BELLFLOWER VILLAGE AND MUSEUM

BELLFLOWER, IL

The Little Things NS 50G hauls its Gibson City grain loads south past the old Wabash H5 dwarf at Lodge, IL. These dwarf signals were installed originally as just the single H5 head on the ground, but later on were retrofitted with the HC-33 lamp atop it. This allowed the signal to display a lunar, making some very interesting indications you can still see today - though not commonly. Today, it's dark as nothing is on the siding, but it's a wonderful piece of Wabash history on this old line.
The Little Things Credit: Leo Blackwelder

Bellflower Village and Museum, located in Bellflower, Illinois, is a unique and interesting historical experience. The village was established in 1864 and consists of a number of buildings that have been restored and made into a living museum. The village features a host of interesting artifacts, including an old jail, a general store, a church, a blacksmith shop, and a post office, among others.

The village and museum also offer a variety of educational opportunities. There are several annual events, such as the Annual Heritage Festival, where visitors can learn about the history of Bellflower and the surrounding area. Additionally, the museum offers guided tours and educational programs that take visitors through the various buildings and artifacts.

The village and museum also feature a variety of activities for the whole family. Visitors can enjoy a picnic in the park, take a ride on the miniature train, or explore the many exhibits and displays. There is also a gift shop and a restaurant, both of which offer delicious local cuisine.

Bellflower Village and Museum is a great place to learn about the history of the area and explore a unique and interesting setting. Whether you’re looking for a family outing or an educational experience, Bellflower Village and Museum is a great place to visit.

BELLFLOWER VILLAGE AND MUSEUM is a Uncategorized or General Museum in BELLFLOWER IL. US MID #8401700269

The museum is classed as GMU (Uncategorized or General Museums). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin).

