Kate Keller Bourland - Effingham County

The diamond was where the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and Pennsylvania Railroad tracks met. In this photograph, a westbound Pennsy train is passing the depot sometime in the 1950s. The IC line has since been reduced to one track.

Here is the St. Louis Limited swinging through the Teutopolis depot before the age of diesel. The St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad came to Teutopolis around 1870. This railroad merged with the Indianapolis and Terre Haute Railroad to become the Vandalia Railroad in 1905. The Vandalia line merged with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in 1917. The Pennsylvania Railroad leased the line in 1921 and ran it until 1968. The line is now operated by CSX of Jacksonville, Florida.

This is a Pennsylvania Railroad work/sleeping car, as it looked on May 3, 1959. The vertical-wood-sided car was built in 1907 and was yellow with black lettering. Eastwest passenger travel through Effingham County ended in 1968.

This image brings lyrics to mind: I hear the train a-coming / Rollin round the bend. A lone bystander sits on the fence alongside Lake Kanagga as a westbound Vandalia passenger train rumbles through during the early 20th century.

A westbound St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad passenger train is crossing the old Salt Creek bridge between Effingham and Teutopolis in 1892. This bridge had 65-foot pilings that were replaced when the new bridge was built.

Before diesel, trains ran on coal and coal chutes, such as this one, served as fueling stations. This Pennsylvania Railroad American train is coaling up south of the current Effingham High School football field and U.S. Route 40.

Coal chutes and water towers were found along many railroad lines throughout the United States and anywhere else there was a rail line. This chute near Effingham was still under construction on December 2, 1916.

The Wabash Railroad depot was located on West Fayette Avenue on what was then the edge of town. The depot was later moved downtown, where it is still used as an insurance office.

Not only was Effingham a crossroads, but the city was also a shipment point, particularly for agricultural goods. In this photograph, livestock is being loaded onto a Pennsylvania Railroad train for shipment in the southwest corner of Effingham around 1940.

Railroad cars and engines were maintained in roundhouses, so named because many of them were circular in shape. By November 7, 1917, when this photograph was taken, even rectangular maintenance buildings, such as this IC shop south of the Effingham diamond, were called roundhouses.

Coal chutes were fixtures along railroad tracks until the 1950s, when railroads switched to diesel engines. This chute was located on the IC tracks near Effingham. The photograph was taken on March 15, 1912.