Springfield is the capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the largest in central Illinois. Approximately 208,000 residents live in the Springfield metropolitan area.
Mahomet is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, along the Sangamon River. The population was 9,434 at the 2020 census. Mahomet is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Champaign at the junction of Interstate 74 and Illinois Route 47.
Maroa is a city in Macon County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,577 at the 2020 census, down from 1,801 in 2010. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bellflower is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 346 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Monticello is a city and county seat of Piatt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,941 at the 2020 census.
The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 246 miles (396 km) long, in central Illinois in the United States. It drains a mostly rural agricultural area and runs through Decatur and Springfield. The river is associated with the early career of Abraham Lincoln and played an important role in early European settlement of Illinois, when the area around was known as the "Sangamon River Country". The section of the Sangamon River that flows through Robert Allerton Park near Monticello was named a National Natural Landmark in 1971.
The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company, known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1956. When Depression era Illinois Traction was in financial distress and had to reorganize, the Illinois Terminal name was adopted to reflect the line's primary money making role as a freight interchange link to major steam railroads at its terminal ends, Peoria, Danville, and St. Louis. Interurban passenger service slowly was reduced, ending in 1956. Freight operation continued but was hobbled by tight street running in some towns requiring very sharp radius turns. In 1956, ITC was absorbed by a consortium of connecting railroads.
Shady Rest is a 28-acre (110,000 m2) natural area on the Sangamon River west of White Heath, Illinois. The landscape includes a river, moraine, a forest with under-story herbs and wildlife, a rail-trail that moves through the site, and cultural history spots. The park is part lowland and part upland.
The Monticello Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum located in Monticello, Illinois, about 18 miles west of Champaign, IL. It is home to over 100 pieces of railroad equipment, including several restored diesel locomotives and cars.
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the Heart of Illinois, it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agriculture, particularly corn and soybeans, as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figure prominently.
Goose Creek Township is a township in Piatt County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 790 and it contained 355 housing units.
Monticello Township is a township in Piatt County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,906 and it contained 2,651 housing units.
Sangamon Township is a township in Piatt County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,357 and it contained 929 housing units.
Willow Branch Township is a township in Piatt County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 839 and it contained 355 housing units.
Nixon Township is one of thirteen townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, US. As of the 2020 census, its population was 492 and it contained 231 housing units.
The Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Western Railroad was established in 1915 as a reorganization of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Western Railway, which in turn had been created in 1902 as a merger of the Indiana, Decatur and Western Railway (ID&W) and the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Indianapolis Railroad (CH&I).
Elwin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in South Wheatland Township, Macon County, Illinois, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in 2020, with a population of 119.
Southern Railway 401 is a steam locomotive built in December 1907 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for Southern Railway. It is a 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type of Southern's "H-4" class.
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; St. Louis, Missouri; and Toledo, Ohio.
The Champaign-Decatur CSA, also known as East Central Illinois CSA, is a combined statistical area in the U.S. State of Illinois. It is the 104th largest combined statistical area in the U.S. It is composed of four counties, Champaign, Ford, Piatt and Macon.
