BACKTRACKING
GalesburgÕs Other Railroads – A History
by
Terry Hogan
There is a new book out on one of GalesburgÕs other
railroads. It tracks the relatively short-lived Peoples Traction Company that
was principally known for connecting Galesburg and Abingdon. It flourished during the relatively
short period of time before the roads got paved and cars took the place of
interurban railroads.
This book is titled The Peoples Traction Company,
1901-1925, Galesburg—Abingdon, Illinois. It was written by Fred A. Rozum and just recently published (2006). It is a remarkably well-researched
book, beginning with Judd Seacord investigating the interest in an interurban
line to connect Abingdon to Galesburg in 1898. The Seacord brothers, Fred and
Judd, had been successful with the Galesburg Electric Motor and Power Company
and were apparently interested in expansion. However, he apparently found
insufficient support for such an adventure in Abingdon.
It took another three years for the Peoples Traction
Company to make its appearance on the scene. It was quite an effort for the company to get the franchise
from the Knox County Board of Supervisors to build the line along State Road 41
(aka Abingdon hard road). However
even rails can have bumpy roads and the Abingdon Council refused to grant a
franchise at the encouragement of the local Abingdon merchants. The merchants were afraid that their
customers would travel to Galesburg to shop.
Not to be thwarted, the plans to terminate the line in
downtown Abingdon were modified.
The line was to stop outside the city limits at the Iowa Central
Railroad Depot that was located about a half mile north of downtown
Abingdon. Construction began in
October 1903.
As many of us know, the line was constructed and ran
along the dirt/mud road that connected Galesburg and Abingdon. The interurban provided a reliable
alternative to fighting mud by horse or by car. My own mother recalls riding the line from near her home
into Galesburg to shop with her mother and returning home. They lived on a farm south of Galesburg
at the time.
But the Peoples Traction Company was not without its
problems. There were disputes with
Galesburg Electric Motor and Power Company concerning possible expansion plans
within Galesburg. There was a strike
that involved acts of vandalism that interrupted the interurbans trips between
Galesburg and Abingdon. And
in 1922 the Peoples Traction Company was sold to the McKinley Syndicate that
had the Illinois Traction Company (ITC).
If I remember correctly, the ITC owned the Galesburg electric utility
which was later to become the Illinois Power Company. In any event, in December 1922, the holdings were
reorganized into the Galesburg Railway, Lighting and Power Company, but the
Peoples Traction Company did not become part of this group.
The author, Fred Rozum, has put together an extremely
well researched book that is full of old photos of the cars, depots and the
like, as well as a great amount of detailed historic information.
For anyone interested in GalesburgÕs or AbingdonÕs
history, or local railroad history, this book would be an excellent
choice. It is well researched, and
I am particularly pleased with the careful and frequent footnotes that allow
the reader the option to go back to the original source of the information.
To my knowledge, there is currently no local source
(Galesburg/Abingdon) to purchase this book, but it would seem to me that the
railroad museum would be Òa naturalÓ for this. However, it can be ordered from
Fred Rozum (see details at end of the article). In a note included with my copy of the book, Fred writes
that he is working on two additional research projects- history of street
railways in Galesburg and a similar project for Kewanee. So we may hear, or at least read, more
research by Fred again.
Ordering Information (as of May 2006):
Cost: $10
(includes S & H)
Fred Rozum,
5616 N. Palacio Pl
Phoenix, AZ 85014