Operations on the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville

Operations on Lance Mindheim’s Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad start with a pair of Alcos entering at milepost 213. Lead Unit Number 29 pulls past the limestone siding. Extra South 1 will drop the Monon boxcar here on the team track. The extra caboose is called a rider car and is a result of union negotiations. These cars are used to handle less than carload freight and happen to be converted WWII hospital cars. From Woodyard Road at Hunters, the limestone branch in back leads to a mill, limestone, and quarries. At Pigeon Hill, the grade is 2.5%. The cars here at milepost 219 are on the IC interchange track. The Alcos will pick up a B&O boxcar. The houses here are on the rough side of the tracks. The bridge above is part of the Illinois Central interchange. At Bloomington, Number 29 passes 6th Street. In the foreground is the team train.

At McDoel Yard, an IC jeep idles near the yard office. The tack in the foreground leads to the IC Bloomington southern branch. At National, extra south 1 will set out a Pennsylvania hopper on the limestone spur. The car is full of sand for the cutting cables at the limestone mill. The Alcos pass the tank on the north end of Diamond Siding and at Clear Creek, the siding leads to more quarries. To see the rest of operations, watch the full video. For more Allen Keller videos, visit the Model Railroad Academy archives.