230 – Rock Island #886 @ Wheels O’ Time Museum
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
Well, I ride on a mailtrain, baby,
Can’t buy a thrill.
Well, I’ve been up all night, baby,
Leanin’ on the window sill.
Well, if I die
On top of the hill
And if I don’t make it,
You know my baby will.
Don’t the moon look good, mama,
Shinin’ through the trees?
Don’t the brakeman look good, mama,
Flagging down the “Double E”?
Don’t the sun look good
Goin’ down over the sea?
Don’t my gal look fine
When she’s comin’ after me?
Now the wintertime is coming,
The windows are filled with frost.
I went to tell everybody,
But I could not get across.
Well, I wanna be your lover, baby,
I don’t wanna be your boss.
Don’t say I never warned you
When your train gets lost.
According to John & Odat, this train used to sit on N Rock Island Ave in Glen Oak Park, and then near the entrance to Detweiller Golf Course, before finally finding a permanent home at Wheels O’ Time Museum on North Knoxville.
The Train is the known as the Rock Island #886, but in actuality it is #887 with a new paint job.
It is one of only two or three Rock Island steam locomotives ever saved from the scrapper and donated to a city, Peoria being the lucky recipient. Actually it is not the original 886, because when the Rock Island was all set to donate it, they realized that they has already scrapped it, but luckily they still had a sister engine, 887. The Rock Island simply repainted and renumbered it to 886.
More history of this train courtesy of the Chillicothe Historical Society:
Engine 886, a steam 4-6-2 Pacific type was fired by Swede Allstram and engineered by N.N. Brown and Ray Vonk. Both Swede and Ray were from Chillicothe and they were known far and wide for the way they handled their train. The train itself carried a crew of 2 brakemen, Len Roberts and Joe Carroll and the conductor, Joe Sales.
Engineers wore striped overalls and starched white caps. Firemen wore blue caps and red bandannas around their neck, supposedly for emergency flagging.
When 886 came around the Rome curve, you could hear the wheels squealing, as the track was banked to allow a full 65-mile per hour speed limit. Swede, the fireman, chained himself in the cab with a ten-inch wide leather belt/harness and shoveled coal from Peoria to Bureau Junction, and back.
The train made the trip from Peoria to Bureau in 50 minutes and speeds would reach over 75 miles per hour over the straight sections of track. Merle Bradley claimed it was the fastest steam engine run in America at that time. Stops were made in Chillicothe, Sparland and Henry.
Thanks to all who commented.
March 29th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I loved the poem. The train out at wheels o time.
March 30th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Somewhere on the other side of this:
March 30th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
ehr, ah, the link didn’t show. Sorry.
I’ll give it one more try.
From WheelsofTime
March 30th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Hey Gary, your link didn’t show up but I think I know where you are going. Great plug!
March 30th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
What am I missing here?
March 31st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Tougher question than what is this:
Where did it sit before this location? and before that location?
You may not be old enough to know.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I may not be, but I’m hoping someone will fill me in. Barring that, I’ve always got Google.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
It used to be at Detwiller Golf Course entrance. Not many remember where before that.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember seeing that there. Interesting.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:39 pm
This train was parked on N. Rock Island Ave in Glen Oak Park.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Yes it was and I watched when they moved it to Detwiller Park.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Also, wasn’t this the engine that used to, once a year, pull a few cars to Yates City? I remember my dad taking us on this trip. People would buy a ticket and it would run to Yates City from the old Rock Island Depot. While they turned it around on a Y track in Yates City, people would picnic in the green area and watch.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
But that’s an old CB&Q line…
April 5th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Wasn’t the name or number of the train 886?
January 25th, 2009 at 2:07 am
well as a kid i use to play on th9is locomotive when it sat at the foot of glen oak park then it was moved to detwieller park for a time and then moved to its current location…actually old 886 is actually old 887…886 was scrapped before the city realized 886 was scrapped so the rock island lind just repainted 887 to 886…if you get up close to 886 now you will see that the drive rods still contain the manafactures stamp 887.
January 26th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
886 and her crew ran for many years, and they became almost legendary for getting their train in on time. The Wheels of Time Museum, north of Peoria on Route 40, is the supposed final resting place for old 886. Before that she was displayed first at Glen Oak Park and then at Detweiller Park for many years where she fell into disrepair and deterioration. The park board sold it to Wheels of Time and she was moved up the hill to her current resting-place. It is one of only two or three Rock Island steam locomotives ever saved from the scrapper and donated to a city, Peoria being the lucky recipient. Actually it is not the original 886, because when the Rock Island was all set to donate it, they realized that they has already scrapped it, but luckily they still had a sister engine, 887. The Rock Island simply repainted and renumbered it to 886.
http://www.chillicothehistorical.org/rock_island_history.htm