Note: More Big Four photos are available on the Michigan Division North, Michigan Division South and South Anderson pages With stories and details of the Michigan Division and Cleveland in the Memory Pages. Big Four Memories - Early years thru 1929 Big Four Memories - The 30s and 40s Big Four Memories - 50s to PC Big Four Memories - PC to CR Forty eight to Chicago (ex-Riley Tail Car) Most of these photos were sent to me and credit is given when known. (Click on the small graphic to see the larger one.) 1930   Here is the map from the back cover of the February 16, 1930 Big Four, Cairo Division employee timetable. Note that the NYC cartographers have caught LAB's error from the 1928 timetable, and have correctly labeled the PRR Vandalia line and the NYC - C C C & St. L line west from Paris, Illinois. It must take a Superintendent to spot mistakes like this! CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection 1930   Here is a Big Four switch list (front and back) from the 1930's. In his days as a brakeman, Larry Baggerly certainly had his hands on many of these as he handled cars up and down the Cairo line. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection February 1930 Here is a page from the February 1930, Cairo Division timetable, showing the doodlebug in operation between Harrisburg and Cairo. Note that the Motor Train carried the same train numbers as The Egyptian. The depression was in full swing at this point in time, so can't help but wonder if this was a cost cutting move driven by company HQ in New York. Since both sets of equipment used the same train number, they might have tried to use one crew on the whole route from Mt. Carmel to Cairo, with the crew simply stepping off of the steam equipment and onto the doodlebug equipment in HBG. If so, I'm sure that the union would have protested, and filed claims for an additional passenger basic day, since they were operating two distinctly different 'trains' on the run. Conversely, the company would probably argue that the doodlebug was the same 'train' (with the same train number) all the way from Mt. Carmel to Cairo. I suspect that the union won this dispute, because the next timetable (1931) has the Egyptian again operating all the way through from Mt. Carmel to Cairo with the steam equipment. My best guess is that the labor board (or whatever it was called in the 1930's) ruled for the brotherhoods, thus making it too expensive for the company to use the doodlebug, if two separate crews were utilized Mt. Carmel-Cairo. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection These days, all the young guys are studying computers and other associated "high-tech" subjects. However, in 1930 railroad telegraphy was still a well-regarded craft. Here is a letter from the Principal of the "Chillicothe Telegraphy College" in Chillicothe, Missouri. The letter is addressed to J. C. Moody, who was the Big Four Chief Dispatcher for the Cairo Division, which was headquartered in Mount Carmel, Illinois at the time. This is an early example of a college placement office! Most railroad telegraphers probably learned the trade directly from someone already on the job, but at this point in time, there must have been enough demand to justify specialty schools like this one. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection Beech Grove July 1930 Based on the photo caption that I was able to read, these personnel photos were taken in July 1930. The second photo in the series was labeled 7-7-1930, Paint and Air Gangs. There is no dating on the NYC Lines 6450 on the turntable. - Larry Griffey Collection. 1930 Using information from timetables, the pictures must date from about 1930. In the group picture in front of the motor train, second from left with the ivy league cap is Harry Settlemoir, at age 20. If you look carefully at the second picture, you can see the old Cairo freighthouse in the background and the passenger station platforms in the foreground. By the way, the timetables all list Mr. E. M. Kelley as Cairo Division Superintendent from 1928 to 1933; railroads must not have been so quick to move superintendents in those days. CAPT Rex Settlemoir 1931   This picture dates from 1931. This is Grays Tower at Grayville, Illinois, where the Big 4 Cairo Line Crossed the IC branch line to Evansville. CAPT Rex Settlemoir 1931   Subject: Big 4 at Cairo Fortunately, this picture is labeled on the back. It appears to be my Dad's handwriting and states "Train 24 