad. At the
same time that the
Aurora Branch was being built, the people of Galesburg, a
town 90 miles to the
southwest of Mendota, began to build a railroad toward
Chicago. Construction of
this line, which was known as the Central Military Tract
Railroad, began in
1851. The track laying from Galesburg to Mendota was
completed in 1854. The
Milwaukee Railroad was the third major rail line to serve
Mendota. In 1903, the
Milwaukee extended its line southward from its east-west
route at Davis
Junction. The route passed through Rochelle using the
Burlington’s tracks, and
continuing southward to Mendota. The tracks entered Mendota
from the north
about two blocks from the college and then joined the
Burlington tracks near
the 4th Avenue viaduct. The Burlington operated a branch
line that ran from
Mendota to Denrock, IL, continuing to Clinton, IA. The town
had many businesses
as a result of its railroad connections. [4] The population
more than doubled
in the first 10 years after the railroads arrived in
Mendota. Lake Mendota was
developed by the Burlington to provide an adequate supply of
water for its
steam locomotives. An Interlocking Tower was constructed to
protect the
crossing of the Burlington Railroad, the Illinois Central,
and later the
Milwaukee Railroad.
During
the 1940s and early 1950s, Mendota was a a busy railroad
junction, with
25 CB&Q Freight trains, 9 CB&Q passenger trains, 4
Illinois
Central trains, and 2 Milwaukee trains each day.
Historical
marker: In 1853, two railroads met near this spot and the
community of Mendota
was born. Mendota is an Indian word said to mean “Crossing
of the Trails”. The
Chicago & Aurora (later CB&Q) planned to expand
southwest from Aurora
to meet the Illinois Central Railroad. Meanwhile, the
Illinois Central was
building northward up the middle of the state. Its charter
called for its
mainline to proceed northward from Cairo to the western end
of the Illinois
& Michigan Canal at LaSalle, and from there it was to
turn northwest toward
the Galena mining district. During a chance meeting of
several railroad
officers in early 1852 in Boston, the lines agreed to have
the Chicago &
Aurora and the Central Military Tract Railroads merged and
became the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy. That line, through recent mergers
has become the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe. The Illinois Central,
meanwhile, abandoned its
line through Mendota in 1985. Erected by the Mendota Museum
and Historical
Society and the Illinois State Historical Society, June
2002.
Coming
of the Railroad
The
construction and development of the Illinois Central
Railroad and the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy were important to the development of
Mendota.
The
opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 connected
the Great Lakes to
the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. It ran 96
miles from the south
side of Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru.
LaSalle is 20
miles south of Mendota. The opening of the canal marked the
beginning of a
transportation boom in Illinois.
In
September of 1850, Congress granted the State of Illinois 3
million acres of
land (leading to the Land Grant Act) to be used to build a
railroad from the
southern to the northern end of the state as title to most
land at that time
rested with the U.S. Government, not private parties. Prior
to 1850, only a
few, small segments of disconnected rail lines had been
constructed in the
State of Illinois: The Northern Cross Railroad, which ran
from Meredosia and
Naples on the Illinois River to Springfield; the Chicago
& Galena,
extending from Chicago to Elgin; and a short six mile coal
track in the
St. Louis area.
In
1851, Abraham Lincoln and Stephan A. Douglas influenced the
General Assembly of
Illinois to grant a charter to the Illinois Central Railroad
Company, granting
the company all land received from the United States
Government. Construction
of the line proceeded rapidly, and trains began to run
almost immediately, with
a line from Bloomington to Tonica opening on May 16, 1853,
and from Tonica to
Mendota in November 14, 1853, and from Mendota to Amboy on
November 27, 1854.
Mendota, Tonica, Wenona, and Rutland were made stations.
Mendota
soon gained daily connections with the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy R. R. for
Chicago and the east; also for Galesburg, Quincy, Keokuk,
Burlington, and all
points in the west. At Mendota the traveler found a
magnificent depot, and one
of the best hotels in the Union connected with it, under the
management of a
clever fellow, by the name of Akin, who is always ready to
supply the wants of
the inner man. At present (1858) Mendota has about 1800
inhabitants, and is
fast increasing in population. [5]
The
construction of the Illinois Central Railroad marked the
beginning of new
transportation era, eventually linking Chicago with the Gulf
of Mexico.
The
original main line of the Illinois Central ran from
Freeport, IL to Mendota, to
La Salle, and points south. It was a key event in the
development of northern
Illinois.
