Central Illinois Public Service #2

Does anyone have any info on this loco? It's listed on steamlocomotive.com, but does not appear on steamlocomotive.info. I've checked the Illinois and Missouri listings in Mr. Conrad's books, but haven't found it.

http://parkengines.railfan.net/IL/
mckay1995@comcast.net

Can't speak as to information regarding this engine, but I know of at least one engine that should be on that listing.

In Bensenville, Illinois is an Alco 0-6-0.
(Acme Sand & Gravel ??)
Parked with an ex-Milwaukee Road coach and rib sided caboose. It's been there for many years, nicely kept up and maintained. The coach and caboose have been added in the recent past, I beleive the caboose to have been the one that was just down the road in Ithasca, Ill.

The display is alongside the METRA tracks, just south of Irving Park Rd, and perhaps a mile west of York Rd.

JC

> Can't speak as to information regarding this
> engine, but I know of at least one engine
> that should be on that listing.

> In Bensenville, Illinois is an Alco 0-6-0.
> (Acme Sand & Gravel ??)
> Parked with an ex-Milwaukee Road coach and
> rib sided caboose. It's been there for many
> years, nicely kept up and maintained. The
> coach and caboose have been added in the
> recent past, I beleive the caboose to have
> been the one that was just down the road in
> Ithasca, Ill.

> The display is alongside the METRA tracks,
> just south of Irving Park Rd, and perhaps a
> mile west of York Rd.

> JC

It is ALCO 63274/1922; ex Chicago Gravel #18.

Regarding the Grand Tower, IL engine; I think it is a new entry to both David Conrad's and Doug Bailey's lists. I have no more details for it.

I have spent quite a bit of time matching Conrad's directory and Wes Barris' list at steamlocomotive.com. (Wes' list was the starting point for my "Surviving World Steam Locomotive" database.) There are 34 locomotives that have definitly been found, and another 24 or so that may have been found since the Directory was published.

Nine have been exported, and thirteen have been scrapped. On the plus side, fourteen have since been imported. Roughly a third have been moved; with the lack of details on some of Wes' entries (at least as of a few years ago), it has been difficult to compare the two with any degree of certainty.

One of these days, I will do a complete comparison of my database as it stands with the listing on steamlocomotive.info, and again with steamlocomotive.com, and see where we stand.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Locomotives
james@survivingworldsteam.com

Dear Cliff:
Thank you for the information in re- this locomotive. I would appreciate the name of the park and street address, etc. as well as a photo (if possible).
Are you certain that this locomotive is an 0-4-0T, not an 0-4-0F (fireless)?
I would note that The Museum of Transport at Kirkwood, MO disposed of two 0-4-0F locos which they had been given by the Union Electric Co. at Venice, IL (Nos. 3 & 7); listed in my book at Brooklyn, IL where they were stored for some time.
I have since lost track of these two.
The other two fireless locos from Venice are accounted for, one at Kirkwood (No. 2) and one at Union, IL (No. 4).
Thank you in advance for you help in sorting this out.
J.David

jdconrad@snet.net

> Dear Cliff:
> Thank you for the information in re- this
> locomotive. I would appreciate the name of
> the park and street address, etc. as well as
> a photo (if possible).
> Are you certain that this locomotive is an
> 0-4-0T, not an 0-4-0F (fireless)?
> I would note that The Museum of Transport at
> Kirkwood, MO disposed of two 0-4-0F locos
> which they had been given by the Union
> Electric Co. at Venice, IL (Nos. 3 & 7);
> listed in my book at Brooklyn, IL where they
> were stored for some time.
> I have since lost track of these two.
> The other two fireless locos from Venice are
> accounted for, one at Kirkwood (No. 2) and
> one at Union, IL (No. 4).
> Thank you in advance for you help in sorting
> this out.
> J.David

Everything I know is taken off of the site that I linked on my intial posting. I wish I could help more, but I live in northern Illinois, hundreds of miles from Grand Tower, and have never visited that region of the state. I stumbled upon parkengines.railfan.net a few months ago and noticed this loco that I had never heard of before. I did contact Doug Bailey by e-mail about this engine, but I don't know if he's been able to find anything.

I did consider the two 0-4-0F's listed for the TRRA Brooklyn shops. On steamlocomotive.info, there's a note that mentions this building burned down in the late 90's and the locos might have been destroyed. Maybe someone associated with MOT could clarify. The picture on the parkengines site is small and the loco is in shadow, so it's hard to tell with any certainty whether it's a teakettle or a thermos bottle.