just before leaving time, Cairo, IL 1931" Again, I am assuming that this is a Mt. Carmel crew, with Cairo as the outlying terminal. Looks like a few of the passengers got in on the picture! CAPT Rex Settlemoir Here is the map from the April 12, 1931 Big Four Company timetable - notice that the E I & TH line (formerly the Terre Haute Division) has been combined with the Cairo Division, and the revised arrangement is now called the "Cairo-Terre Haute Division." Looking inside the timetable, the Division office has been moved from Mount Carmel to Evansville, and there are 3 trainmasters: Cairo Division North, based at Mt. Carmel; Cairo Division South, based at Mt. Carmel, and Terre Haute Division, based at Petersburg, Indiana. Chief Dispatcher is J. C. Moody, at Evansville. At long last the cartographers for this timetable map have corrected the labeling for the PRR and Big Four lines running west of Paris, Illinois. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection mid 1930s? Beech Grove, Indiana CCC&StL class " H-5t " 2-8-2 Mikado #6078 Roger Hensley Collection 1933 Not a real great picture, but according to the caption in the family photo album, this is No. 56 at Vienna, Illinois in 1933. As listed in the 1933 Company timetable (Cairo Division), No. 56 was a mixed train, leaving Cairo at 7:00 AM, Vienna at 8:48 AM and arriving Harrisburg at 11:45 AM. It was scheduled to meet its southbound counterpart (No. 57) at Carrier Mills at 11:25 AM. - CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection Here is another view of Big 4 mixed train No. 56 at Vienna, Illinois in 1933, showing two of the crew members. Take a look at the conductor's uniform! Although he looks quite dapper, don't believe that the company would want him working No. 12 on the main line looking like that. - CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection April 1933 Here is the last twist on the various organizational layouts of the the Big Four Cairo Division, just before it was finally incorporated into the Illinois Division in June of 1933. This map is from the very last "Cairo Dvision" employee timetable, and was issued on April 2, 1933 - note that since the 1931 setup, the E I & TH has been removed from the division, and the NYC (not Big Four) line from Danville to Chicago is now part of the Cairo Division. Cover of the timetable still reads C C C & StL -- not sure about this part of corporate history, but believe that NYC solidified its lease/ownership of the Big Four about 1931. This action probably enabled them to mix and mingle lines starting with those changes that we saw on the 1931 map and then again on this 1933 map. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection June 1933 This is the back cover of the first C C C & St L company timetable issued after the Cairo Division was folded into the Illinois Division - date of the timetable is June 25, 1933. Note that the E I & TH is now back in the combined division, while the NYC line from Danville to Chicago is gone and has been handed over to some other division. On the division officers page, I note that H. F. Milligan is the Illinois Division Superintendent, while E. M Kelley (the former Cairo Division Superintendent at Evansville) is now the Assistant Superintendent at Mattoon. Trainmasters are located at Terre Haute, Mattoon, Ashby, and Mount Carmel. Interesting sidelight - there are Chief Dispatchers at both Mattoon and Evansville. This is common even today - when divisions are consolidated on the major railroads, it often takes a little extra time to move the dispatchers to the new location. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection September 3, 1933   Lafayette, Indiana CCCStL class " J-1d " 4-6-4 Hudson #6601 Roger Hensley Collection 1934 May 1934 East St. Louis NYC 6205, L-2d, Big Four version. Elesco heater, Baker gear. Harold K. Vollrath photo   Fortunately, this picture is labeled on the back. It shows a Peoria & Eastern (New York Central System) train at Peoria, Illinois Union Station on December 2, 1934. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Circa 1935   Indianapolis 1935 - 238k 1935 April 13, 1935 South Bend, Indiana CCCStL class " K-3p " 4-6-2 Pacific #6479 Roger Hensley Collection   1937 NYC Southwestern Limited the premier passenger train on the New York-St. Louis run, seen eastbound in Anderson c1936 led by Big Four J1d Hudson number 6609. Next stop, Muncie. - Francis H. Parker Collection. Cover and two pages from the 1937 NYC Southwestern Limited brochure/timetable. 