The
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
The
Burlington Railroad was built from Chicago to Aurora in
1852 as the
“Aurora Branch Railroad (the Chicago & Aurora)”. In
1854, the line was
extended from Aurora to Mendota, being now known as the
“Chicago & Aurora
Extension Railroad”. Dave Frey’s (my cousin) land title
research into his
family’s house in Earlville clearly shows the transfer of
the land from the
U.S. Government to private parties, and mentions the
“Chicago & Aurora
Extension” as one of the borders to this land parcel.
At
the same time that the Aurora Branch was being built, the
people of Galesburg,
a town 90 miles to the southwest of Mendota, began to build
a railroad
toward Chicago. Construction of the Central Military Tract
Railroad, between
Galesburg and Mendota was completed between Galesburg and
Mendota in 1854.
The
Central Military Tract got its name from a large area of
undeveloped western
Illinois land called the Illinois Military Tract, that had
been set aside for
low cost purchase by veterans of the war of 1812. The land
encompassed the area
between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Sales of the
160 acre tracts began
in 1817. The planned route of the railroad ran through the
center of this tract
of land, hence its name.??Another line, known as the Peoria
and Oquawka Railroad,
would have provided a connection between Galesburg and
Burlington, Iowa.
Eventually these roads would encounter financial
difficulties, and would be
consolidated into the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
The
completion of the CB&Q to Mendota meant that travelers
could now leave
Chicago, proceed west on the CB&Q to Mendota, and then
by changing trains,
could proceed south on the Illinois Central to the southern
part of Illinois.
Mendota would become an important hub, with travelers being
able to travel north
and south, east and west, using the Illinois Central, the
Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy, and later the Milwaukee Road.
The
Milwaukee Road
The
Milwaukee Railroad was the third major rail line to serve
Mendota. In 1903, the
Milwaukee extended its line southward from its east-west
route at Davis
Junction. The route passed through Rochelle using the
Burlington’s tracks, and
continuing southward to Mendota. The tracks entered Mendota
from the north
about two blocks from the college and then joined the
Burlington tracks near
the 4th Avenue viaduct. The Milwaukee built its own station
on the
south end of town. At first, the Milwaukee passenger trains
made only one
Mendota stop, at the Milwaukee station. Passengers who
wished to transfer to
the Illinois Central or the Burlington had to walk about six
blocks – almost a
mile – to get from the St. Paul Station to Union Depot.
Eventually, the
Milwaukee realized needs of customer service, and
henceforth, all trains made
two stops. After leaving the city, the line continued south
to Ladd, where a
branch was built north to Cherry. Both cities had important
coal mines, which
were the reason for building this branch. Unfortunately, the
coal mine in
Cherry was closed a few years later, following a disastrous
mine explosion in
which many died.
Mendota
History: The name Mendota comes from an Indian name meaning
“Meeting Place” or
“Junction”. The name aptly describes Mendota’s place in
history, at the
junction of the north-south Illinois Central Railroad, and
the east-west line
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Both roads
are now under
different ownership.
The
town of Mendota was platted in 1853, the same year that
these two railroads
arrived. A merchandising business was the first business
established in Mendota,
to be quickly followed by a saloon, and then a hotel known
as the Mendota
House. The need for a hotel quickly became apparent, as
connections were not
always convenient for travelers changing from the Burlington
to the Illinois
Central trains, or vice versa.
In
1853, a large Passenger House would be built to serve the
Illinois Central and
the Burlington. The new station incorporated a hotel, and a
dining room. Both
filled a critical need for the railway traveler. The station
was kept busy
almost from the start. In 1870, 39 trains per day passed
through Mendota – 25
on the CB&Q and 14 on the Illinois Central. Most of
these trains stopped at
the station during daytime or early evening, making for an
average of one train
every thirty minutes.
The
Passenger House burned in 1885, and was immediately replaced
with a larger,
brick Union Depot, nearly a city block long, and three
stories high. Its north
end was just off Eighth Street, while the south end extended
past Jefferson
Street. The first floor contained a ticket office, two
waiting rooms –
one for the CB&Q and the other for IC passengers, and a
baggage room.
Few
trains of this era offered Dining Car service on board the
train. As a result,
the larger train stations of the era offered dining
facilities in the station.
