Railroad Glory Days Social Media


Quick Table of Contents

The formative years

Villa Park, my home town

Doctor Geno E. Beery,Villa Park's pioneering woman physician

How I became a lifelong railfan

Father was a man of the automobile age

Grandfather's Watch

Railroad Time

Remembering the Chicago Great Western

Remembering the 'Ror'n' Elgin

Wabash Philo Station Destroyed


Pursuing Remains of the Glory Days

Riding the Electroliner

My first fan-trip

To a locomotive in winter

The boy who would buy a steam locomotive

In search of the eponymous Brewer, Illinois

The last all steam powered mixed train in America

Iron horses put out to pasture

Some thoughts on public travel then and now


Narrow Gauge Mania

D&RGW narrow gauge in the twilight years -- Part I

D&RGW narrow gauge in the twilight years -- Part II

Steam up the Rotary!

A rotary under the sun

Bob Richardson and the founding of the Colorado Railroad Museum

Is this any way to run a railroad museum? Part 1
Colorado Railroad Museum

Is this any way to run a railroad museum? Part 2
Colorado Railroad Museum

The Return of Colorado & Southern Number 9

Was the Georgetown Loop a poor design?

Riding the Sumpter Valley
Three-foot gauge steam in Eastern Oregon

Gold Rush Narrow Gauge
White Pass & Yukon Route

Rio Grande Southern narrow gauge
The spirit of this much loved, southwestern Colorado railway isn't dead, it just retired and moved to Southern California

Steaming Up
Looking on as Denver & Rio Grande Western Number 491 is readied for an evening on the Polar Express.


Narrow Gauge Steam Railways in the Land of their Origin

The Welsh Connection
The Ffestiniog Railway, Robert Fairlie and the origins of narrow gauge railroading in America

The Welsh Highland Railway
The newest and longest narrow gauge in Wales

The Talyllyn Railway
The world's first "preserved railway"

Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway


Standard Gauge Diversions

Royal Gorge Route

Steam Conquers La Veta Pass

Rio Grande Scenic Railroad


Fun while they lasted

Boxcar Camping -- Wilderness Stay by Steam Train

End of an Eastside tradition
Spirit of Washington dinner train

The Engine is Royal; the Scenery is Magnificent
The Royal Hudson and the Caraboo Prospector


Archeology

Corkscrew Gulch Turntable

The curse of Alpine


Guest Stories

The Significance of the Railroads

Locomotive Restoration


Thoughts on the Glory Days of architecture and interior design

Denver's Ghost Buildings

Denver Union Station Renovation

Who were those nabobs, the ones San Francisco's Nob Hill was named for?

Is there grammar to interior design?






Remembering the 'Ror'n' Elgin

Story and photographs © Glen Brewer



Along the line -- waiting for the end

As long as the rails were still in place, I remained alert to any interesting photo opportunities whenever I was in the area of the abandoned CA&E. Since I was commuting to Elgin Community College at the time, I managed sidetrips to visit several of the more rural areas along the Elgin branch.


Elmhurst Crossover looking west in the spring of 1962.


ElmhurstCrossover looking east in the spring of 1962.


Monterey Avenue, Villa Park, July 2, 1960.


Monterey Avenue, Villa Park, July 2, 1960.


Ovaltine Factory, Villa Park, spring 1962.


Ovaltine Factory, Villa Park, July 1960.


Villa Avenue shelter for west bound passengers.


Villa Avenue Station, July 18, 1961.


Villa Avenue Station, July 18, 1961.


West bound at Villa Avenue


Summit Avenue crossing, Villa Park. The Ovaltine factory is in the distance. January 29, 1961.


Summit Avenue, the scrapping is underway, spring 1962.


Scrappers had left the rail loading ramp behind at Ardmore.


Harvard Street, Villa Park. The Ardmore station is in the distance. February 2, 1962.


Harvard Street, Villa Park looking west. January 29, 1961.


Looking east toward Lombard station. February 2, 1962.


Lombard, February 2, 1962.


Elgin Branch at Wheaton, July 18, 1961.


Clintonville substation. May 11, 1961.


Clintonville substation. May 11, 1961.


Wayne station looking east toward the EJ&E bridge and interchange. May 12, 1960.


National Street, Elgin looking eastbound. The Elgin National Watch factory was just down the street to the left. May 11, 1961.


National Street, Elgin looking westbound. May 11, 1961.


Looking toward the Elgin Watch factory. May 12, 1960.



Switchyard

Page 1 The 'Ror'n' Elgin as I remember it

Page 2 Wheaton (headquarters, shops, equipment and scrapping)

Page 3 Along the line (this page)

Page 4 Relics of the CA&E (epilogue, links, where are they now, bibliography)

Page 5 Newspaper clippings