On March 26, 2010, Polar and I traveled to Marion, IL to visit the Williamson County Train Station. It is currently closed and open for tourism. The railroad company will open during Christmas to offer rides up to the "North Pole" to visit Santa! I had the priveledge of going up to see him this Christmas! While the train station has been closed for years now, the crossing tracks at the railroad station are still very much active. Although in 1986, travel changed quite a bit. On the afternoon of September 8, 1986, the #17 train in Marion, IL was out switching coal hoppers when the dry-pipe inside the boiler suddenly collapsed and indefinitely put the engine out of service. The CO&E Railroad's fame of pulling common carrier freight trains, including intermodal piggyback cars, with a steam locomotive finally came to an abrupt end due to this incident. The incident also marked the end for American-wide railroading in general. As it was, the railroad had been preparing for the post-steam era. The arrival of the diesels was evidence to this. Although the railroad station is inactive, it holds quite a lot of history of travel in the area. Polar and I traveled 36 miles total...that means that Polar has traveled a total of 5431.26 miles!
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