1940 October 27, 1940 Lafayette, Indiana CCCStL class " J-1d " 4-6-4 Hudson #5377 Roger Hensley Collection   1941 Here is NYC (Illinois Division) dispatcher H. C. Settlemoir practicing the now "lost art" of railroad telegraphy with a home-made rig on the kitchen table, in 1941. That is my older brother, helping his dad practice the railroad morse code at home. I can see the telegraph key and sounder, but the customary Prince Albert can seems to be missing from the sounder box. It probably took a lot of practice for operators and dispatchers to become proficient at the telegraph key -- sure is different from today's communications by e-mail and cell phone. As a side note, I still have HCS's own personal "bug", if anyone remembers what that is!! - CAPT Rex Settlemoir Still trying to sift through and find some mention of Mr. Moore from Gays, Illinois. So far, the best that I can do is this old seniority list from 1941, which shows a Mr. H. W. Moore at Grayville, Illinois. Page 2 of the seniority list (which I did not scan here) shows C. G. Sullivan at Gays. Will keep trying. (By the way, that is my Grandfather, W. C. Settlemoir, on page 1, with a seniority date of 9-20-06; Blair Settlemoir, my great uncle, appears on page 4 with a seniority date of 1-7-19; and my Father, H. C. Settlemoir, with a seniority date of 12-24-27 appears on page 5 of the list). - CAPT Rex Settlemoir Fall 1941 Empire State Express 4-6-4 Hudson 5429 ready for a run Ed Nowak photo - Roger Hensley Collection [Ok, it isn't Big Four, but isn't she a beauty?] November 3, 1941 Indianapolis IN K5b - 4-6-2 Pacific 4917 on the "James Whitcomb Riley" Gary Overfield Collection 1942 April 1942 This is from 'Order No. S-1854' of Class , 482 S 399 built for the New York Central, and delivered April 1942, by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). These builders photo's were issued by the Manufacturer, and make quite a unique artifact, since the RR normally just included the Data with no picture in the Loco Book. ....the reverse of the photo. - Larry Baggerly collection September 1942 These two photos were taken on September 12, 1942 at the Elnora, Indiana depot, located on the E I & TH line of the NYC. The man standing by the phone booth was dispatcher H.C. Settlemoir. At this point in time, the line was dispatched from an office in the Terre Haute, Indiana depot and not from the division office at Mattoon, Illinois. Suspect that this wayward dispatcher (my father) was making a visit down the line from Terre Haute on this particular day. CAPT Rex Settlemoir July 1942 (This was originally yellow but I found that black and white shows the detail better) Here is a page from a New York Central/Big 4 dispatcher's train order book. The page is dated July 15, 1942 and is for the Cairo line of the Illinois Division. Looks like several train movements are represented here -- both Northbound and Southbound -- appears that three orders were issued as "19" orders and one was issued as a "31" order. We will probably need the assistance of an old time train dispatcher like Tom Abbinett to fully decipher this page! If memory serves, the "31" order is a restrictive order -- in this case it holds all northbound traffic at Midland while Extra 2181 South has "rights over all trains" on the single track between Rose and the wye at Midland; at this time double track was still in place between WR & Rose -- current of traffic rules probably applied between those points, so train orders were only needed on the single track segment. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection 1943     1943 Passenger Time Table Click on Flag on the left for the 1943 Time Table pages. October 1943   Here is page 1 of a Big 4, Illinois Division, South District seniority list from October 1, 1943 -- note that the most senior conductor on this list has a brakeman seniority date of 7-29-1905 - more than one hundred years ago. Lots of rail miles covered by these Big 4 railroaders over the years! CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection 1944 1944 Employee Time Table Pages CX to North Vernon (Elkhart to Louisville) 1944 From: "Settlemoir" In 1943, the single track NYC/Big 4 Cairo Line handled a massive movement of crude oil from Norris City, Illinois to various refineries, while the "Big Inch" pipeline was being completed for the war effort. This operation is well chronicled in the book "Railroads at War", by S. Kip Farrington. The congratulatory message to Cairo Line employees is from Mr. H.F. Milligan, NYC's Illinois Division Superintendent at Mattoon. