Observation car of St. Louis–Chicago Abraham Lincoln approaching Joliet, Ill., 1940s or early ’50s.
Edward Janoskey
Former Alton Railroad 4-6-2 No. 5296 with “GM&O” and “The Alton Route” lettering on tender, late 1940s.
R. J. Foster
E7s with St. Louis–Chicago Alton Limited at Springfield, Ill., May 1952.
Edward Theisinger
Hostess in observation car of Chicago–St. Louis Ann Rutledge, late 1940s.
Charles Trefts
Chicago–St. Louis Midnight Special before its final departure from Chicago Union Station, April 30, 1971.
Harold Edmonson
E7s 102 and 102-A with St. Louis–Chicago Abraham Lincoln at Joliet Union Station, fall 1951.
Wallace W. Abbey
New Orleans–Jackson, Miss., Rebel motor train departing New Orleans, 1945.
B. M. Sheridan
Kansas City–Bloomington, Ill., motor train No. 10 at Independence, Mo., August 1959.
John S. Ingles
E7s 101-A and 101 with St. Louis–Chicago Alton Limited departing St. Louis, August 1950.
Don Sims
F3 883-A with Chicago–Joliet commuter train (“The Plug”) departing Chicago, early 1970s.
John R. Taibi
Alco DL109 with St. Louis–Mobile Gulf Coast Rebel consist, circa 1940.
B. M. Sheridan
St. Louis–Chicago Abraham Lincoln departing St. Louis.
Charles M. Rice
Alco PA1 290 with Chicago–St. Louis local trains at Bloomington, Ill., circa 1950.
Richard K. Smith
New Orleans–St. Louis Rebel motor train at North Cairo, Ill., July 1946.
Henry J. McCord
F3 with Joliet–Chicago commuter train (“The Plug”) at Joliet.
W. A. Peters
Baldwin diesels with St. Louis–Mobile Gulf Coast Rebel departing Meridian, Miss., May 1951.
J. Parker Lamb
Motor car 2509 and trailer running as Bloomington, Ill.–Kansas City train 9 at Louisiana, Mo., June 9, 1956.
John C. Illman
St. Louis–Chicago Abraham Lincoln at Springfield, Mo., mid-1950s.
Herbert George Studio
Chicago–St. Louis Ann Rutledge arriving St. Louis, August 1950.
Don Sims
Gulf Mobile and Ohio passenger trains: The Gulf Mobile and Ohio is Classic Trains’ railroad of the month for July 2022. All this month you’ll find interesting articles detailing the history of the GM&O in text and photographs.
Please enjoy this Gulf Mobile and Ohio passenger trains photo gallery, originally published in June 2016 and selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library.
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The third from the last picture is at Springfield, IL rather than MO, as Mr. Jensen indicated.
Really, GM&O went through Springfield, MO? Never seen a map showing that and I lived near there in in the 70’s.
Note the large red light on the roof of the “Abraham Lincoln” observation car. Does anyone know whether this light flashed, as a Gyralight or Mars light? Or did it burn steadily?
OK just checked the color slide i took on April 4, 1963 of the observation car as it was stopped in Joliet Union Station. The large red marker light appears to be off. And the casing behind the large lens is streamlined downward to the roof line leaving very little room for a Mars light mechanism. I’d post the slide here as it is already scanned for my Power Point program on Joliet in 1963. But there is no provision to up load that I can find.
I think it was steady. If it had motion to it I’m sure it would have to have a larger container. The odd thing is in this photo is that it appears the light is off? I’m thinking those old rule books stated that marker lights were to be displayed on rear of train but not lit during the daylight hours? That might make sense to bean counters wanting to save the cost of fueling the marker lights in daylight, but this new fangled red marker light was electric. My first time seeing the Abe Lincoln was in 1963 at Joliet but failed to note that detail. This photo was taken just south of 4th Ave overpass in the area just north of where I-80 now goes over the ATSF and GM&O. The ATSF main is over on the left. Who is the photographer?