I found this early 1950's era late steam era photograph from the former Illinois Central Railroad at My Link page Fallen Flags.Org, locayed to the right of Your computer screen at www.rr-fallenflags.org

I grew up just a mile north of the Illinois Central Railroad's own Iowa, Division Mainline, and their former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad mainline just south of the adjacent Chicago sanitary and Ship Canal.

The Illinois Central was one of My favorite Chicago railroads for many reasons. One of them being, is that they operated the last of their steam locomotives until 1960, and actually preserved a handful of them as well for display.

I was born in 1962, and had missed Chicago's steam era railroading altogether as a kid. I did however see both old and new diesels working side by side in different color schemes on the Illinois Central.

I am a lofelong fan of the Illinois Central, the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio, and the Illinois Central Gulf railroads.