This
edition in the Heritage Series, Then & Now, looks at thirty years on a
stretch of railroad in deep southern Illinois: the joint Union Pacific and BNSF
line primarily used by coal traffic over the hill at Goreville, Illinois.
Our
look begins in the tower that guarded the junction at Neilson, Illinois, just
before the tower was removed in early 1989. A Union Pacific coal train passes
the tower and semaphores, and we tour the tower and its workings.
From
there, it's a look at change over the years as Burlington Northern becomes
BNSF, four-axle U.P. locomotives give way to modern six-axle power, and B.N.
C30-7's give way to modern BNSF power.
This
single-disc program covers action on the line into mid-2022, as coal trains
grind up the hill (including the use of manned helpers in the late-1990's), and
empties make good time as they return on their trek back to the Powder River
Basin.
It's an hour and 52 minutes of railroad action
on one of the midwest's secret gems.