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Collection Circa 1945 This scene shows a cut of oil tankers at Lawrenceville. I know that there was a sizable refinery there, but suspect that these tankers were part of the "Big Inch" World War II oil movement from Norris City on the Big 4. Don't have the exact location in Lawrenceville for this photo -- could have been on the interchange with the B & O, however. The story about the Big Inch that was in Farrington's "Railroads at War" book indicates that a substantial amount of the Norris City tank cars were interchanged there. There probably were dispatched more than a few "unit trains" of oil in the 1940's. - CAPT Rex Settlemoir collection It has to be the "LONG SIDING" beside the CAIRO LINE M.T. south of the B&O Xing. Only place that would be available for this perspective. I worked the "REFINERY JOB" at L'VILLE in 1950s--It was a crude oil facility now demolished, as are the MARATHON refinery at ROBINSON, ILL---and the oil loading 'racks/stge' at NORRIS CITY.......LAB 1945 Sporting the original 75" Driving Wheels, here is Niagara 6000 in the Original Builders Plate photo circa Mar 1945. As designated on the picture, " CLASS, 484 S 471". It received 79' drivers in July 1945. - Larry Baggerly collection Here is an Illinois Division Seniority List of Dispatchers, dated February 1st, 1945. My Father, H.C. Settlemoir has a company seniority date of 12-24-27 and a dispatcher seniority date of 7-18-43, my great uncle, N.B. (Blair) Settlemoir has a company seniority date of 1-7-19 and a dispatcher seniority date of 4-18-44. No mention yet of T. Abinett, who as a youngster at this point with a company seniority date of 5-27-44, is probably still on the operators' extra board!! CAPT Rex Settlemoir 1947 May 20, 1947 Lafayette, Indiana NYC class " J-1d " 4-6-4 Hudson #5378 Roger Hensley Collection   June 25, 1947 The Big Four Wreck at Shiloh Ohio For Tom Root Photos and Wreck Description, Click Here For descriptions and photos of wrecks on the Michigan Division, see Wrecks 1 and Wrecks 2 August 1947 NYC F3A 1617 leads a refrigerator car train at Churchhille NY Ed Nowak photo - Roger Hensley Collection

Great "airborne" shot of the station area around the NYC/Big 4 line at Vienna, Illinois, taken in about 1948. Agent H.C. Settlemoir climbed the railroad's water tower to take this picture. View looks South, toward Cairo. CAPT Rex Settlemoir

The back of this picture is labeled: "Ross Morgan, Conductor, Cairo Division #463, 1948." No location is shown, but the train was discontinued South of Harrisburg in 1941, so my best guess is that it was between Mt. Carmel and Harrisburg, because it operated at night North of Mt. Carmel. CAPT Rex Settlemoir

Tom Gerbracht said... I have seen this one before..it was taken at Bellefontaine, OH, probably prior to November, 1948. (In another view, this engine is not yet equipped with a dual seal beam headlight, and I think that the records show that most or all had the headlight conversion in November, 1948.) - Larry Baggerly collection

With no dates, here is (all in Ohio) 1) Bellefontaine (Courtesy of the Sloan Library Historical Collection, Zanesville, OH) - Continued on the new Bellefontaine page. Click Here

I cannot identify the man in the photo, but the Calendar in the background appears to be for November, 1949. Picture shows the conductor inside his caboose on the local working at Vienna, Illinois. Notice the conductor's desk in the caboose: brake valve, pressure gage, lamp, and associated RR paperwork are all visible. All in all, a great picture of a railroader and his place of business. CAPT Rex Settlemoir Lawrence Baggerly added: - Thisun's a classic! Note the framed instructions alongside the calendar....always seemed a mite redundant to make such a 'production' of HOW TO APPLY THE CONDUCTOR'S VALVE...when about the only time it was used was to apply the train brakes to preclude getting left behind while the crew was switching from the 'head-end'. The CONDUCTOR pictured gotta be a "SOUTH-END MAN"....as I woulda recognized any from my end of the CAIRO LINE. - LAB

Lawrence added, "I made many DH (deadhead) trips MT.CARMEL-LYONS to cover the LYONS/MIDLAND switch run in 1950/51 and then used a Military Voucher to take it to GREAT LAKES NAVAL STATION enroute to USMC in CALIF. - LAB