DOUGLAS COUNTY ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

VILLA GROVE, IL

Meet n' Greet The ever elusive NS roadrailers, the 255 and 256, always have to meet somewhere on their treks between Detroit and Kansas City. It's fairly common for them to meet somewhere between Decatur and Lafayette, though it's always hard to predict where. Sometimes, however, you get a little luck. NS 256, eastbound to Detroit, was put into the hole at Unity-Siding siding. A westbound manifest passed by shortly after, and then we were treated to the westbound 255 passing as well. To our surprise, the 255 began to slow way down and then came to a halt at Unity on the main. What a treat. Naturally, as the 255 slowed, we had to snatch some glamour shots of the two sets of Triple Crown trailers side by side. The location and timing was just perfect, and boy did we take that to our full advantage. Here, 255 is still moving, but very slowly to be sure. It would stop just a few more trailer lengths later. Not a photo opportunity you get to have often! Lots more out of this set to come later.
Meet n' Greet Credit: Leo Blackwelder

The Douglas County Illinois Historical Society is located in Villa Grove, Illinois and serves as a repository for the county's historical artifacts, documents, and photographs. The society's mission is to preserve and promote the history of Douglas County, Illinois for future generations.

The society's collection includes a wide range of artifacts and memorabilia that showcase the history of the county, including items related to agriculture, industry, transportation, and local businesses. Visitors to the society can explore exhibits on the county's early settlers, Native American history, and significant events that have shaped the community.

In addition to its museum exhibits, the Douglas County Illinois Historical Society also offers educational programs, workshops, and special events for the public. The society is dedicated to engaging the community in learning about and appreciating the rich history of Douglas County.

Overall, the Douglas County Illinois Historical Society in Villa Grove, IL is a valuable resource for anyone interested in exploring the history and heritage of this Illinois county.

DOUGLAS COUNTY ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SOCIETY is a Historical Societies, Historic Preservation in VILLA GROVE IL. US MID #8401700362

The museum is classed as HSC (Historical Societies, Historic Preservation). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin).

