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Southern Railway 401 Steam Charter 5/18/2018 Part 3



by Chris Guenzler

We were all ready for our next Southern Railway 401 photo runby.









Photo runby 15.





Here is one of the antique cars.





Back up move 16.









Photo runby 16.





Back up move 17. I visited the laundromat across the street and bought a Coca-Cola to enjoy during the event.





The photo line made by most of the people on this trip.











Photo runby 17. With those runbys completed, we all reboarded and the train backed to Cemetery Road for our next series of photo runbys.





Back up move 18.





The antique cars were here to get into postion.









Photo runby 18 at Cemetery Road.





The site of Dighton Illinois Terminal Railway passenger covered station.





Back up move 19.





The antique cars getting into postion.




The Illinois Terminal Railway bicycle path. I returned to the photo line.









Photo runby 19.





Back up move 20.









Photo runby 20. We all reboarded the train and headed back to the museum for a lunch break where the steam engine would be watered and greased. I went with two of my rare mileage friends to Hardee's for lunch then returned to the museum.





Illinois Central baggage/United States Railway Post Office 404 built by Pullman in 1919 as Illinois Central coach 2225 and converted to a baggage-RPO car.





Illinois Central GP11 8733 (originally GP9 9386 built by EMD in 1958) was switching the museum tracks during our lunch break.









Illinois Central GP11 8733 and train. Our train returned from watering, we reboarded and went west down the tracks and unloaded. We followed a path that had been mown which took us to below the Camp Creek Trestle, our next photo runby location.







Photo runby 21.





Back up move 21.











Photo runby 22. Our fantastic actors and actress got into a picnic pose for a photo runby on the south side of the bridge.





Back up move 23.









Photo runby 23.





Back up move 24.







Photo runby 23. Since we ran through 500 gallons of water during the first two runbys, the choice was made return the train to the museum and water it from a fire hydrant. One rider and I decided to return to the train while the watering was taking place.





On the way there the engine had to be cut off from the train and pulled to the fire hydrant to fill the tender all the way. Water treatment would be added before we departing. Back on the train, good conversations were had until we departed, picked up the rest of the passengers, then added the water treatment before we left for our next photo runby location at the Monticello Wabash station.


Click here for the last part of this story!