SILVIS, Ill. – BNSF Railway has agreed to donate the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy turntable from its Cicero Yard complex near Chicago to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) for use at its Silvis, Ill. shop. Once at Silvis, the 135-foot table will be the largest turntable to be preserved in the United States. Union Pacific has a Big Boy-sized turntable in Cheyenne, Wyo., but it is still in active service.
While Silvis once had a turntable that served the Rock Island shop complex, it was removed and the turntable pit filled in decades ago. The “new” turntable was needed to handle the large size of Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger #3985 currently being restored at the shop complex along with 2-10-2 #5511. Older railroad fans will recall that the Cicero turntable was used to turn Burlington Route’s two famous excursion steam locomotives in the 1960s, Mikado #4960 and 4-8-4 #5632.
We are deeply grateful to the companies whose generous support made this incredible donation possible: T N Track Services of Bartonville, IL, Maggio Heavy Lift of Rockford, IL, Smith Specialized Heavy Hauling Inc. of Dekalb, IL & Hulcher Services out of Chicago, IL. Thank you for your invaluable contribution to our project.
RRHMA President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Sandberg thanked BNSF Railway for the donation and said RRHMA is seeking donations for the movement and installation of the turntable at Silvis.
RRHMA would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Erik Hoofnagle. Without his hard work and dedication to RRHMA-Silvis, this donation might not have become a reality. Since 2012, Erik has been a committed volunteer with Friends of the 261 in Minneapolis and has played a vital role in RRHMA-Silvis. From leading track work and maintenance to contributing to numerous upgrades and future plans, Erik’s loyalty and dedication have been invaluable. RRHMA and Friends of the 261 are truly grateful for volunteers like Erik.
In September 2022, Canadian Pacific donated the former Milwaukee Road twin-span turntable from Bensenville, Ill. to RRHMA. That turntable, constructed in 1937, moved to Silvis that month. Now it will be moving to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn. where it can be used to turn TVRM’s former Southern Railway excursion star, 2-8-2 #4501, among others.
If you would like to support RRHMA and its mission to preserve railroading history, become a member or donate today.