With all of the "Survivor" threads lately, I just wanted to show you what I found in Mattoon, Il last week (not). Wish I did, though. This is from the collection of Harold K. Vollrath.
Do you have any more pictures taken in Mattoon? I am working on a website of Mattoon history. This town is ready to implode on itself if it doesn't start embracing its past. I have some history on the NYC in Mattoon at my website http://rankin.home.mchsi.com/big4.html Be warned, if you are not aware of the recent actions at the Mattoon Depot, this site will shock you. Chris Rankin Mattoon, Illinois
Chris, let me look through my stuff. Mattoon seemed to be a favorite place for the photogs back in steam days. Mr. Vollrath has a lot available from Mattoon. Most of the guys were after the 3/4 roster shots and did not include buildings in the background unless the loco just happened to be in front of it. I looked at your site and it is a story being repeated all over the mainlines. My home town of Little Falls, NY has declined in population (by %) much more than Mattoon. It is very sad, though, and the folks who don't even recall that railroads not only built their towns but provided the only available transportation are not interested in preserving that history. By the way, welcome to Trainboard. It's nice to have some more NYC/Big Four mainline inhabitants here.
Bummer. Another structure lost forever. Shows just how poor our educational system is today. So little is taught of our own historical development, that people have no clue how we got here! Boxcab E50
Ken, it's ironic that this thread is in the "Survivor" series. That and other "reality" (what a joke) TV programs seem to be the only thing that interests folks in our country any more. If they don't wake up, we'll all be speaking Arabic soon. (or is it Aramaic?)
