Sounds of steam and first generation diesels recorded during Railroad Days at the Monticello Railway Museum
Track Listing Track 1 - It’s over an hour before the trains are scheduled to roll, and Illinois Central GP11 #8733 is started up. This unit started life as GP9 #9386, the fourth from last GP9 the I.C. would receive. Delivered in 1959, she was among the units that replaced the last of the I.C.’s steam locomotives.
Track 2 - As #8733 idles in the background, Southern Railway 2-8-0 #401 passes light. After a switch is thrown, she backs toward us and couples onto her train. The air hoses are connected, the air lines opened, and as she charges the air on the train we get a close-up of her air pump hard at work.
Track 3 - The crew of the freight train is filling the journal boxes on the old style brass bearings on several of the cars. We hear the metallic creak and snap as the journal boxes are closed.
Track 4 - #8733 shoves the freight train out of the museum’s Camp Creek Yard as the trains begin to get into position for the day’s runs.
Track 5 - #401 pulls out of the yard with her train.
Track 6 - As Milwaukee Road NW2 moves about Camp Creek Yard, Wabash F7A #1189 passes on the mainline with a passenger train headed toward downtown Monticello.
Track 7 - #401 whistles off and departs the Nelson Crossing depot on the museum grounds.
Track 8 - In the Camp Creek Yard, #1649 throttles up and screeches through a switch.
Track 9 - We are on the shuttle run between Camp Creek Yard and Nelson Crossing. The microphone is positioned over the couplers between #1649 and an Illinois Terminal transfer caboose.
Track 10 - In downtown Monticello, #401 whistles off and departs the Wabash depot for a run back to the museum grounds. The depot has been moved from its original location to serve as a station stop on the museum’s former Illinois Central rails.
Track 11 - At the edge of Monticello, #401 can be heard whistling for crossings as she approaches and marches out of town.
Track 12 - On the museum grounds, a replica of an Illinois Central interlocking tower has been constructed. We are in the tower as the operator directs the movements of #1189, #401 and #8733. A vintage telegraph key is sounded, a bell that once sounded as a train approached an interlocking, and interlocking machine levers are worked to give the feel of a working tower. A fourth horn is also heard, as some horn collectors make use of an air compressor nearby.
Track 13 - Our microphones are set up on the walkways of #8733 as the freight train climbs the short hill after crossing Camp Creek.
Track 14 - #8733 passes a crossing on the hill from Camp Creek.
Track 15 - We are on the walkway of #8733 on the return to Nelson Crossing. As the train climbs away from Camp Creek, we hoist the microphone toward the top of the rear hoods to get a close-up of the exhaust coming from the stack. The engine briefly gets up to notch-six.
Track 16 - #1189 passes a crossing with the passenger train.
Track 17 - #401 departs the depot at Nelson Crossing.
Track 18 - We are the edge of Monticello as #401 whistles through town. After clearing the last crossing, the engineer opens the throttle and the 2-8-0 accelerates with a burst of exhaust.
Track 19 - #401 passes a picnic area as she approaches Nelson Crossing on the uphill from Camp Creek.
Track 20 - Back on the shuttle, we are in the cab of #1649 as she runs from Camp Creek Yard to Nelson Crossing.
Track 21 - We are aboard the passenger train behind #1189 as the train leaves Nelson Crossing, drops down to cross Camp Creek, and then accelerates uphill.
Track 22 - #1189 passes a crossing with the passenger train.
Track 23 - It’s getting toward late afternoon as #401 whistles off and departs downtown Monticello. The stereo microphone captures the sound as the exhaust echoes back.
Track 24 - Back at Nelson Crossing, #401 approaches and passes with her train.
Track 25 - We are in the area of a new residential subdivision alongside the museum’s right of way as #8733 blows for the cemetery crossing, climbing the hill from Camp Creek. The train of vintage freight cars passes and as #8733 blows for crossings in town, the a single note air horn belonging to the collectors can be heard along with the horn of #1189. #1649 briefly adds her horn to the mix, and shortly #1189 passes with the passenger train.
Track 26 - The last trains have run for the day, and #401 shoves her train into Camp Creek yard. The train slowly clanks past, stopping with the rear of the tender directly in front of the microphone. The flagman pulls the pin, the bell starts ringing, and the #401 pulls away with a blast of air as the brake hose parts.
Track 27 - The end of the day has come and we are in the engine house as #401 backs down the yard track. The locomotive eases into the building, and the crew carefully spots the engine so the stack will be directly under the smoke jack. With the engine spotted, the sound of the injector is heard as water is drawn into the boiler. Soon, the fire will be extinguished and the engine will cool down until her next chance to run.
