Macomb, Industry and Littleton Railway

Macomb, Industry & Littleton Railway was a small railroad in western Illinois that only lasted about thirty years and only ran from Macomb south to Littleton.   I have taken pictures of what were the area the tracks ran and a remainder former section that still has tracks on the property which look like they haven't been used in ages.  As to how old the tracks are whom knows for all I know the original tracks that would have ran here could have been removed and replaced to serve the facility by the CB&Q (now BNSF).  The line did reroute to this area to by pass areas people who owned land filed lawsuits to run them off which worked.  The right of way is also seen in google earth shots in spots to where other maps from 1920, ect show where the line was which confirm the tracks i have photographed did come by here but i have no idea how old the tracks are to know if it's original or replaced.  Anyways  the railroaded started out as the Macomb & Western Railway charted in 1901 and within two or three years started operation in 1904. It was a standard Gauge Railway.

This railroad was built to provide passenger service as well as freight  service for farms to transport grain & live stock to Macomb.  The goal was in hopes to do that as well as connect  Macomb to larger railroads.  The line was originally planned as an electric interurban but they didn't have enough funding from investors  to electrify it.  The railroad  began service with a gas electric locomotive.  This railroad was plagued by problems from the get go. It had it's share of people opposing it and people who previously invested pulled out.  Within a year of the railroad being put into service the railroad's engiene house burned down destroying it's unique gas electric locomotive.  The local coal hauled on the line was found to contain too much sulfar was another problem and derailments on the line due to light weight rails were common.  People who owned property in Macomb filed law suits  to evict the railroad from the city streets which succeeded which no doubts scared off any potential and future investors.  In 1910 the bank of Macomb went
bankrupt and this line was sold to the Chicagoe house wrecking company as part of the bankruptcy deal.  They wanted to abandon and scrap the railroad.

In 1913, A group of farmers  and merchants brought back the railroad and it was reorganized as the "Macomb, Industry and Littleton Railway".  This railroad ran all the way up until the mid 1920's.  Hard paved roads which ran along the line led the way to it's decline as well as decline in traffic.  The cost of maintaining the line also increased which led to the abandonment in 1930.  The assest of the railroad were sold at auction, tracks were torn out and all the rolling scrap except for one locomotive was scrapped.   At one time this line had several sidings located  at Henderson, Andrews,Four Mile, Industry ( 2 sidings), Runkle and Littleton.  There was also a wye with an engiene house on the south side of Littleton.  In it's history it had depots in Macomb, Industry and Littleton but the last remaining one that still existed was in Littleton and was destroyed by a tornado in 1981.  This railroad in it's early history had a unique  boxcab 6 wheel locomotive which was constructed  by the railroad on top of a pullman passenger car truck but it provided too under power to pull more than one car at a time. It was destroyed  by a fire  months after being built in 1903.

Today the right of way can be seen from google earth in spots and I imagine traces can still be found on the ground.  The tracks i photographed could have been some of the old track but if not they laid in the area it was moved too after law suits and went down to Industry then to Littleton.  Much like the Galesburg &  Great Eastern Railroad in Knox County i plan on going back and tracing some of the line for  remaining traces of right of way.   This like  G&GE ( Knox County) and the FCNG/CB&Q (Fulton County) had a short life span yet  somehow  struck an interest with me as well as others i'm sure.  It is worth a drive to look around as well as worth mentioning.  I can re add to this blog post later or create a part two later same goes for G&GE Railroad.







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