MONON BOARD

MONON Activity Post Merger => CSX - Monon Sub => Topic started by: Jim Davis on August 10, 2012, 05:06:30 pm

Title: McDoel
Post by: Jim Davis on August 10, 2012, 05:06:30 pm

This is around July 1991.

JD

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: Ron Marquardt on August 10, 2012, 09:11:24 pm

Attached is a picture I took at McDoel the day the Monon men had the pitch-in dinner when they officially closed the yards, December 11, 2003.  Sad day.  / Ron

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: Rick Dreistadt on August 10, 2012, 11:17:00 pm

Thanks for the photos, fellas.  Looks like they still had quite a bit of activity there in "91.
Rick

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: Joe Land on August 11, 2012, 10:29:46 am

End of the line for 1809
INRD #1809 [engine in photo Ron posted] photographed near Switz City in 2006. Sort of related since that was one of the last engines, maybe the very last engine, to work at Mc Doel.

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: Jim Davis on August 11, 2012, 10:10:59 pm

Was at McDoel today and took this picture.

JD

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: Joe Land on August 11, 2012, 11:28:05 pm

I am sad, to say the least. McDoel yard is gone, RCA is gone, and Bloomington does not care.
Bloomington wanted the Railroad gone because,"The railroad divided the city". How much longer until they force the INRD [former IC] out of their midst in the name of progress?

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: John Butler on August 13, 2012, 10:14:06 pm

Joe, while I agree with your sentiment it was of course not that simple.  People in the city of Bloomington did call for the rerouting/removal of the Monon through the downtown starting immediately after the end of passenger service (I wish I could share the articles), but the abandonment of trackage and McDoel came from the railroad not the city.  And the closure of RCA was also not a city supported move.  The French conglomerate which took over RCA was not interested in a Bloomington plant, despite city government efforts to keep it. 

The Indiana railroad's mainline does bisect the city, but much of it is, as you know, above grade level and poses less of a disruption.  The city government, like most midwestern towns, wants rail connection and industry, but i don't think they will be any more successful at attracting it than anywhere else right now.

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: Robert Gibson on August 14, 2012, 09:51:24 am

Here is a photo of the McDoel turntable I took in the early 80s.

Title: Re: McDoel
Post by: Tim T Swan on August 15, 2012, 01:06:58 pm

Here are two I took of the McDoel turntable while it was still genuine MONON, in October 1970.