August 29, 2020 – Norfolk Southern 9385 leads a loaded grain train past the Premier Cooperative Inc grain elevators at Tolono, Illinois as it heads east on the NS Lafayette District.
Tech Info: Full Frame Nikon D800, RAW, Irex 11mm, f/11, 1/800, 1/800, underexposed 1.3 stops (exposed more for the highlights), ISO 100.
August 29, 2020 – Amtrak 393 (The Illini) pulls into the old Illinois Central (IC) Depot in downtown Mattoon, Illinois with 4624 leading the Sunday evening southbound train from Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois as the last bit of sunlight lights up the scene. According to the Amtrak App the train was running out of Chicago at 44% capacity during this COVID-19 days.
According to Wikipedia, The Mattoon station is housed in the former Illinois Central Railroad Depot. The depot was completed in 1918 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. At its height, the building housed a power plant, mail room, luggage room, and restaurant, in addition to the main hall where passengers waited to board trains. As many as ten trains a day departed the depot in the 1950s.
During 2010, a $3 million restoration project, paid for from a mix of private, state, and federal funding, was undertaken, replacing paint, flooring, and other interior fixtures.
The station currently serves as a stop for the Illini, Saluki, and City of New Orleans passenger trains. The tracks themselves, formerly part of the Illinois Central Railroad, are now owned by the Canadian National Railway (CN). Freight trains run by CN pass through frequently as this is on the CN Champaign Subdivision.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Fuji 18-55mm @ 18mm, f/8, 1/180, ISO 800.