Winfield in DuPage County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Hedges Station 1849 Depot

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 11, 2025

1. Hedges Station 1849 Depot Marker

Inscription. This track is a re-creation of strap-rail track, which was the first type of track laid in 1848 by the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. When iron became available this track was replaced with iron rail. The use of this track coincides with the period of time Hedges Station served as a depot, from 1849 to 1854. This is the only known example of strap-rail track in the midwest.

Constructed by the Winfield Historical Society, July, 2004

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1848.

Location. 41° 52.912′ N, 88° 9.378′ W. Marker is in Winfield, Illinois, in DuPage County. It is on Winfield Road (County Route 13) south of Waterford Drive, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 0N555 Winfield Road, Winfield IL 60190, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

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 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Hedges Station, 1849 (a few steps from this marker); Veterans Memorial Bridge (approx. 0.9 miles away); 9/11 Memorial (approx. one mile away); Veterans Memorial (approx. one mile away); DuPage County Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.4 miles away); Lester W. Weber (approx. 1.4 miles away); "For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today" (approx. 1.4 miles away); James H. Monroe (approx. 1.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Winfield.

Regarding Hedges Station 1849 Depot. The depot itself remained at its original location about ¾ of a mile south of here until about 1981, when it was moved to enable an expansion of Winfield's Village Hall. The old Galena and Chicago line today is the Union Pacific-West line on the Chicago area's Metra system.

Also see . . .
1. Winfield Historical Society: Hedges Station.

Excerpt: “A 'strap-rail track' was used because iron
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 11, 2025

2. "Strap-rail" tracks at Hedges Station
These tracks are on display in front of the depot. Strap-rail tracks were, for a time, a popular method of building railroads in the United States, as they required far less iron than the typical railroad track. According to the Hedges Station official site, this small stretch in Winfield is the only example of strap-rail tracks in the Midwest.
was hard to obtain in sufficient quantities for new railroads. A strap-rail track consisted of rails made of lumber with a strap or narrow length of iron on top of it. This type of railway track was not used for long because the strap had a tendency to 'snakehead,' or pop up into the train cars after some use. The same rail line was gradually replaced with solid iron rails as traffic increased.”

(Submitted on November 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Strap Rail.

Excerpt from the Construction Physics website: "One interesting example of the different railroad conditions in the US and Britain is a railroad technology that was briefly popular for early US railroads: the strap rail track. British railroads were built with solid iron rails which, while effective, were expensive. Strap rail, by contrast, was built by attaching a thin plate of iron to the top of a piece of timber. This greatly reduced the amount of iron required to build railroad track — while British track required 91 tons of iron per mile, strap rail required just 25 tons."

(Submitted on November 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Hedges Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 11, 2025

3. Hedges Station

Credits. This page was last revised on November 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 50 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.