And so, the Union Depot offered a dining room, and a lunch
counter were also
located on the first floor. About an hour before scheduled
arrival time in
Mendota, the conductor would take meal orders from his
passengers, being sure
to wire the orders ahead to Mendota about 30 minutes before
arrival. Upon
arrival of the train, the passengers would run for the
depot, grab a chair, and
wolf down their meals before the train departed 30 minutes
later.
The
second floor was used by the hotel; this proved to be
attractive for passengers
who stayed overnight in order to meet train connections. The
Mendota Union
Depot was considered at the time to be the finest station on
the entire
Burlington line between Chicago and Omaha.
The
new station and city attractions attracted groups of people
who would travel
from Chicago to spend a weekend of dining, dancing, and
fishing in nearby Lake
Mendota. A full time gardener was employed to keep the
grounds neat and trim.
The
Milwaukee was the first of the three major rail lines to
discontinue its
passenger service through Mendota. This occurred shortly
before 1939. In 1939,
the Illinois Central terminated its passenger service
through Mendota, leaving
the Burlington as the sole provider. Both the hotel and
dining room operation
had long ceased operation before this time.
In
1942, the main portion of the station was razed by the
Burlington, with the
remainder forming the station that exists today.
Mendota
served as a water stop, to replenish the tender water supply
of the
Burlington’s steam locomotives. A water spout was located at
each end of the
brick station platform for this purpose. A nearby lake,
known as Railroad Pond,
was built by the railroads as their water supply. In the
1930’s the pond was
deeded to the city, and thereafter became known as Lake
Mendota.
The
Burlington maintained a seven stall round house on First
Avenue in Mendota to
service and turn its steam locomotives from 1922 to 1960.
Denrock
Branch
The
Denrock Branch was built by the Illinois Grand Trunk
Railroad. (Ref 3) in 1871.
The line ran from Mendota to Walnut, Prophetstown, Denrock,
Fenton, and ended
at Lass, near the Mississippi River.
References
1.
http://trainorders.net/discussion/read.php?11,3641443
2.
http://guitarjourney.tripod.com/rayslasallecountyonlinemuseum/id14.html
3.
http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2015/03/cb-illinois-grand-trunk-railway.html
4.
http://www.burlingtonroute.org/members_only/secured/network/division_map/CB&Q_Map_of_Divisions_Schroeder_2020-11-19.jpg
4.
https://www.chicagorailfan.com/rfttbnb.html
(Barstow Subdivision history, which
includes a portion of the Denrock line)
Mendota
Station and
Hotel (1853) (Burlington + Illinois Central)
683
Main St. ( 8th Street and 6th Avenue)
This
large station was an important passenger transfer point
between trains running
on the Illinois Central's original mainline and the
CB&Q. It was considered
to be the largest and best equipped depot between Chicago
and Omaha. In
1870, 39 trains per day passed through Mendota – 25 on the
CB&Q and 14 on
the Illinois Central. Most of these trains stopped at the
station during
daytime or early evening, making for an average of one train
every thirty
minutes. The Passenger House burned in 1885, and was
immediately replaced with
a larger, brick Union Depot, nearly a city block long, and
three stories high.
Its north end was just off Eighth Street, while the south
end extended past
Jefferson Street. The first floor contained a ticket
office, two waiting
rooms – one for the CB&Q and the other for IC
passengers, and a baggage
room.
This
two story combination hotel, restaurant, and depot was
built by the
Illinois Central in 1853. The large facility was an
important passenger
transfer point between trains running on the Illinois
Central's original
mainline between Cairo and Davenport, and the CB&Q,
which was then building
its line west from Chicago. Mendota was the end of the line
for the CB&Q
for several years. Mendota became a popular summer resort
for Chicagoland
residents, who would take the train to Mendota, and then
enjoy the parks, and
dances that were held in the area. In 1870, a total of 39
passenger
trains stopped daily in Mendota. Twenty-five by way of
CB&Q and 14 via the
Illinois Central.
References
http://www.mendotamuseums.org/raypix/pashous.htm
http://guitarjourney.tripod.com/rayslasallecountyonlinemuseum/id5.html
http://guitarjourney.tripod.com/rayslasallecountyonlinemuseum/id14.html
(many photos)
Mendota
Milwaukee Station
http://www.pbase.com/trailryder/railroad_depots&page=all
http://guitarjourney.tripod.com/rayslasallecountyonlinemuseum/id5.html
Oglesby
Branch
(Rockton-Rockford-Flag Center-Streward
Junction-Mendota-Ladd-Oglesby.)
