Hi all--

Recently I visited the former Wabash depot in Forrest, IL. Research concluded that it was abandoned for some time after the N&W abandoned the line through Forrest. Today though, it has been restored and appears to be a museum in the making. I read somewhere they plan to have it open for the annual Wabash Days celebration in town in a couple weeks. Does anyone know if this is going to happen and when?

Also, another site I found with information on the depot states that it's a replica of the original, but I don't see why that would be nessascary as the depot wasn't in beyond-repair condition during its years of dereliction.

Any info on the station, festival, and/or the roundhouse facility nearby would be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Thomas Dyrek

The museum has been completed and is open on Saturdays in June, July and August from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Inside are mainly displays of model railroad equipment, though there is some information on the history of Forrest as a Wabash Division Point (and, at one time, Illinois Division HQ). The building comprises both a section of the old Wabash structure and a re-construction of the south end of the depot with the octagon tower in the style of the original. As the importance of Forrest as an operating point declined, the large depot/division office building was cut back substantially by the railroad until only the small surviving portion remained.

Here's a photo of the depot/museum taken earlier this year:

I go by Forrest once a year on a trip to Bloomington, Illinois and I am impressed by the nice preservation work this small town has done. In addition to the depot, they have also restored an old nearby wooden hotel. And they cleaned out the junk in the old turntable pit and may one day even restore the turntable itself. I have seen an old photograph of the Wabash roundhouse that was there. There were separate buildings as the original roundhouse was apparently added onto at least twice. In addition to being on the Wabash main between Chicago and St. Louis, there was also a Wabash branch line out of Forrest that ran either next to, or over trackage rights on, the TP&W west to Fairbury from whence it travelled northwest up to Streator, Illinois.

Les

The turntable pit is attempting to return to nature as this photo, taken on May 30, 2016, shows. The entire "Forrest Railroad Park" project was done with government grants, and as all the monies have been spent, there are no funds available for the logical(?) next step of re-decking the turntable and maybe putting it into operation.

As to the Streator Branch, it once was a separate railroad running from there as far south as Altamont, IL on the Vandalia Line (PRR). The section between Bement, IL and Strawn (7 mi. S. of Forrest) became part of the Wabash mainline between Chicago and Decatur, the section from Strawn to Fairbury being abandoned and replaced by trackage rights on the TP&W for locals operating out of Forrest.

Peter -

Thanks for the explanation of the Wabash trackage in that area. Also, one thing that we have not mentioned is that Forrest also has on display N&W bay window caboose #557542, which is former Nickel Plate Road number 442. A Wabash Railroad caboose would certainly have been more appropriate, but perhaps the ex-NKP example was the best that could be secured at the time. A plan to build a track off of the turntable to the caboose, might be the emphasis needed to get the turntable re-decked and operational. It only takes bucks and commitment!

Les

Thank you all for the valuable information. It seems like they have done a fantastic job of bringing a piece of history back to life. Do any of you have shots of the inside?

Regards,
Thomas Dyrek