Epilogue
During my college years, I was able to make a trek of discovery to Niles Michigan. There, I investigated the remains of a once extensive hump yard and locomotive facilities. I was rather excited at the time since old maps showed a very large facility with east and west hump yards, turntable, large roundhouse, and backshops. Although I new these facilities were reduced from what they once were, I was curious to see what remained. I pictured lots of empty buildings and a reduced yard. I knew that Conrail had a massive facility just to the south in Elkhart Indiana. It's proximity to Niles made it unlikely that the Niles yard would be anything like it was in it's former glory.
Due to regulations passed in the late 1970s Conrail was able to abandon "parallel" facilities. Naturally, it made economic sense not to have such a large yard along a mainline that saw such reduced use. In fact, the old New York Central mainline through Niles had been purchased by Amtrak who maintained it as the most direct route for their Detroit/Chicago trains.
Unfortunately, what remained in Niles was not what I hoped for. It took a little more research and another trip or two to recognize and discover what remained. A few years later, I found a locally published book on the history of Niles titled "An American Colossus" by William Taylor. A major part of the book was devoted to the yards. In these pages were maps, pictures, history, and employee's stories of the yards. Here was, for me, the definitive work that answered so many of my questions and, like William Franckey's books on Galesburg, brought empty spaces to life.
Recently, I was working in town and ventured out for another look at what remained. The cool fall air was spilling the first flurries of the winter season. The skies were overcast as well, setting the sullen scene for me.
This plastics company purchased the roundhouse and restored it for warehouse use. The owner has refused many attempts by historical/restoration groups to purchase the turntable and move it to a far away town.
Nearby lies the "hotel" for the crews to layover in between "jobs" or shifts on the railroad. It is used as offices by the plastics company. Luckily, the owner is a bit of a preservationist. He is slowly restoring the building.
Behind the roundhouse lie the unused backshops.
Another part of the backshops, used to rebuild diesels in later years, lie unused as well.
This is part of an icehouse that once re-iced reefer cars, now used as part of a local industry.
Fortunately, the 1891 depot has been restored and is now used by Amtrak.
Here is what remains of the westbound bowl. Amtrak stores a few cars here on the tracks that remain. These are the only yard tracks that exist today.
The westbound hump track rose from the receiving yard here.
Looking from the summit of the eastbound hump, the crest of the westbound hump can be seen in the distance. A roadway, and track used to shuttle locomotives to the roundhouse, passed below the crest of both humps here.
What struck me was the total abandonment of what was such an important facility. How a once bustling center for railroaders was now simply a collection of empty fields. As I walked, I tried to imagine the sounds; flanges screeching, locomotives chuffing and later rumbling, coupler pins being pulled, and shouts of crewmen. Only an angry blue jay was warning me away from these grounds. The dreary fall day, the cool temperature, and the mostly abandoned facilities around me set my mood.
Then a revelation struck me. I realized that perhaps it was here in this "railroad dead" place where I gained a sense of appreciation for Galesburg. It was here then that my fascination was born. Although I had not even visited Galesburg when I first strolled these grounds, it was in Galesburg that perhaps I saw a place like this that is still living in a railroad sense. Unlike Niles, the roundhouse and shops of Galesburg are gone. Yet Galesburg remains an active location that still bustles with the pulse of the railroad. Like the author who wrote the book on the yards of Niles, the people of the Galesburg Railroad Museum all share this wish to preserve the past.
I celebrate these amateur historians who strive to preserve the history of our uncelebrated industrial past. I hope the citizens of Galesburg realize what they have. I am glad that the employees of the Burlington seized the opportunity to preserve what might have been lost to time. Let us celebrate their work or, as the sign for a planned railroader's memorial in Niles says above, "Lest Memories Be Lost".
Bill Selleck
October 24 2002
To learn more about the memorial efforts at Niles click here.