The
Oglesby Branch was built in 1906 to connect the Milwaukee
mainline at Rockford
with the coal mines at Ladd and Oglesby. During the steam
days, the branch was
important, providing a large supply of low cost coal for
operating the
Milwaukee's steam locomotives. When the steam era ended, the
branch was
abandoned.
Oglesby
is located on the Illinois River, opposite :LaSalle, IL. The
route ran from
Rockton-Rockford-Flag Center-Streward
Junction-Mendota-Ladd-Oglesby.. The Milwaukee
mainline crossed the branch at Rockford. [2] Mendota was an
important junction point, where the branch crossed the
Illinois Central
Mainline (Cairo to the Mississippi River and Chicago), and
the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy mainline to Denver.
References
Burlington
Bulletin #71, Burlington Route Historical Society. pp 4?
"Milwaukee's
Rockton to Oglesby Branch"
http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2018/10/milwaukees-rockton-to-oglesby-branch.html
Youtube
Videos
Forsaken
Railroads in Mendota Illinois (10 min)
The
Milwaukee Road Railroad Documentary/ Mendota IL and Vicinity
(34 min)
Earlville
Earlville
is a small, agricultural town founded in 1844, 83 miles
southwest of Chicago,
and 13 miles east of Mendota. Construction on the Chicago,
Burlington &
Quincy Railroad (The Chicago & Aurora Extension RR)
reached Earlville on
October 20, 1853. The Chicago & North Western built a
branch line from
Belvidere, IL to Spring Valley, crossing the CB&Q just
west of Earlville.
The C&NW line was built to provide the railroad with
access to the coal
mines (for the C&NW steam locomotives) around Spring
Valley. A
CB&Q branch line was constructed from Burgess Junction
(Catharine/Catherine, IL) just west of Sheridan, IL to Paw
Paw and then to Rock
Falls (1882). This line connected the Fox River Branch
(Aurora-Streator via the
Fox River) with the mainline at Earlville. Part of this line
used trackage
rights over the C&NW in Earlville.
Earlville
and Mendota had many German speaking residents. My
grandfather's mother and
father spoke German (in Geneseo, IL) and a relative of the
family published a
German Newspaper that had wide circulation. German Bibles
were common during
the 1850's. We received one from my grandfather, and
eventually donated it to
the Geneseo Historical Society. I was raised in Oswego, IL
(outside Aurora) and
had many classmates with German names. I was raised on a
farm, and the family
directly across the road from us, was named Hettrich. They
never spoke of their
German heritage however. There was a German speaking church
about a mile from
our farm on Wolf Road.
My
grandfather Albert Frey, had a business in Earlville (Frey
Produce Company)
located almost opposite the Earlville railroad station.
Earlville is 12 miles
east of Mendota. Their business consisted of selling food
products, sugar, and
raising and selling chickens, and eggs. A "Poultry House"
was
constructed between the main business and the grain elevator
which was
about a block west. The business was established in the
early 1900's and
continued until around 1955.
The
business was served by a siding of the CB&Q, which
delivered flour, and
other dry food products to the business. At one point, the
business shipped
live poultry to Chicago in Poultry cars (accompanied by a
worker, probably my
grandfather's son, Allen, to feed and water the chickens. My
Uncle claims that
at one time they shipped chicken carcasses with the entrails
inside. I thought
this was impossible for sanitary reasons, and asked him
several times about it.
He maintained it was true. (This may have been an Old World
German custom). Even
though Earlville was 78 miles west of Chicago, it was
probably a full day's
ride in a poultry car to get the car into the Chicago
markets. Not sure if the
destination was the Chicago Produce Terminal or the South
Water Street Market.
William
P. Jenkins, a freight agent for the Erie Railroad and James
L.
Streeter, a poultry dealer in Muncie, Indiana, patented a
design for a poultry
car in 1884. The car was designed to transport live poultry
(up to 1,200
turkeys per car) to the slaughter house. Their company,
called the Jenkins Live
Poultry Car Company, was organized in 1888, and subsequently
was reorganized as
the Live Poultry Transportation Company in 1914. The latter
grew rapidly and eventually
was operating a fleet of 2,000 poultry cars.
