| CRI&P NE 17879, Blue Island, Illinois, July 12, 1982, photo by Chuck Zeiler. Built around 1930, this was one of qhe 17850-17899 number series, the first steel cabooses on the Rock Island. It is stencilled: ERIE TRANSFER ONLY and also has a circle R, which I do not know the meaning of. It's in pretty sad shape, but not as bad as the Blue Island roundhouse in the background. By the date of this photo, the Rock Island had been gone for a little over two years. |