Hi. My grandparents had a farm in Fairfield, IL that was at the SW corner of the intersection of the SR St. Louis mainline and US 45. Only a small pasture separted the main from the farmhouse; the dining room had grand stand seating for the parade of SR freight trains that thundered past the house. As a kid, I was always glued to the window watching. One summer in the late 1960s, the SR #4501 Mikado came through with an excursion that I was lucky enough to ride with my brother and grandma east to Albion, IL; grandpa followed in the car to pick us up. I have the Morning Sun color photo book on SR and the freight/passenger guide. However, no photos of Fairfield. Doe any of you know of any books, articles, or photos on the SR in Fairfield, IL? This is a great website! Thanks, Bill H.

-- Bill H. (haywarb@baxter.com), March 02, 2000

Answers

There is a photo of the Fairfield, Ill., station in the July-August 1997 issue of the society's magazine of the Terminal R.R. Assoc.of St.Louis Historical & Technical Society, P.O.Box 1688, St.Louis, Mo. 63188-1688. Back issues may be available. Almost this entire issue covers the Southern Railway's line in St.Louis The SR acquired the line from Louisville to St.Louis in January 1901 when it gained control of the Louisville, Evansville & St.Louis Consolidated R.R.("The Air Line"), predecessors of which had built the line piecemeal in the 1880's. The last regularly scheduled passenger train on the line in Illinois, No's 22&23, ran June 15, 1952

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), March 03, 2000.