The “New” Illinois Central
Repainted GP11 #8719 passes through downtown Carbondale with the passenger and freight stations in view on May 28, 1988.
GP11 #8741 leads a southbound work train toward Carbondale just south of the Big Muddy River on a snowy December 28, 1988
For a time, Burlington Northern taconite (iron ore) trains traveled the I.C. mainline, and this one was southbound on January 19, 1989
GP38-2 was the power for the Carbondale Local when it was photographed outside the car shop on November 4, 1989
The rain was turning to sleet at the northbound City Of New Orleans made its stop at Carbondale on February 4, 1990
An unrebuilt GP40 leads a southbound freight at Oak Street on April 12, 1990
A GP10 leads a southbound freight into downtown Carbondale on April 27, 1990
The passenger station was Carbondale property on May 10, 1990, but was still in use by the railroad for offices
GP11 was assigned to the Carbondale Local on July 1, 1990
A southbound freight passes Grand Avenue on the morning of July 9, 1990. Ten days later, the railroad would be changed over to single track south of Carbondale.
A northbound passes beneath the old signal bridge north of downtown Carbondale on October 30, 1990
Amtrak’s City of New Orleans was delayed by a derailed freight train in Mississippi, so it was early afternoon when it arrived in Carbondale on September 9, 1991
A northbound freight had picked up a large number of retired freight cars from the yard on September 9, 1991, and left Carbondale with nearly 200 cars in tow
The brakeman was getting ready to toss a couple of bottles of water to the photographers on the warm afternoon of September 9, 1990… and one of them survived hitting the ground!
The Illinois Central purchased forty used Burlington Northern SD40-2s in 1991, and repainted #6111 was leading an unrepainted sister on October 3, 1991
A southbound grain train passed the old twin coal towers on October 20, 1991
A southbound freight awaits its turn to use the single track mainline south of Carbondale as the northbound Illini departs in November, 1991
A northbound freight followed behind Amtrak’s Illini in November, 1991
A pair of rare units was captured on April 19, 1992. Former GM&O GP30 #2250 was the only unit of its type to receive IC black. SD28 #9450 was one of only six of the type ever built. IC had two of them that came from Mississippi’s Columbus & Greenville Railroad. The other one, #9451, was destroyed at Freeburg, Illinois, in 1989.
