HOMER HISTORICAL SOCIETY

HOMER, IL

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.
Come Together Credit: Leo Blackwelder

The Homer Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Homer, Illinois. Founded in 1975, the Society works to promote and share the unique history of Homer, a small village located approximately two hours south of Chicago.

The Society offers a variety of programs and activities to promote the history of Homer, such as lectures and educational presentations, monthly meetings, museum tours, and the publication of a quarterly newsletter. The Society also maintains an extensive digital archive of Homer’s history, which includes photographs, documents, and other materials.

The Society is also actively involved in preserving Homer’s historic buildings. It has developed a Historic Preservation Plan to identify and protect historic buildings, and has also worked with the Village of Homer to develop a Historic Preservation Ordinance.

The Homer Historical Society is an invaluable resource for the community. It works to ensure that the history and culture of Homer is preserved for future generations.

HOMER HISTORICAL SOCIETY is a Historical Societies, Historic Preservation in HOMER IL. US MID #8401701004

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). Total revenue from most recent IRS 990 Form: $ 2,483 from tax period 201212 (YYYYMM).

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.
Tucked Away The Humko Job has been going daily for many, many years, though isn't one that's often photographed. Typically a pair of Geeps, it can always be found serving Kraft and neighbouring warehouse Monday to Friday, though when it heads back to serve Plastipak and/or Prairie Materials is less rigid. As a result, not many snap shots of Humko outside of the yard, diamond, or by Kraft. Hidden between the eastbound and westbound bridges of the beginning of I-72, this small wooden trestle carries the Humko across it when it does come back to access Plastipak/Prairie. It's a location that is by no means difficult to get to, but not convenient, so it is oft-forgotten by railfans seeking photos of the usual pair of Geeps. It's a spot I've been meaning to shoot for ages, but just never had the chance. This time, however, I did have a chance as the train was taking some extra time to grab their caboose before heading back to Kraft after having set out limestone loads at Prairie Materials. A bit of a jog down the path later and I was there. The path does go right under the bridge, and there isn't much clearance! I'm not super tall, about average height, and my the top of my head only just clears it. I imagine a few people have probably hit their head on it by now! GTW5846 & GTW4906 pull the R902 "Humko Job" today, though they have since been split up.
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.
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!
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Daffodils and magnolia
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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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Local Power Every so often, seems like once or twice a month, the CN Humko job goes back to Prairie Materials to drop off limestone loads. Up until just a week ago, the Humko was staffed by a pair of GTW Geeps - a fine combo! The two units initially shoved back far enough to clear Springfield Avenue, but then later pulled up to the switch back onto the Seymour Spur, where they would sit for a good few minutes and block up the road for a while. Comparing GTW5846 and GTW4906 is fun - both GP38-2s, but with quite a few phase differences! 5846, a former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie unit, is a 1977-built ph2a1 unit, which was acquired by GTW about 1984. The 4906, meanwhile, is former Missouri Pacific, and one of the earliest GP38-2s manufactured with a build date of 1/1972. The differences between these units are generally minor, but a few notable things are easily seen - the easiest of which are the radiator intakes, note the early phase split-intakes on the 4906 and the late phase single-section on the 5846. Plenty more details are different between units - 81" vs 88" nose length, handrails, pilots, even numbers of rivets on panels and louvres on battery boxes cover differ. The rabbit hole of production phases differences is a deep one, but an interesting one for the modeler especially! Also, GP38-2s are cool, especially still painted in blue and red. Always nice to see these on the Humko.

Contact HOMER HISTORICAL SOCIETY

HOMER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
107 N MAIN ST
HOMER
IL
61849-1223

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HOMER HISTORICAL SOCIETY Information

MID # 8401701004
Name HOMER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Alternate Name
Classification Historical Societies, Historic Preservation, , Midwest
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) 371049048
NTEECC A82
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM) 201212
INCOME 2,483
REVENUE 2,483
LAT/LONG 40.036351, -87.958066
CODES FIPS State Code: 17
FIPS County Code: 019
US Census Tract: 010800
US Census Block: 1016