Mid-American

          Issue 3
The Current Issue (2008:1):
     Oasis in the Cornfields: The Heyworth
            Branch
            by Steve Smedley
     Railroad Swap Meet: Steam Exchanges and
            Comparisons of the Illinois Central and
            Central of Georgia
            by George Waltershausen
     The Carbondale Connection
            by Rev. John Mummert

Issue 3: Don Lewis: President's Page:

    Some roads are just plain easy to model, or at least you can get all the information and all the models you could ever want. Union Pacific and the Pennsylvania come to mind, yet there are many others. For the IC fan, sometime it’s slim pickins! It is true that just about any small town library has a few books on the IC, but these mostly center on the trials of the first years, the intrigue of economics and political skullduggery, and, while worthwhile reading, it is dry, dry, dry indeed. There are some synopses and lone chapters in some fine books, and two books of recent publication specifically about the IC north and south of the Ohio River, and even a nice color pictorial. If you are a passenger train fan, you can find one by the Terminal Railroad Association Historical Society people about those. I guess there are about 15 books at last count that I could use in my library about the IC. When I visited the PRR gift shop in Altoona, Pennsylvania, there were 220 on the PRR. Yes, I asked! When you set about to find specific details, photos and rosters of freight cars and locomotives, you soon thank God that the Internet is at your disposal. The point is that you have to scrounge a bit. But that is the fun of it. If I modeled Pennsy, and I wanted to model a certain station, I could have books, photos, diagrams, and even HO (or O, or S scale) plans at a snap.
    What we do have is a wealth of knowledge in our societies and news groups. Just as one example; Ray Breyer, of the Yahoo IC modelers group, can tell you scads of detail about IC steam and how to attempt to model it, admittedly with great effort. Even the best of the recent steam offerings are only “close,” or existed only for a specific engine number, not representative of an entire class. This dearth of prototypically correct models extends to freight cars especially, and even companies and groups with every possible resource at their disposal have somehow come up with incorrect colors, incorrect markings, or both. Of late, passenger fans have fared a bit better with offerings by Walthers and Rapido. Some are “dead on,” and some are at least great “stand-ins.”
    In structures, we do have Type A and Type B depots, both of the laser-cut variety. C. C. Crow makes a great La Salle (Illinois) enginehouse (which was a former freight station) in Hydrocal plaster, but you certainly don’t have the variety of structures that Santa Fe fans have. That forces you to kitbash or scratchbuild. But there, again, in the search lies the fun!
    I model the Amboy District of the old Gruber line on Oct. 5, 1954. One center of a great deal of activity is Dixon’s Medusa Portland Cement. Much of what takes place in the 7th Street Yard has to do with what goes into or comes out of that facility. My search has been to know as much as I can about how cement was made then, not now. I have to look at St. Mary’s Cement Company (the new name) and sort through the structures with my mind, as well as my eyes, to see what has remained, what has been removed, and what has been added. Believe me, the people at St. Mary's know me on a first-name basis.
    So my message this month is this: Many, if not most of you readers know much more about the IC than I do, but we all know something. We can try to know more, and to share what we know freely and in a friendly manner. Whatever your interest, enjoy the journey. Tell us what you would like to see in these pages, and we will try to make it happen.

    ---Don Lewis
    President

Issue 3: Paul Burgess: From the Cab:

    One of the most interesting things about editing the Mid-American is the chance to talk to people about their various interests as they pertain to either the old Illinois Central, or the current operations that go on whatever corner of the system that they happen to have a taste for. One of the most often repeated comments, one that happens to fit my view of things as well, is an eagerness to explore what I would call the "odd corners." Most of us are reasonably well aware of what did or didn't transpire along the IC's Chicago-New Orleans mainline, and the history and fates of some of the IC's most famous trains, and of course, the immortal Casey Jones. And don't worry -- we have had and we will be having plenty of coverage of things like that! However, I think many of us also have a real interest in finding out the history of the out-of-the-way operations and trains that made up the IC's "hinterlands" -- the odd corners, if you will. Maybe these were local passenger trains, or quaint little branches that are long-since-gone, or maybe the more interesting and unusual equipment that made up the railroad’s power or rolling stock fleets. It's always fun to find that little nugget of information that virtually no one has heard before.
    We've had a bit of that already with George Waltershausen's fine piece on the Dodgeville Branch, Colonel Pat McDurmon's (whom I am glad to report is home safe, I might add, from combat duty in Iraq) fine treatment of the Paducah & Illinois Bridge Company, and Bill O'Hara's take on the South Chicago Commuter line -- all odd corners, to be sure, and the articles have generated much favorable comment. I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to write me and let me know how they felt about our progress so far -- believe me when I say we appreciate the compliments and take your suggestions for improvement to heart.
    This new issue will see the search for the IC's "odd corners" continue. George Waltershausen is back for us with an outstanding piece on the steam-era power-sharing arrangements that went on between the IC and the Central of Georgia -- many of us are probably aware and perhaps have seen pictures of the CofG E units on IC passenger trains (and some lucky few of you might have seen the real thing!), but how many of us knew all about the way the two roads shared steam power as well? It was all new to me, and I bet you'll enjoy it as much as I did! Famed Midwestern rail photographer Steve Smedley contributes a wonderful piece on the stub end of the IC's old Charter Line, now used in branch service, in his article on the Heyworth Branch. For those few of you who may be unfamiliar with Mr. Smedley's work, you are in for a treat. Steve, a professional news photographer and long-time IC/ICG fan, brings his considerable talents to our magazine for the first time. Welcome aboard! Reverend John Mummert is not far behind, contributing an interesting look at IC's unremarked Carbondale-St. Louis connecting passenger trains. These feeders to the mainline are rightly famous, but relatively little has been documented on them. Rev. Mummert helps fill that gap. We have a bit of news, a few pictures, our very first book review, and an announcement or three to round things out. We hope you like it, and we intend to fill future issues with the things you enjoy -- lots of great stories and pictures of the "once & future" Illinois Central, in all her grand and colorful permutations.
    A reminder -- as you hold this issue in your hands, Spring is here (thank goodness!), and with it comes Homewood (Illinois) Railroad Heritage Days on May 17-18, 2008. All events and venues at this must-attend IC-focus event are free of charge, and the ICRHA will be in attendance -- come out and take part in the fun, meet your editorial staff, make some new friends, and see some old ones. I hope to greet you there!

    ---Paul Burgess
    Editor