Steve Goaring – Illinois Terminal Railroad Co., O’Fallen Branch

The railroad is modeled after the Illinois Terminal’s O’Fallen Branch from Troy Jct. near Troy, IL south through O’Fallen, IL to Peabody Coal Company’s St. Ellen Mine in 1960. In Steve’s version the mine gains new customers, discovers a new seam of coal and is prosperous. Besides IT hauling coal to their river dock in Alton (in staging), St. Ellen Mine provides coal to Springfield Illinois City Water, Light and Power via Illinois Central that comes from Springfield gets on the IT at Mont (in staging) and goes to the mine. The IT also runs an Alton Yard & Road Job that leaves Federal Yard in Alton (in staging) and brings cars to the PRR interchange at PAIT and the B&O Interchange at O’Fallen as well as the local lumber yard. With the purchase of the Peabody Short Line by Illinois Central, Peabody has begun hauling coal with former PSL equipment from the St. Ellen Mine to their Mississippi River dock in East St. Louis via IT’s McKinley Yard and the TRRA (in staging).

Steve’s Illinois Terminal was featured in the July 2022 Model Railroad Craftsman. Click on this link to go there: https://rrmodelcraftsman.com/illinois-terminal-ofallon-branch/.

Click here to see a video of the Illinois Terminal.