It would be great if this was a "newly discovered" steamer. Too bad it's an 0-4-0T/F and not one of those NYC 4-6-4's that were spirited away and locked out of sight all those years ago.



mckay1995@comcast.net

In nearly 10 years at MOT I've never heard of anything to indicate we "owned" these locos. With three fireless locos here already I can understand why. There may be some things our staff knows about them and I'll ask, but they aren't ours now.

Museum of Transportation
rdgoldfede@aol.com

> Central Illinois Public Service #2

The engine worked at the CIPS power plant at Grand Tower. It was donated to the riverfront park known as Devil's Backbone park quite a few years ago, probably whenever coal stopped coming in by rail. IC used to have a line up into the plant.
My cousin was an engineer on the engine on one shift.
I don't know when it was built or who built it.
I just saw it last week when I was down there visiting my cousin's widow and notice it's fenced in now.
Oh by the way, it is an 0-4-0T not a fireless.

frisco1522@sbcglobal.net

> Everything I know is taken off of the site
> that I linked on my intial posting. I wish I
> could help more, but I live in northern
> Illinois, hundreds of miles from Grand
> Tower, and have never visited that region of
> the state. I stumbled upon
> parkengines.railfan.net a few months ago and
> noticed this loco that I had never heard of
> before. I did contact Doug Bailey by e-mail
> about this engine, but I don't know if he's
> been able to find anything.

> I did consider the two 0-4-0F's listed for
> the TRRA Brooklyn shops. On
> steamlocomotive.info, there's a note that
> mentions this building burned down in the
> late 90's and the locos might have been
> destroyed. Maybe someone associated with MOT
> could clarify. The picture on the
> parkengines site is small and the loco is in
> shadow, so it's hard to tell with any
> certainty whether it's a teakettle or a
> thermos bottle.

> It would be great if this was a "newly
> discovered" steamer. Too bad it's an
> 0-4-0T/F and not one of those NYC 4-6-4's
> that were spirited away and locked out of
> sight all those years ago.

I live in the area and have visited this engine several times over the years. I took some pictures during my last visit two years ago, if I can find them will post some.

For several years the engine was accessible, and has suffered from the usual problems associated with that. In the last decade someone has erected a fence around it, which protects it but limits photo access.

IIRC a plaque on the engine states it was donated in 1962. The park it sits in is literally a few hundred feet from the Mississippi, on the river side of a fairly tall berm.


rrtp@onecliq.net

Dear Cliff, et.al:
Thank you for alerting us to this locomotive's existance. From your (and other postings) it would appear that this is indeed a "new" locomotive for the list. A decent photo might help narrow down the possiblities as to builder.
J.David

jdconrad@snet.net

The photos got lost in a computer crash shortly after they were taken. I did find the text I transcribed from a plaque on the engine.....

THIS STEAM LOCOMOTIVE BUILT BY H.K. PORTER CO. IN 1929 DONATED TO DEVILS BACKBONE PARK IN 1961 BY CENTRAL ILLINOIS PUBLIC SERVICE CO.

> Dear Cliff, et.al:
> Thank you for alerting us to this
> locomotive's existance. From your (and other
> postings) it would appear that this is
> indeed a "new" locomotive for the
> list. A decent photo might help narrow down
> the possiblities as to builder.
> J.David


rrtp@onecliq.net

Updating my post on this from 16 years ago. This was on the news this morning, if I understood the commentary the locomotive (and everything else in the park) needs to be moved to higher ground or offsite for the park to qualify for a FEMA grant to rebuild the park.

https://www.kfvs12.com/2020/03/05/grand-tower-locomotive-removal/

Porter records indicate this is a good possibility:

6880 6/1929 0-4-0 Std 14x22
G. E. Ineyers Co., Chicago, Ill.

This is a great example of what stymies real preservation; small town (in this case, REALLY SMALL) with a displayed locomotive rusting in place. An opportunity arises wherein the locomotive could be sent to a group who would restore it (cosmetically or otherwise) and put it in a protective environment. But there are folks in the town who remember climbing on it as a kid (and doing what damage?) so want to see it stay there, no matter what. I have even heard them (not in this particular instance) declare in a public meeting "We don't care if it rusts into the ground, no one is touching our engine!"
I have yet to see this mentality overcome.