Glen Carbon in Madison County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Railroads

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 22, 2021

1. Railroads Marker

Inscription.

Railroads. . , [Marker features a set of historic photos:] , Engine on Ill. Central Railroad , Engine No. 480 is parked on the Illinois Central Railroad at the Illinois Central Depot (at the intersection of Collinsville Street and Bike Trail). This engine was used to haul local coal cars. In the background is a coal car loaded. Note the gas lamp in the right of the picture.

Site of Tower House , LeRoy Harris (Village Historian) is pointing to foundation of Tower House at west terminus of Illinois Central (now Heritage Bike Trail) and railroad tracks still in use. Baseball diamond and bike trail parking lot is located in background between trail on right and railroad on left. Photo was taken in 1990.

Train Wrecks , Periodically trains traveling through Glen Carbon would derail or wreck. Some of the more spectacular wrecks became known by the cargo they were carrying. For instance "Gasoline Wreck" or "Peach Wreck". These photos show two such wrecks. The earliest is probably from the 1930s or 40s. The other two are from 1960 and show a wreck at the intersection of the two western railroad tracks and the Illinois Central track. The portion of Glen Carbon shown in the background of the wrecks is known as "Wayside".

Glen Tower , At Glen Carbon, the control building was the now-demolished Glen Tower, whose concrete foundation blocks stand at the head of the Glen Carbon Heritage Trail. It stood in the "vee" between the Nickel Plate and Illinois Central tracks on the south side of the junction, a position which gave the tower operator from his position on the upper of its two floors a clear view of the junction in all directions. It was the control center for the junction, manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it performed a function not unlike a control tower at an airport today. The tower operator controlled train movements through the junction by remotely throwing the track switches to line various routes between tracks. He also remotely set the trackside signals which by their positions or combinations of colored lights indicated to locomotive engineers the route which was lined and safely locked for train movement, and gave them the permission to move their train through the junction. The operator also communicated with the train dispatcher by telegraph or telephone, copying from the dispatcher onto paper forms the operational orders for trains. These the operator haded up to train crews passing by at speed, using a special forked rod, generally known as a "train order hoop" into what the operational orders were tautly tied on a string, waiting to be snatched by the crew of a passing train.

[Marker features a set of historic photos:]
Engine on Ill. Central Railroad
Engine No. 480 is parked on the Illinois Central Railroad at the Illinois Central Depot (at the intersection of Collinsville Street and Bike Trail). This engine was used to haul local coal cars. In the background is a coal car loaded. Note the gas lamp in the right of the picture.

Site of Tower House
LeRoy Harris (Village Historian) is pointing to foundation of Tower House at west terminus of Illinois Central (now Heritage Bike Trail) and railroad tracks still in use. Baseball diamond and bike trail parking lot is located in background between trail on right and railroad on left. Photo was taken in 1990.

Train Wrecks
Periodically trains traveling through Glen Carbon would derail or wreck. Some of the more spectacular wrecks became known by the cargo they were carrying. For instance "Gasoline Wreck" or "Peach Wreck". These photos show two such wrecks. The earliest is probably from the 1930s or 40s. The other two are from 1960 and show a wreck at the intersection of the two western railroad tracks and the Illinois Central track. The portion of Glen Carbon shown in the background of the wrecks is known as "Wayside".

Glen Tower
At Glen Carbon, the control building was the now-demolished Glen Tower, whose concrete foundation blocks stand at the head of the Glen Carbon Heritage Trail. It stood in the "vee" between the Nickel Plate and Illinois Central tracks on the south side of the junction, a position which gave the tower operator from his position on the upper of its two floors a clear view of the junction in all directions. It was the control center for the junction, manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it performed a function not unlike a control tower at an airport today. The tower operator controlled train movements through the junction by remotely throwing the track switches to line various routes between tracks. He also remotely set the trackside signals which by their positions or combinations of colored lights indicated to locomotive engineers the route which was lined and safely locked for train movement, and gave them the permission to move their train through the junction. The operator also communicated with the train dispatcher by telegraph or telephone, copying from the dispatcher onto paper forms the operational orders for trains. These the operator haded up to train crews passing by at speed, using a special forked rod, generally known as a "train order hoop" into what the operational orders were tautly tied on a string, waiting to be snatched by the crew of a passing train.

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This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1990.

Location. 38° 44.926′ N, 89° 58.984′ W. Marker is in Glen Carbon, Illinois, in Madison County. It is at the intersection of Collinsville Street and South Main Street, on the right when traveling north on Collinsville Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 192 S Main St, Glen Carbon IL 62034, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater St. Louis.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Glen Carbon Won the Inter-City Championship in 1934 (here, next to this marker); Glen Carbon (here, next to this marker); Churches (here, next to this marker); Homesteads

Historic Glen Carbon Photo Displays image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 22, 2021

2. Historic Glen Carbon Photo Displays

(here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Railroads (here, next to this marker); Village Government 1912 (here, next to this marker); Baseball (here, next to this marker); Schools (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Glen Carbon.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 28, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 28, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 302 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 28, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 2. submitted on March 27, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.