Meet n' Greet The ever elusive NS roadrailers, the 255 and 256, always have to meet somewhere on their treks between Detroit and Kansas City. It's fairly common for them to meet somewhere between Decatur and Lafayette, though it's always hard to predict where. Sometimes, however, you get a little luck. NS 256, eastbound to Detroit, was put into the hole at Unity-Siding siding. A westbound manifest passed by shortly after, and then we were treated to the westbound 255 passing as well. To our surprise, the 255 began to slow way down and then came to a halt at Unity on the main. What a treat. Naturally, as the 255 slowed, we had to snatch some glamour shots of the two sets of Triple Crown trailers side by side. The location and timing was just perfect, and boy did we take that to our full advantage. Here, 255 is still moving, but very slowly to be sure. It would stop just a few more trailer lengths later. Not a photo opportunity you get to have often! Lots more out of this set to come later.
Come Together If there's ever anything I've ever learned, it's that timing is one of the most important things in life. I'd just picked up a buddy to join me in shooting some stuff in the local bubble when an eastbound over Tolono popped up on ATCS as we headed south - we shot ahead to Philo to spot it with crossed fingers. Roadrailer! The 256 was a treat - and exactly what we'd been looking for. It was also slowing down! Unusual to be sure, so we kept following. To our surprise, 256 came to a stop over at CP Sidney, placing its last trailer just a few trailer-lengths away from the crossing in the middle of the Unity-Sidney siding we had met it at. We had a westbound manifest pass by, and when 256 still didn't move on, we knew there was only one thing they could be waiting on. What else has the kind of priority to put a roadrailer in the hole these days, eh? NS255, with Dash 9 NS9928 on the head, came rounding the bend on the curve into Sidney. Plus, a little hole in the clouds for some sunlight that we had missed out on earlier. Talk about timing! How much more can you ask for? We weren't even asking for more, but yet we got it when the 255 rolled to a stop literally right there in front of us. For just about 5 minutes, 255 and 256 were just sat there occupying all of Unity-Sidney's main and siding, unmoving. It may not sound like much, or even a bit silly, but man that is not one you get every day! Truly, all the pieces to a great afternoon on the Lafy came together at the perfect time. Timing. All about timing, I tell ya.
Hanging onto Hayes When M396 had the IC heritage unit 3008 leading it earlier this year, my buddy and I had originally only planned to start our day at Hayes, but we decided to go find it, hence our viewing at Tuscola previously. It was a pretty easy race to Hayes thanks to the speed restrictions in and around Tuscola at the time. Hayes has been my go-to spot on the IC this year it seems like, I think I'm subconsciously making up for missing the old Lodge elevator. At any rate, the classic Hayes elevator makes a wonderful framing device for CN3008 and CN3219 as they lead M396 north towards Champaign. They'll stop there for yard work, though we didn't follow beyond there. Something else caught our attention to the west after we saw them into town...
Resurgence NS 256, the Detroit-bound roadrailer, surprised us with a nice fakebonnet-styled treat not long ago. We were also treated to CN dispatch taking over the Tolono diamond for a few trains, forcing the 256 to stop on the west side of said diamond. Enough time for me to head east and find a spot for a photo, and enough time for a buddy to come down and join me for it. At CP Unity on the Lafayette District, BNSF751 leads our ever-elusive roadrailer through empty fields and the shattered remains of codeline. The henbit that cover some of the fields make for an interesting contrast with the very out of place fakebonnet unit to say the least!
Lost Connection CN A407 is still very consistently handled by the former IC SD70s, and that was no exception when I happened upon them in Tolono. I was on the search for roadrailers that day, in actual fact, but I couldn't resist another opportunity to snatch some more Illinois Central power. IC1038 and IC1036 have the honours today. Our sightline here is from the now cut CN-NS connector at Tolono. NS still stuffs cars on these tracks sometimes, but no longer can either company transfer cars or power using this connection. It's been like this for a while now, but it's always a shame to see infrastructure get torn up. Even though traffic doesn't necessitate the connector now, maybe one day in the future it will. Who knows.
Second Choice Hayes old grain elevator makes for an interesting sight beside the CN 8952, the Grand Trunk heritage unit. This elevator hasn't been used in many decades, but still manages to stand proudly in the fields. It's a treat to still be able to shoot it. Originally, our plan with 8952 and E271 was to shoot it at Pesotum, however thanks to its work in Champaign, long shadows were eclipsing our shot. Not ideal, so we bailed on that and decided to go for Hayes. I toyed with various angles at the elevator, but finding something I was happy with was a struggle, though I've got ideas for future shots here for sure. The tight frame may not be the best for this spot, but I decided to give it a go anyway. Good learning experience here anyways.
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Always On The Move CN E271 came through the area recently with a surprise - CN 8952, the Grand Trunk heritage unit leading. Probably the nicest of the CN heritage units in all honesty. I got word of its imminent arrival, picked up a friend, and headed up to Rantoul to meet the thing just in the nick of time. Naturally, we wound up chasing the thing for a while, though it did spend a good while in Champaign. We had some shots lined up, but a fast moving train and lighting changing quick, our plans were changing a fair bit too. Looking back, we had some other opportunities we could have taken, but you work with what you've got in the moment. Although we'd expected E271 to head straight through Mattoon, RTC had a different plan and wound up sticking him in the hole at Humboldt. We learned of this when we got to Humboldt and checked the signals out. Amtrak was coming north, so they were sticking him in the siding prematurely. We didn't have enough time to get back to Arcola for a shot, but midway along the Humboldt siding we just nabbed something quick. Golden hour was nearing, but so were long, low shadows that made us have to change plans yet again afterwards. You win some, you lose some, you learn some. Something neat worth noting is the 5-pack of 48ft intermodal well-cars that headed up the train. 48 footers are becoming rarer and rarer, making this just a little more neat than it already was.
Dusk at Dawn Sometimes things line up nicely. After coming off yet another venture to the Bloomington District, I found myself wandering over to Tolono just to see what was going on. D91 was working industry near CP Dawn, and some stuff was moving around on CN and NS alike, so I had a little look around. I initially thought to just sort of watch and wait, put down the camera and just see some things move. We, as photographers, end up watching trains move primarily through our camera viewfinders, or rearview mirrors as we speed away to the next spot for a photo. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and watch. Yet, when I turned up at CP Dawn, there was no way I could put down my camera. The sunset was blossoming into a brilliant orange fireball, and with NS sending a westbound train my direction, it was shaping up to be a wonderful view. Timing really is the crux of it all. NS 181, chock full of classic big 86ft autoparts boxcars and led by one of the new UP repaints, heads off into the sunset at CP Dawn on the NS Lafayette District. Many of these boxcars are reaching their 50 service life date, so many may not last all that much longer in operation. But then who knows? Either way, they're a cool sight for now, as is a classic sunset. A very nice way to end a very nice day out.
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Contact DOUGLAS COUNTY ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

DOUGLAS COUNTY ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
402 N PINE ST
VILLA GROVE
IL
61956

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DOUGLAS COUNTY ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Information

MID # 8401700362
Name DOUGLAS COUNTY ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Alternate Name
Classification Historical Societies, Historic Preservation, , Midwest
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) 237074718
NTEECC
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM)
INCOME 0
REVENUE 0
LAT/LONG 39.866972, -88.164114
CODES FIPS State Code: 17
FIPS County Code: 041
US Census Tract: 952100
US Census Block: 2021