References
1.
http://www.hoosiervalley.org/history/turkeys-and-trains/
2.
http://www.hoosiervalley.org/photos/historic-railroad-photos/live-poultry-cars/
(photos)
3.
https://ia802706.us.archive.org/0/items/carbuildersdict00forngoog/carbuildersdict00forngoog.pdf
page 166 (Live Poultry Transportation Company car)
4.
https://www.facebook.com/nationalrailroadmuseum/photos/a.114589812152/10158031138312153
(Live Poultry Transit Line photo)
In
later years, the Frey business sold sugar, which was
delivered by truck (I am
thinking late 1930's or during World War II). During WWII,
the sale of sugar
was limited and under government control, because of war
rationing. The Frey
family had their truck hijacked at least twice during this
period - the thieves
took the sugar and left the truck.
My
grandfather's house was on the far west side of Earlville,
on the north side of
the tracks, opposite the elevator. The Burlington built the
wye in the early
1900's-it ran through my Grandfather's property. The wye
connected with the
Chicago & North Western Spring Valley Branch, which ran
on the west side of
my grandfather's house. The area around Spring Valley was
dominated by coal
mines, and the C&NW and the Milwaukee served this area.
The primary purpose
of the wye appears to have been to run steam locomotives
that operated a
"commuter" train. In later years, this train was called
"Billy's
Train" in honor of the long time conductor assigned to the
train.
Earlville was also the terminus of a number of Gas-Electric
routes that
radiated out from Earlville. The motor cars had to be turned
on the wye at the
end of their trip.
A
manual Interlocking Tower was constructed at the southwest
corner of the
junction of the Burlington and the Northwestern lines. Rods,
activated by
levers in the Interlocking Tower, controlled the switches
and signals at the
junction of the Spring Valley Line and the Burlington
mainline.
The
Spring Valley line was built by the Northern Illinois
Railroad Co. in
1884 to connect Belvidere with Spring Valley. The Northern
Illinois Railroad
was sold to the C&NW on June 9, 1888.
The
Northern Illinois Railroad (1884) was organized by the
Chicago & North
Western to connect the North Western with the coal fields in
Spring Valley. The
Spring Valley extension was important for the Chicago &
North Western, as
it provided the closest "on-line" coal supply for the line.
Stations
were constructed at Belvidere, Herbert, Henrietta, Sycamore,
Sycamore Junction,
DeKalb, Elva, Newtown, Shabbona Grove, Rollo, Earlville,
Triumph, Troy Grove,
Siding, Shaft No. 2 and Spring Valley. Belvidere, Sycamore,
DeKalb and Spring
Valley were the most important stations. [2]
Construction
began on April 29, 1885 when the line was built north and
south from DeKalb,
connecting Belvidere with Spring Valley. The line was opened
on November 23,
1885, and soon began shipping 200 cars of coal a day north
from the mines at
Spring Valley. This railroad was taken over by the Chicago
and
Northwestern Railway on June 9, 1888. The railroad’s
passenger service made it
possible to go by train from DeKalb to Madison, Wisconsin by
changing cars at
Belvidere, Rockford and Freeport. My mother took the
C&NW passenger train
(probably a Gas-Electric) from Earlville to DeKalb, where
she attended the
Northern Illinois State Teachers College (now known as
Northern Illinois
University). The trains from the south carried many students
to DeKalb in the
heyday of the railroad. Passenger service was discontinued
early in the 1920's.
The line to the north was discontinued north of Sycamore in
1942, but the line
south to Spring Valley is still part of the Chicago and
North Western System.
References
1.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960
(pp 313)
2.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wdemunn/sets/72157638102927825/
(Photo album:
Steam locomotives, passenger cars, historical newspaper
articles, Herbert, IL
map,
Reference
2 is very good, and contains important historical notes.
The
land for my grandfather's house, and the house immediately
to the east
(eventually owned by his son) were purchased from a Chicago
& Aurora
Railroad land grant. My cousin (my grandfather Frey's
grandson) David Frey,
said he found the original "sheepskin" title document in his
father's
papers.
The
Earlville train station was a "cookie cutter" brick station
design
that appears to be almost identical to other similar
Burlington stations built
during the same period. The Sandwich and Plano stations come
to mind.
Meriden, IL
Meriden,
IL is a small town, about 6 miles east of Mendota. Meriden
never grew
up-it was just a very small country town, with a school,
where my Aunt Mary
taught. The Burlington had a small wooden station there.
References
https://digital.lib.niu.edu/islandora/object/rhcrc%3A1379 (1951
station photo)