The Little Things NS 50G hauls its Gibson City grain loads south past the old Wabash H5 dwarf at Lodge, IL. These dwarf signals were installed originally as just the single H5 head on the ground, but later on were retrofitted with the HC-33 lamp atop it. This allowed the signal to display a lunar, making some very interesting indications you can still see today - though not commonly. Today, it's dark as nothing is on the siding, but it's a wonderful piece of Wabash history on this old line.
Entrapment After having sat on the switch blocking Springfield Avenue for a good 10-15 minutes, CN's Humko job gets a move on. The few-times-a-month shove back here lets the local drop off limestone loads at Prairie Material, and occasionally it works Plastipak as well. Today, they're just setting out some limestone cars. They'll pull forward and go back to grab their caboose, then they'll be off to go work the Kraft plant. Our pair of Grand Trunk units are out of place here, as these rails are former IC. These tracks were formerly the Havana District, although what remains of the tracks were taken out of service by CN about a decade ago. All tracks east of Seymour are gone, abandoned in the 80s - except for what MRYM got to keep!
Blown A southbound movement on the Bloomington District paired with incoming tornado-watched storms made for an interesting combination. I haven't gotten the classic Goembel signal-codeline shot in a long, long time, so with clouds incoming I decided to give it a whirl. Little did I know that as D36 sped past, some of the storms to my southwest were going tornado warned - I wound up going after those rather than the SD60E duo, though that didn't amount to much. One day, though! Even though the storms that were up on the Bloomington District here weren't nearly as strong as those to the south, the formations in the clouds were fairly dramatic at times, a fun sight. Although our power was just a pair of SD60Es, what was pointed out to me after the fact was that I had inadvertently shot the two former OCS units. NS 7034 and 7035 were re-geared for 79mph operation in 2021 to replace the then-recently sold F-units and handle the office car train, but fairly recently the two units were re-re-geared and put back into freight service. Takes a pair of uninteresting motors and makes them slightly more interesting to see, anyway.
Back Like That Another day, another D36. Sometimes I feel like I shoot and post about the Bloomington District and its signals too much, but also, SD40-2s and vintage searchlights in 2024 are a pretty sweet thing. I just can't help but keep coming back! A lot of the D36s in recent months have been getting out of Gibson City late, when darkness has fallen too much for me to get a satisfactory shot (or a shot at all!), so it's a very nice thing when one of them gets underway in good light. Thankfully, they do spend so much time up in Gibby that it makes getting into position plenty easy. CP Goembel is the trickier signal of the Osman-Goembel siding to get into position for (and by tricky I mean not very tricky, just a little bit more walking than Osman) so that extra time is nice, and doing something with that time is nicer. Goembel has some fun angles to try, but this spot is a classic. Also a nice change of pace to get some sun finally! Always seems to be overcast, but not today. Polite day, fair weather, good light, power, and signals. What's not to love? NS3395 / NS6936, NS D36 @ Goembel, IL.
Working With It When the news hit me that the IC1000 was leading A407 out of Champaign, I knew I had to go for it - even though the lighting conditions were stacked against me. We all know the struggle of having light against you in a shot - a northbound in the sun in the afternoon, in my case - and how it is often times not worth bothering to shoot anyway. In the majority of cases, this holds true and its not worth fighting the inevitable backlit mess. Well, except this time. For me, anyway, I would take anything with the newly white silled SD70, even if the light was a struggle to deal with. So, at Leverett Junction, I just worked with what I had, going for a variation of the tire photo. Simple, nothing fancy, but it featured the IC1000, so that's all I needed. It looks so good in the white. Just can't get enough. It's been several years and this tire is still just hung on the fence here. I don't get it. Still makes a good framing device, anyway.
A Cold Day at Osman I don't often check the weather as much I know I should. As a result, I woke up to a total surprise - a fresh blanket of snow. It was still coming down, too. I figured I wouldn't be leaving the house any time soon. Naturally, as things go, I did end up leaving the house. Armed with the knowledge that there was opposing traffic on the Bloomington District, I was hopeful that I would get there in time to shoot both trains. Of course, slow moving traffic from the snowfall made that impossible. However, D36 was as usual taking its very sweet time up in Gibson City. D17 had parked up on the main at Goembel, and I had parked down at Osman. After seemingly ages, D36 got on the move. Typically most people shooting these signals would park on the service road to them, however given conditions and my FWD sedan I go shooting in - no chance. Meant I had a little hike, which is always fun in cold, breezy and snowy conditions. A good jacket really makes a difference. NS3362, followed by 6406 and 5823, led the daily Bloomington-Decatur local out of the Osman siding after creeping through it slow as could be. The PTC antenna is a stark reminder that despite the old signals and old codeline that dots the old Wabash main, modernization is the future of this line one way or another.
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In The Air Tonight After an already interesting day of shooting a surprise heritage unit back on the old IC mainline, the notification of a southbound green signal at Gibson City alerted my buddy and I to a train on the Bloomington District. Armed with the knowledge that a high hood Geep had been sent to Good Yard the day prior, and the newfound news of the death of the 6173 (more on that another time), we quickly decided to jump on the opportunity for what could potentially been a particularly wild lashup. Though D36 did indeed have an SD40E/SD40-2/GP38-2 high hood as its lashup, the switching in Gibson City took a while, and we were faced with shooting in darkness and had to throw out our prior shooting plans. When they did finally take off, we decided to shoot it at Goembel, a little going away shot with the signals, and be on our way - maybe hit up Lodge afterwards for a similar thing. However, the crackling of the scanner alerted us to the fact D36 was actually meeting D09 at the Osman-Goembel siding. D09s GE leader shone a dim light in the distance as we set up tripods, but neither of us were prepared for the sudden blaze of light once D36 had cleared the CP and D09 got its green light north. A light fog rolling in made the headlights pop that much more, and even brought in some nice beams of light from the old Wabash-installed H5 searchlights. It became very obvious very quickly that we would be fools to leave and chase after D36 - that grainer was well worth waiting for. Quite a way to cap off the day, to say the least.
Manning Mansfield There's been a recent string of daylight D32s on the Bloomington District - something not terribly common these days as any enthusiast of the line is all too aware of. Typically SD60Es or admiral cab 40s and 38-2s dominate, but recently, an elusive SD40E ran D32 solo. Talk about unexpected, I had just seen the signal lit at Lodge and decided to venture out that way to see what was happening. A very pleasant surprise indeed. At Mansfield, NS6343 starts its brief work at the towns operable elevator. It would set out the single grain hopper 4th in line in the consist, then recouple to the rest of its train and move on northwards.
Grey Day at Goembel After many weeks of a train-dry-spell, I happened to open ATCS at just the right time to spot a northbound lined up the Bloomington District on Sunday afternoon. Considering how D32/D36 haven't run on weekends for months, that was quite the pleasant surprise. I thought I would be too late to get out there to nab the northbound, but after they seemed to get stuck in Mansfield, I ventured out. Tough lighting to work with, but clouds do mean northbounds are shootable generally. Goembel was my target for the day - who doesn't love a big three-headed searchlight? The old Wabash-era H5s still look good, even stood next to the ugly PTC antenna that was planted here months ago. A little charm on the line was lost when the PTC poles came in, but that isn't nearly enough to keep me away, anyway. Heading up NS D32 was 3362, 6108, 7014, & 3395 - all NS. I was surprised by just how many tankers were on this D32 - two placarded for refrigerated carbon dioxide, but at least 50 of them for UN1987 - ethanol, I'd be willing to bet. It may not be the unit ethanol trains that ran on the Bloomington a few years ago, but that is quite the upgrade from what it has been. Nice to get out of the house and see that.
7-22-23, Premier Cooperative SW900 903 Built 4/59 as Rock Island 903. As has been posted about this unit, it appears to have not been moved in awhile. I thought I would post a shot of the other end.
7-22-23, Union Pacific C44AC 6149 Built 4/1995 as Southern Pacific AC4400CW 100. Renumbered from UP 6380 in 12/99. Leading a southbound CN train through Thomasboro, IL.

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BELLFLOWER VILLAGE AND MUSEUM
210 N LATCHA ST
BELLFLOWER
IL
61724

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BELLFLOWER VILLAGE AND MUSEUM Information

MID # 8401700269
Name BELLFLOWER VILLAGE AND MUSEUM
Alternate Name
Classification Uncategorized or General Museums, , Midwest
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)
NTEECC
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM)
INCOME 0
REVENUE 0
LAT/LONG 40.341386, -88.525629
CODES FIPS State Code: 17
FIPS County Code: 113
US Census Tract: 005502
US Census Block: 2116